HELP! Cheated on an essay. Confession.

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Troubled2011

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I’m a university student, and I cheated on a paper for one course.

Near the end of the term, I was bogged down with work, in addition to dealing with my chronic health problems (legitimate ones).

I was deprived of sleep, and because I was also famished from skipping my meals, I couldn’t think AT ALL.

My essay was around 1800 words, and all I had to do was revise and reconstruct some of my points to get it to the limit of 2500 words.

But I was in so much physical (and mental) pain from my health and nutritional deficiency, that I couldn’t handle the stress any longer. For two full days, I worked on my essay to no avail.

I went to my professor and asked for help, but I still couldn’t find a solution.

So, I started breaking down and decided to use a paper editing/rewriting service, and made an order.

I’ve been feeling terrible about this and I want to go to Confession.

But I’m also afraid that the priest will make me confess to my professor.

I’m a generally hard-working student and get reasonably high grades.

I don’t want to lose all of my efforts so far into university, because my university has a zero-tolerance policy for plagiarism.

What should I do?

Please help!

I know my circumstances do NOT justify what I did, but am I eligible to be absolved of my sins if I do not correct my previous wrong?
 
Let’s say your confessor doesn’t say you need to tell them about it. Do you still feel you need to?

I think the problem will be that regardless of what happens in Confession your conscience needs to make a decision on how exactly to handle the situation. It’s a tough situation. I bet the priest will have a better answer for you.
 
There is no point in worrying about what the priest will make you do. “It is what it is.” You made a big mistake. All the justification in the world will not excuse the sin, only confession will. Please avail yourself of confession as soon as possible since you seem to know it is the right thing to do.

May God bless you and guide you.
 
So, I started breaking down and decided to use a paper editing/rewriting service, and made an order.
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Is the use of an editing / rewriting service classified as plagiarism by your university?

Your order was for the addition of 700 words, correct?

What is your major or what job do you see yourself working in upon completing college?

I remember having to write a college history paper concerning the start of WW2 in China. I researched for weeks and had hundreds of these handwritten notecards (prior to online searching and laptop computers, etc.) It came down to the week of pulling at that information together and I was absolutely blocked. None of the note cards made sense to me, it ended up being the most horrid paper I ever wrote.

Got a c… grade on it and life went on. Don’t be afraid to fail. 🙂
 
Thanks for the responses.

I’ll go to confession as soon as I can.

And I guess I’ll start praying the rosary every day too.

But if the priest requires as penance a confession to my professor, will my sin not be absolved if I don’t comply?

:(:(:(😦
 
Troubled2011 said:
But if the priest requires as penance a confession to my professor, will my sin not be absolved if I don’t comply?

:(:(:(😦
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The priest can not require you as part of the penance. He can suggest and/or encourage you to but he can not mandate that you do. If a priest assigns a penance you feel you can not complete you can request a different penance.
 
  1. When I was young and fresh cheating in and exam, was not considered sin at all. The common sense said, that the cheating has its own risk, and those who cheat at least think about the importance of the exam.
2./ If in your conscience the cheating is sin, you must confess it, and do whatever your confessor requires. Your eternal life and even your clear conscience is more important then a potentially failed class.
 
Well, the Commandments say that we must not bear false witness. If you think it’s okay for you because you weren’t feeling well, you will get that feeling again- and convince yourself that it’s okay again. Where is it going to end? Why not be dishonest about everything else? If you use someone else’s material, you do not really benefit from the learning.

Yes, we all have sinned, I’m no exception. No one is perfect. People fall again and again. Still, we must try to get up. We are to avail ourselves of Confession because it imparts grace, which we need to spiritually fortify ourselves. The Lord is very merciful. He will help you. 🙂 I hope that your health and studies will continue to improve. God bless. 👍
 
Even if Father does not require you to 'fess up to the professor, you should tell him anyway. Why? Because you potentially (qualified because I do not know the whole story) cheated on an essay of which a possibly significant number of words is not yours. This may not be according to the standards of your university, and if so, you would have earned credit you do not deserve.

I doubt this will kill your academic achievements if you be upfront. If he fails you, so be it, but really, how can you hold your head high with a degree you did not earn?

Besides, who knows? Professor might understand and just void your “cheated” essay and assign you a new one.
 
laszlo said:
  1. When I was young and fresh cheating in and exam, was not considered sin at all. The common sense said, that the cheating has its own risk, and those who cheat at least think about the importance of the exam.
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Who or what is the invisible subject of the phrase “was not considered?” Because cheating has always been considered a sin in the Roman Catholic Church. And it’s the Church which names categories of sin (based on The 10 Commandments + Jesus’ words in Sermon on the Mount, and laws of the Church which Jesus authorized his apostles to create & carry out).

In addition to being a violation of Truth, cheating (in the form described) violates The 7th of the 10 Commandments: Thou Shalt Not Steal
 
Elizabeth502 said:
Who or what is the invisible subject of the phrase “was not considered?” Because cheating has always been considered a sin in the Roman Catholic Church. And it’s the Church which names categories of sin (based on The 10 Commandments + Jesus’ words in Sermon on the Mount, and laws of the Church which Jesus authorized his apostles to create & carry out).

In addition to being a violation of Truth, cheating violates the 7th of the 10 Commandments: Thou Shalt Not Steal
Click to expand...
It depends on the interpretation of the cheating. To defraud someone, to deprive someone from his rights is sin.

In my time all exams were verbal exams and only one for a whole semester. I the professor was in good mod, no matter how little you learned, you passed, if he was in bad mood you may get a F no matter how much you learned. Consequently student aids (we called them gum = little notes about the topic) were considered as part of the game.

The original poster made his project, and the professor rejected it required to adding such and such additions. Are you absolutely sure that the professor has the rights for such request, or may be he was just in bad mode?
 
Your reply does not answer the question I asked you, Laszlo.

Who considered cheating not a sin? And by what authority did such persons not consider cheating a sin?

I didn’t ask you whether a particular action was/is considered cheating by a particular academic institution. (or several of them)
 
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