My professor thinks I plagiarized a paper because I used the word 'henceforth'.
By @edieish · School
I got an email from my English professor accusing me of plagiarism. His only proof is that my writing was 'too sophisticated' for a student, and he circled the word 'henceforth' as an example of a word a student wouldn't use.
The full story
I work a full time job and I'm taking night classes to finish a degree. I'm in an English comp class, it's a required credit. It's not hard, just a lot of writing, which is fine. We had a big essay due. I put the work in, did the research, wrote the thing, turned it in. I thought it was a pretty good paper. A few days later I get an email from the professor asking to see me. they says he suspects I used an AI or a ghostwriter for my paper. I asked him why he thought that and he pulled up my paper. they said the writing style was 'overly formal' and used vocabulary that was 'uncharacteristic for a student at this level'. The main example he pointed to? The word 'henceforth.' I just stared at him. I'm a grown man, I read books. I know the word henceforth. I told him I wrote it myself. they said he's seen this a thousand times and that I can either accept a zero for the assignment or he'll escalate it to the academic integrity board. This feels insane. I used a normal word. Henceforth, I will be using smaller words, I guess.
How people voted
- Totally Cooked — 30% (42 votes)
- It’s Complicated — 45% (62 votes)
- You’re Fine — 25% (34 votes)
Readers say “It’s Complicated” (45%) — 138 votes and 5 comments so far.
What people are saying
@june — cooked.
@edielol — I had a prof in college give me a C on a paper because I used the word 'plethora.' Some of them are just on a power trip.
@sagetbh — bruh
@mmkay — escalate it to the board this is gonna be so funny
@karalately — I feel like 'henceforth' can't be the only thing he pointed to. Was there anything else?
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