Showing posts with label websites offering sample personal statements. Show all posts
Showing posts with label websites offering sample personal statements. Show all posts

Monday, January 31, 2011

New Partners in the Plagiarism-Detection Business; Chronicle of Higher Education, 1/26/11

Eric Hoover, Chronicle of Higher Education; New Partners in the Plagiarism-Detection Business:

"The latter runs essays through a database of Internet content, journals, books, and previously submitted writing. It then provides a report listing the number—and type—of matches that might indicate all sorts of word-recycling. In one study Turnitin for Admissions reviewed 450,000 personal statements and found that 36 percent contained a significant amount of matching text (more than 10 percent). Those matches tended to come from Web sites offering “sample” personal statements. Other tests have found questionable similarities among 8 to 20 percent of applications...

“A lot of jaws are dropping,” Mr. Lorton said of admissions officials surprised by the levels of matching they’ve seen. “There are people seeking an advanced degree at the most selective institutions who can’t even write their own personal statements.”"