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[mathprofdk]

On "trivet", its original use (according to the OED) was for a tripod used to raise pots above fires.  According to American dictionaries, "trivet" is the standard word for an insulating ceramic or metal slab.  It need not have three feet in current American usage.  I assume that hot pad refers to an insulated pad of some kind.  "hot pad" doesn't appear in the concise OED.

I'm now better educated about this subject than I was when I wrote my original reply. 

I'm sorry, but I just have to write how awesome this is.  Where but on a board for academics could this discussion take place?

[hiddendragon]

Hahaha!!!  I laughed so hard I almost fell out of my chair.  One of my students wrote a sentence to this effect, which I knew had to be plagiarized: "As my fellow anthropologist X stated in his pre-eminent treatise...."

"Of the dozens of biographies of Napoleon that I have read in last decade, this is the most deeply researched of the lot."

[writingprof]

Here's a new one.  I sniffed out plagiarism this morning because of . . . wait for it . . . a student using parentheses.  Not in an internal MLA citation but surrounding a wry aside.

Yeah, right.

[oldfullprof]

"factor analysis"  "rotation".  One undergrad actually tried this.  I enjoyed asking him which rotation he preferred.

[phi_rabbit]

Last semester I caught one that used, among other unlikely words, "orthodoxy."

[oldfullprof]

"The other essays is this volume have argued..."  from an undergraduate paper at UC Irvine when I was a TA.

[someidiot]

Fortnight.

I was going to point out that Tolkien used "fortnight" in Lord of the Rings, then I realized that would only demonstrate how big of a geek I was in junior high.

I'd hope that everyone would have encountered that word during childhood: "It was the second little jacket and pair of shoes that Peter had lost in a fortnight!"  http://www.gutenberg.org/files/14838/14838-h/14838-h.htm

And I'm a little saddened that semicolons and parentheses (and emdashes, too?) are apparently signs of plagiarism these days.

[frogfactory]

Fortnight.

I was going to point out that Tolkien used "fortnight" in Lord of the Rings, then I realized that would only demonstrate how big of a geek I was in junior high.

I'd hope that everyone would have encountered that word during childhood: "It was the second little jacket and pair of shoes that Peter had lost in a fortnight!"  http://www.gutenberg.org/files/14838/14838-h/14838-h.htm

And I'm a little saddened that semicolons and parentheses (and emdashes, too?) are apparently signs of plagiarism these days.

Yeah.  I'm also a bit concerned that my profs are going to suspect me of plagiarism simply because, despite being in the sciences, I can write and punctuate well*, and enjoy working my vocabulary.

*What's the name of that rule that states something along the lines of: 'Any post containing a correction of someone else's grammar, punctuation or spelling is bound to contain at least one error in grammar, punctuation or spelling'?  Probably applies to this post too.

[ptarmigan]

This thread makes me worry about that too, and then I remember that my professors haven't had any problems figuring out that I might use big words or fancy punctuation all on my own, so presumably you lot wouldn't either.

[plebeian]

I can't speak from experience in the sciences, but good writing is suspect even in the humanities. You're probably no more at risk than I am. And I have been accused, which just tickles me. Am I really going to make a career out of using semicolons correctly--without knowing how to use them?

(And yes, my subfield is semicolons. It's pretty esoteric.)

[finallydone]

"mystical aphrodisiac"  in a freshman's paper to describe a piece of literature

[present_mirth]

This discussion reminds me that I spent my first half-semester in college being terrified that my Shakespeare prof would accuse me of plagiarism, to the point where I considered dropping the class even though I absolutely loved it.  He had a reputation for being a tough grader (which he cultivated very carefully), and I knew a girl who said he'd hauled her boyfriend before the Honor Court just for using the word "codify."  Understandably, I thought "oh no, I know what 'codify' means and how to use it -- is he going to accuse ME of anything?"  Then, with the sort of chop-logic that only freshmen can aspire to, I decided that I just wouldn't use the word "codify," and I'd be fine.  (I did use a whole bunch of semicolons; it hadn't occurred to me that those might be dangerous.)

A+ on the first paper.  Prof in question became one of my most valued professional mentors.  I've always wondered whether he was right or wrong about the boyfriend.

[reener06]

A student used "mundane" just last week. Raised my red flags, and I find he copies the passage, with slight alterations, from the intro to the essay.

[msmicrobe]

stochastic simulation


Funny.... the source paper said exactly the same thing. Which might be okay. But those words had lots of company.

[phi_rabbit]

Yeah.  I'm also a bit concerned that my profs are going to suspect me of plagiarism simply because, despite being in the sciences, I can write and punctuate well*, and enjoy working my vocabulary.

I use things like this as clues that I need to give a paper extra scrutiny, not conclusive evidence on which to base accusations.  If I find overly flowery or technical language, I put it into Google and often find the source immediately.  I also can generally tell whether a particular student is likely to write in a particular style or not based on his or her other work.