Rodriguez-Lopez 1

Rene Rodriguez-Lopez
Professor Jordan Ruyle
8 February 2016
CW 109C

Rene- great job on your essay! youve improved it a lot by using signal phrases and connecting
Manjoos ideas with transition words and phrases that help develop the ideas. You have good
organization, too, grouping like ideas together in paragraphs. See my comments below. The
essays grade is A
Summary for essay 2: There is no Harvard Cheating Scandal by Farhad Manjoo for the Slate
Group
Farhad Manjoos article for the Slate Group, There is no Harvard Cheating Scandal,
argues that over 100 Harvard students were falsely accused of cheating on their final for a class
called Introduction to Congress. In fact, he purposes that the students should be rewarded for
their supposed cheating because he claims they were practicing an essential skill for the real
world: collaboration. Thus, Manjoo presents evidence that the students were not cheating
because they thought collaboration was encourage from their professor, Matthew B. Platt, and
their teaching fellows. Manjoo also stresses the importance of collaboration throughout his
article because solving a problem individually is in direct contrast on how students will work in
the real world. Therefore, Manjoo defends the students because he claims they were not cheating,
as their collaborative efforts should be celebrated since it is an essential skill in the real world.
Manjoo points out a lot of evidence that the students were not cheating, instead they were
working together. For example, New York Times interviewed some students and they said that
collaboration was thought to be encouraged. The students teaching fellows each constructed
their courses through an array of teaching styles, so it was not uncommon for students to

Rodriguez-Lopez 2
collaborate by exchanging notes and reading material with one another. Manjoo even says that
the instructor, Matthew B. Platt, sometimes advocated group work as well. However, when the
final exam was released and the rules stated, students may not discuss the exam with others this includes resident tutors, writing centers, etc it contradicted the methods they have used to
learn throughout the entire course. This difficult exam led students to ask their fellows what
some questions were asking. Manjoo emphasizes that so many students went out of their way to
seek the correct info by working together with others because some students had better fellows,
and they had no other alternatives since Platt cancelled his office hours. Manjoo argues that we
should not blame the students but the structure of the exam. He continues to say that the students
worked together to figure out the tricky exam questions, and they should be praise for their
cooperation as it mirrors the type of work environment they will do in the real world.
In the article, Manjoo consistently states the importance of collaboration. For example, he
says outside academia, teamwork rules in the real world but so often higher education disregards
and punishes collaborations in the classrooms. If these students behaved as the exams rules
force them to, not working together or sharing information, in the real world, then they would
immediately be fired from their jobs. Thus, outside of Harvard, these students will have to act
like the so-called cheaters in order to succeed in the real world. Therefore, Manjoo gives a
plethora of examples of the collaborative world that consists of the military, business, science,
and the arts like Pixar.
Manjoo also acknowledges the counterarguments against his praise for collaboration. For
example, he mentions that the article, Crimson, proves that some students means of
collaborating are completely unjustifiable because they clearly plagiarized each other; however,
he debunks it with the fact that most of the students who were accused did not copy each other.

Rodriguez-Lopez 3
Manjoo also points out that collaborative efforts make it hard to measure individual talent, as
instructors cannot clearly see who understood the material and who merely copied each other.
Again Manjoo argues this with with that fact that there are many ways for higher education to
measure a students understanding of the material whether its through timed test or essays, but
Manjoo claims open book exams like this one are only effective at a collaborative level. Manjoo
says this because an open book, and an open Internet exam is essentially already working at a
collaborative effort. So Manjoo presents the question on what is the difference between asking
Quora or your friend a question about the exam? There is no difference.
Farhad Manjoos There is No Harvard Cheating Scandal attempts to prove the students in
the scandal were not cheating as they were merely collaborating, which Manjoo praises as an
essential skill in the real world. Manjoo presents evidence of students assuming teamwork was
valid for the exam since it was done throughout the whole semester. Many students shared
lecture and reading notes with each other throughout the course because each teaching fellow
had different methods of instructing their sections. However, Manjoo points out that it does not
make sense to have an exam that completely neglects student teamwork when it was done
throughout the semester. Afterwards, Manjoo explains the importance of collaboration in the real
world. He stresses that universities should acknowledge it as a crucial skill and not as a means of
cheating. The viewpoints feel they come from a student, which is refreshing at moments;
however, in my opinion that is what ultimately hurts this essay. It feels naive because if Manjoo
is going to have a radical thesis like sharing answers is not cheating but it is a collaborative
effort, then he needs to hit his counterarguments harder. For example, when he mentions the
Crimson article that some students clearly plagiarized each other, all he states is that most of the
students have different answers. How does he know that? Was he there taking the exam with

