How I know you didn't write this paper.

As an experienced college writing teacher I have read a lot of papers. In this current digital era is quite simple to obtain papers and hand them in as your own. Done all the time right? You may have done it. I and most other writing instructors can fairly easily tell after the first few weeks of the term when a student's work is original and when it is borrowed. It is easy. It is the same means that when you answer the phone you can tell who is there. The sound of their voice. Mom or your best friend, the sounds are distinctly different. Well, so is your writing. Just as you have a distinctive fingerprint and handwriting style you have a distinctive writing style. It some times is even referred to as your writing voice. So, when I pick up a student's paper to read and it doesn't sound like or seem like their other papers, I'm pretty sure they may have had "help". I might talk to them about it. I might not. Depends. Instructors have a large work load and often let things slide.

You can count on this sometimes. But not always. Here is today's Planet College tip. Do your own work. Slug it out. Get the grade that you earn. If it isn't satisfactory ask to do it over. I f it still isn't satisfactory ask for help. Learning is why you are on Planet College. You will learn to write by doing. Write your own paper. Just write.