ipl-logo

Synthesis Essay: The Honor Code

1442 Words6 Pages

The Honor Code Synthesis Essay Student dishonesty is a prevalent issue in many highschools, colleges and universities in today's day and age. Cheating on tests, plagiarism and handing in unoriginal work are all forms of cheating that many students use to give them an easier and more pleasant journey throughout school. However, many schools view this as a large issue, cheating and dishonesty are concepts schools stand firmly against and want none of it in their respective schools. This creates a problem, schools want students to behave a certain way and students are behaving contrary to that. A method many schools take to solve this problem is establishing an honor code. An honor code is a set of rules or ideals which students must follow …show more content…

A small public university that has an established honor code, surveyed students, a whopping 88% of students admitted this would cheat on an assignment or exam. (source E) An honor code, when working as intended, stops students from cheating, however cheating is a constant throughout schools and no honor codes, even strict ones, can stop that constant. When having an established honor code students who intend on cheating must do so discreetly. Now, when a student makes a decision to cheat, going against the honor code factors into that decision. Once there are students violating the honor code, your school then becomes a dishonest place and the environment created by the honor code becomes one of lying, cheating, and dishonesty. If a student is caught violating the honor code and confronted by it they are tasked with a decision; either they can be honest and admit what they did, or they can further the lie and continue to get away with it. Most students will select the second option. This just creates more and more students who are firstly, violating the code and secondly, lying. This is the exact opposite of what a school wants, and that could have potentially been avoided without the honor code. Overall, an honor code can be used to create a positive and honest environment, however there is a valid claim …show more content…

Because of its availability through the internet, artificial intelligence, and many other sources, students are put in a position where they can so easily cheat and create a less harsh environment for that student. This creates many problems for school administrators, with the most difficult one being the new set environment in their respective schools. Honor codes are intended to resolve just that problem, but don't always work as intended. Schools must have a strict honor code set in place with consequences that are first, known by the students and second, harsh enough to repel students from cheating. A school who has integrity and wants an established environment and reputation of hard work, honesty, and success must have a strict honor code in place. Works Cited
Dirmeyer, Jennifer, and Alexander Cartwright. “Honor Codes Work Where Honesty Has Already Taken Root.” Chronicle of Higher Education. Chronicle of Higher Education, 24 Sept. 2012. Web. 20 March 2013.
Kahn, Chris. “Pssst—How Do Ya Spell Plagiarism ? Cheating Scandal Tests Honor Code at U. Va.” Daily Press. Daily Press Media Group, 14 April 2002. Web. 10 Sept. 2013.
McCabe, Donald, and Gary Pavela. “New Honor Codes for a New Generation.” Inside Higher Ed. Inside Higher Ed, 11 March 2005. Web. 20 March 2013.
Sledge, Sally, and Pam Pringle. “Assessing Honor Code Effectiveness: Results of a Multipronged Approach from a Five Year Study.”

More about Synthesis Essay: The Honor Code

Open Document