I am urging the Philosophy department* to disregard self-plagiarism of formative work in online end of year exams. This is because it puts students this year at an unfair disadvantage compared to other years.

In previous years, end of year exams happened in person, meaning exam material was not passed through Turnitin. As a result, you could answer exam questions that you had already written formative assessments on without worrying about self-plagiarism (due to using similar arguments or turns of phrase). 

However, this year** (if exams are online) we will submit our exam papers through Turnitin. As we currently submit formative assignments via turnitin, this means that we cannot answer exam questions on the same topic we have written a formative on without running the risk of self-plagiarism. 

The purpose of writing formatives is arguably to refine our understanding of a particular area of the course and develop a particular argumentative stance. As formatives do not contribute to our final grade, this process seems somewhat redundant if we cannot use this material in final exams without fear of self-plagiarism. What is the point of dedicating time and effort to writing a genuinely good essay if the process of submitting via Turnitin means we cannot use the material we have generated in a graded exam? Whilst I appreciate that formatives are also intended for our general academic advancement, this academic pursuit should not be actively detrimental*** to our final grade.

This disadvantages us on two accounts: we are disadvantaged compared to previous years; and we are disadvantaged compared to other subjects that don't require their students to submit formative work via turnitin, as neither group are/were faced with the issue of self-plagiarism of formatives in exams. 

Many students are now doubting whether to even write formatives as it seems like wasted time and effort in light of this issue. Not only is this detrimental to student morale, it is also counter to the ethos of academic progress, as it forces us to formulate entirely new arguments for the exam, as opposed to refining and developing our existing stances (as articulated in our formatives). In further academic study (e.g the process of submitting a journal for peer review before publishing), it is customary to receive feedback and improve your work in light of this criticism so as to produce an overall better body of work. Surely, the same logic should hold for undergraduate study.

For all of these reasons, I urge the department to consider disregarding the self-plagiarism of formative work in online exams. Please like this petition if you agree. 

*And any other departments that submit formative work via turnitin 

**I'm aware this was also the case last year, which I also think was unfair, I just didn't have the time/idea to try and change it

***actively detrimental in the sense that if your formative is the 'best' articulation of your argument, you are forced to reformulate this argument in the exam (to a potentially less coherent/articulate form) in order to avoid self-plagiarism