Exhibit A Greater Likelihood Of Engaging In Some Form Of Cheating And Discuss Whether There Is A Cultural Basis To That Behavior.

Name of Student

Name of Professor

Name of Class

Day Month Year

Is Cheating Cultural

Undoubtedly, students have been involved in plagiarism and cheating in the educational institutions of the US, Canada, UK, and Australia. In this regard, the trend has increased with the surge in international students in these countries. According to the standards and ethics of education, these practices are wrong. International students are making their way in large numbers in different U.S. institutes such as St. Thomas which has almost 4.8% foreign students especially Saudis (Farhang). Alongside Saudis, Chinese and Indian students are also pouring in colleges and universities of Minnesota (Farhang). The international students face a big cultural difference while studying in countries like U.S., UK, and others. Also, the pupils take their time to cope with a different curriculum, style of teaching, grading, policies, and procedures they experience in such countries.

Meanwhile, there is always a pressure of getting good grades, and for that reason, they are willing to adopt unfair means, for example, plagiarism. In addition, many students are of the view that copying a few lines or paragraphs from other students’ papers is not a big deal. When students are involved in these acts, they also encourage their fellows with the same ethnicity to cheat or to plagiarize the content. In this way, this trend increases. Although students need to demonstrate academic honesty, for some students, good grades are the priority. Not only international students, but local students also cheat; however, they may be less in terms of percentage.

Moreover, plagiarism is an issue that students from developing countries face as they are unaware of the importance of references. Foreign students should be given training that plagiarism is an unethical practice on the student's part. Plagiarism refers to copying other person's words directly or indirectly or borrowing someone’s idea without referencing them when doing assignments or carrying out research work. Many of the African and Asian students come from the education background where systems do not enforce strict policies for plagiarism or cheating, and that is the reason why the students take time to adapt to the new culture. Therefore, one cannot say they are dishonest or incapable.

Furthermore, many students face language barrier due to non-English ethnic background, and that is the reason why they cheat or plagiarize as they consider it a way out. It is alarming that almost 50,000 students were caught cheating during the past few years ("Cheating By International Students Rampant At British Universities, Says Newspaper").

One of the most important reasons behind this practice is the financial pressure faced by many international students. They have to pay huge fees alongside visa, traveling and accommodation charges, and to meet their financial needs; students do a different job, some of them even do two jobs in a day. Thus, they do not get time to concentrate on their studies and assignment, and that is why they either copy or hire essay mills. These are the students who send money back home to support their families as well, so, they find a shortcut in the form of plagiarism and essay mills to get their job done.

Time management is another issue, which is associated with cheating and plagiarism. Foreign students take admission in colleges and universities that give students plenty of assignments and tasks. In this respect, international students struggle to manage time for completing the assignments as deadlines are not long for all the assignments. Subsequently, they look for other ways such as hiring other services, using spinners and getting someone else to do the work for them.

As a result of a change in culture, several students are unable to develop a good relationship with their teachers and native students, and most of their queries remain unanswered because either they hesitate or are not very fluent in speaking English. The overall situation is worrisome for Australian Universities as they are performing well internationally by maintaining top rankings globally. Cheating and plagiarism are threatening their credibility (Biased Reports On International Students Not Helpful). In the past few years, there has been considerable growth in essay mills, and they succeeded to get students’ attention who are looking for different ways to do their job. This trend of cheating is certainly affecting the overall education cause. Many evidence regarding cheating and plagiarism are connecting these things with foreign students. There will be more influx of international students, as universities in Canada are opening their offices abroad to get more international students from different counties ("Why Many International Students Get A Failing Grade In Academic Integrity").

Finally, in my view, culture cannot be blamed for an increasing trend in cheating and plagiarism in the US, UK, Canada, and Australia. However, lack of awareness, cultural difference, financial difficulties, the pressure of getting good grades, language barrier, and growing essay mills are the reasons behind cheating and plagiarism. There are concepts of ethics and morality in every culture, but some weak policies and lack of training in developing countries cause the problem of cheating and plagiarism. Not only foreign students but the native students are also involved in cheating and plagiarism; they are not highlighted much as they are not in large percentage but still they exist. Therefore, associating plagiarism and cheating only with foreign students without knowing the reasons is a bias. Through strict policies and discipline, cheating and plagiarism can be minimized. Also, international students are important for American, Australian, Canadian and British educational institutions and the overall economy as they contribute to their revenues by paying fees and other charges.

Works Cited

"Biased Reports On International Students Not Helpful". The Conversation, 2019, https://theconversation.com/biased-reports-on-international-students-not-helpful-40752.

"Cheating By International Students Rampant At British Universities, Says Newspaper". The Chronicle Of Higher Education, 2019, https://www.chronicle.com/article/Cheating-by-International/234904.

Farhang, Kia. "For Some International Students, 'Plagiarism' Is A Foreign Word". Mprnews.Org, 2019, https://www.mprnews.org/story/2014/10/08/international-students-cheating.

"Why Many International Students Get A Failing Grade In Academic Integrity". The Globe And Mail, 2019, https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/education/why-many-international-students-get-a-failing-grade-in-academic-integrity/article4199683/.