Mini-Debates

Cheating
Pre-Reading
A. Warm-Up Questions

1. What was the punishment for

cheating in your high school?

2. What happens to students who

cheat in college in your country?

3. Do you know anyone who has

ever been caught cheating?

4. Have you ever cheated on any tests?

5. What does “plagiarism” mean?

B. Vocabulary Preview

Match up as many words and meanings as you can.

Check this exercise again after seeing the words in context on page 2.

1. evidence a)  the act of staying alive

2. survey b)  score, evaluation of a student’s work

3. plagiarize c)  questioning a large number of people

4. disturbing d)  honest, truthful, having good values

5. survival e)  proof

6. technique f)  to confess, to say you did something wrong

7. grade g)  to do something in a faster, easier, or cheaper way

8. efficient h)  to copy or steal someone else’s ideas or words

9. cut corners i)  upsetting, bothersome

10. moral j)  a person answering questions

11. respondent k)  able to do something well without wasting time

12. admit l)  a way or method

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 Cheating
Mini-Debates

Reading
1. There is growing evidence that cheating is common and becoming “When students
more accepted among North American high school students. cheat on exams, it’s
2. In 2006, a national survey conducted by Rutgers’ Management because our school
Education Center found that 75% of the 4,500 students questioned
had participated in serious cheating. In addition, more that
system values grades
50% admitted they had plagiarized work from the Internet. more than students
3. Perhaps the most disturbing finding of the study was that many
value learning.”
respondents didn’t see anything wrong with cheating. In fact, —Neil deGrasse Tyson,
many students reported that cheating was a survival technique astrophysicist
in high school. There is increasing pressure on students to achieve
high grades, and it is becoming more difficult to get accepted into
good colleges and universities.

4. According to some students, cheating is an efficient way to

cut corners, and more and more students are using this shortcut.
Others do not think that copying questions and answers from a
test is even cheating.

5. Many students believe that getting good grades is more important

than being honest. They think that better grades lead to better
colleges and universities, and better universities lead to better
careers and better lives.

6. As one student stated, “What’s important is getting ahead.

It’s not how moral you were in getting there.”

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 Cheating
Mini-Debates

Comprehension
Discuss these questions in pairs and write the answers in your notebook.

1. Who conducted the survey about cheating in high schools?

2. How many students participated in the survey?

3. What percentage of students admitted to cheating?

4. What was a disturbing finding of the study?

5. Why do many students say they cheat?

Vocabulary Review
Complete the sentences using a word from the vocabulary list on page 1.
You may need to change the word form.

1. When you write an essay, you must not                 or you will fail.

2. He studied very hard for his math test and got an excellent                 .

3. She is a very                 worker. She always gets her work done quickly.

4. If a company tries to                 when they

manufacture a product, the quality of the product may not be as good.

5. If you are the one who broke the window, you should                 it.

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 Cheating
Mini-Debates

Discuss
Work with a partner or in small groups. Discuss the following questions.

1. Do you think cheating is always wrong?

2. Do you think that cheating can hurt a

student’s chance of succeeding in life?

3. What should the punishment be for students who cheat?

4. Why do you think so many students cheat?

5. If your son or daughter were caught cheating,

what would you want the school punishment to be?

6. If you were taking a test and saw another person

cheating, would you tell the teacher? Why or why not?

Debate
Below are two topics to debate in small groups or pairs.
Your teacher will tell you if you will be debating for or against the idea.
You will have ten minutes to prepare your arguments.

Topic #1 Topic #2

All students caught cheating in high school should
automatically fail the course and be required to repeat
the entire course the following year.
The only punishment for cheating will be as follows:
The name of the cheater will be announced to the
entire school over the PA and the name and picture of
the cheater will be on display in all classrooms with the
caption: I am a cheater.

Write
Choose one of the questions from the Discuss section above.
Then write a paragraph in your notebook stating your own opinion.

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 Cheating
Mini-Debates

Useful Expressions & Transitions for Debating

Agreeing and Disagreeing Expressing an Opinion

• That doesn’t take away from the fact that... • In my honest opinion...
• That’s beside the point. • It is my belief that...
• With all due respect... • From my experience...
• I agree with you there. • From where I look at it...
• I agree with ---- (name). • From my point of view...
• I see your point, but...
• That may be true, but...
Clarifying / Rephrasing
• We’re going to have to agree to disagree.
• I get/see where you’re coming from, but... • Let’s be clear here...
• I’m afraid I disagree entirely. • I think you misunderstood what I said.
• I’m afraid I’d have to disagree. • What I said was... (repeat a point
• I agree to some extent, but... that was misunderstood or confused)
• I disagree with you there. • What I meant to say was...
• Pardon me for disagreeing, but... (rephrase something in a way that is clearer)
• In other words...
• What I was trying to say
Interrupting / Asking to Contribute
before I was interrupted is that...
• I hate to interrupt, but...
• If I may come in here...
Summarizing / Concluding
• I’d like to add something.
• Would you like to contribute something? • So let me get this straight. You think...
• I’d like to raise a point. • To conclude...
• If I could speak for a moment... • I’d just like to summarize by saying...
• I’d like to cut in here. • Finally, I’d like to reiterate that...
• You haven’t answered my question. • It’s time to take stock of what we’ve heard today.
• Both sides have some valid points.
• The stronger argument/team today is...
Persuading

• Can you see where I’m coming from?

• I challenge you to give this a try/chance.
• I want you to see it my way.
• Put yourself in my shoes.
• Am I getting through to you?

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