Rodriguez-Lopez 4
them? Does he know these kids at a personal level or merely through a statistical standpoint? Did
he interview them? If these students should be praised for their collaborative efforts, why did
Manjoo fail to include specific facts about these students? If Manjoo would have point out that
80% of these students were in student government or part of a robotics club, then it would make
clear sense that these kids function better through a collaborative effort, which gives him a valid
argument that teamwork should be praised since theses students have a background in it.
However, since this is an introduction to government class, with the reputation of being easy, and
students still worked together even though they had open book, open note, and open Internet
final exam, it seemed students were merely trying to find an easy A. Manjoo failed to convince
me because he should have explained what type of students were taking the class.

Error analysis key with examples

.. = article error
.. = verb error/ wrong tense, problem forming the verb, or subject-verb error
.. = word form error
.. = word choice error- inaccurate word choice or collocations error
.. = noun ending/ singular or plural error
.. = sentence structure- punctuation, confusing grammar, or word order problem
.. = word missing
.. = pronoun reference unclear
.. =wrong, missing or misused preposition
Examples below

Rodriguez-Lopez 5

.. = article error
It is a most interesting book I have read. Steve Jobs is the leader of the Apple.
.. = verb error/ wrong tense, problem forming the verb, or subject-verb error
We didnt completed the job yesterday. Disposing of electronics properly becomes a major issue.
.. = word form error
Her father is the most success software engineer in the firm.
.. = word choice error- inaccurate word choice or collocations error
The team is putting emphasis to their defense. Hybrid vehicles need more workers for
production.
.. = noun ending/ singular or plural error
We have enough homeworks to last a week. The wastes have to be dealt with properly.
.. = sentence structure- punctuation, confusing grammar, or word order problem
I like apples they are delicious. The manager bought yesterday a new computer.
.. = word missing
They are interested going with us to the concert.
.. = pronoun reference unclear
We enjoyed the book and the movie, but it was more violent.

Rodriguez-Lopez 6

Work Cited Page

Manjoo, Farhad. "In Praise of the Students Caught Up in The Harvard Cheating Scandal." Slate.
N.p., 4 Sept. 2012. Web. 14 Feb. 2016.

Rodriguez-Lopez 7

wants to praise these so-called cheaters because they collaborated and wo

Conclusion:

Some university officials say the case is unlike any other. Crimson states some students
were plagiarizing; however, many of them did not copy each other as they collaborated to answer
the challenging questions. They should be praise for their cooperation as it mirrors the type of
work environment they will do in the real world but instead universities view this type of
teamwork as a means of cheating. Some students told New York Times that collaboration was
encouraged as their teaching fellows constructed their courses through an array of teaching
styles, even the instructor, Matthew B. Platt, sometimes advocated group work. Thus, it was not
unusual for students to exchange notes and reading material.
Some fellows even assisted students on the final exam, as they cleared what some
questions were asking. Even though the exam explicitly stated, students may not discuss the
exam with others - this includes resident tutors, writing centers, etc it contradicts the methods

Rodriguez-Lopez 8
they have used to learn throughout the entire course, and the valuable teamwork skills they
would need throughout their careers in the real world. Thus, the students are not to blame but the
tests structure is to blame. Plus, the students who were unlucky enough to have poor teaching
fellows had no choice but to collaborate with each other. A lot of the questions consisted of how
students can think of discrepancies within the U.S. Government, it would not make sense to
answer these complex questions alone. It makes even less sense for the professor Platt to cancel
his office hours during the period of the final exam. The students had no choice but to
collaborate. It does not make sense to accuse these students because in order to succeed in the
real world, they need to inherit the techniques of the so-called cheaters.
The opposition has a case that group work makes it difficult to assess who engaged with
the material and who merely copied off their peers because they all have similar answers.
Universities still have many opportunities to measure individual academic performance through
in-class timed exams. However, with this open book, note, and web exam students were
essentially work together if they were to use sources as Wikipedia or Quora because those are
sources were built on teamwork. Its time to teach students that working together is a critical skill
needed for the real world, it time for the universities to prepare their students for whats to come.

Even though the exam explicitly stated, students may not discuss the exam with others - this includes
resident tutors, writing centers, etc it contradicts the methods they have used to learn throughout the entire course,