I am fully aware that students all over the world rip off my work. However, I rarely get such detailed confessions:

I am a local high school student in northern Virginia. This is my desperate cry for help to you. I used this page http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/GERunemployment.htm as a major source for my History final essay. As you may know, several school written papers are run through the online site called Turnitin.com. This is a program which scans the entire internet for any sort of plagiarism. I have just found out that my paper will be scanned through turnitin.com. Because of a lack of citation on my part, i will be perceived as cheating and will therefore fail the paper. Being that i need this course to graduate from High school, and being my senior year, i request that you remove this article from the internet temporarily, for about 3 weeks, in order to allow the scan to NOT find any match with my paper and yours. Please, i beg you, this paper you wrote was amazing and a great source for me. However, they will still fail me for improper citation. Take it into your heart to remove your article briefly as to allow me to graduate from my high school.

10 out of 10 for brass neck. looks like his future is in your hands John.

Do it John - see what mark you get

I'm usually against this sort of thing, but I say let him off.
I never once plagiarised in school or College, but I have to admire this lad for asking.

John

EDIT: I wonder if the page has been mirrored by another site, perhaps answers.com or some other site. Is it also on freepedia?

Taking it down will not help him. It remains available from Google for sometime after it has been removed. However, by taking it down, I make it unavailable to all those other students who want to make use of the material. They will then send me emails telling me the link does not work.

John is correct that even 'down' it will be 'up' for purposes of the plagarism software for months, minimum!

In my classes here in Europe at my University the students don't even seem to understand plagarism.....they are so used to downloading mp3's and movies - that to download a text file and say it is their's is just a 'natural'. I tell them I can tell when a paper is above their level of English and grammar - not to mention eloquence and grasp of the material. I don't use the program, but am aware of it. I just know their level of English skills and when they give me a perfect paper, without any of their normal errors, it is very clear......but I have them come and fight with me. They say, 'but wasn't it good?' Yes. Too good!.....

I am amazed at the audacity of the student. While I see that he/she is imploring you,and commenting on what a great source your paper is, the request is just mind boggling for me. I note that there appears no remorse for copying. Something could have been said such as"Sir, I want to apologize for taking your work as my own.", but no, just a request for temporary removal.

I'd almost bet that if this person doesn't graduate, he/she will hold you accountable for it.

IMO he's put you in a no-win situation through no fault of yours John. I sympathise with his predicament if it was a genuine oversight, but for all you know he could have passed off an entire essay as his own, and has been caught with his pants down. As you're already aware, removing it won't help him anyway.

I predict a future flipping burgers for a living.

I think the generous state provision in old age pensions in England mean that it will never come to this for John

It's not even a confession. He doesn't say he cheated, he says "I will be perceived as cheating." I guess this means the teacher will be at fault for failing him, thinking that he cheated.

He's like the guy who says, "I didn't do it and I promise never to do it again."

It's nasty, isn't it? Just how much did he use without citation?

People have to learn that they are capable of original thought, to be creative. The alternative is to see nothing but cut & pastes from the internet ad infinitum.

I agree that removing it will not affect the outcome, but John might consider talking more to the person involved. See if he can elicit original thought from the person. They might be very capable, and just lazy. Then, if John considers that the circumstances warrant, he might choose to intercede on this person's behalf.

I think that whatever decision John makes, it will be the "right" one. It's his decision to make. In whatever outcome, just make sure that this person learns that actions have consequences; that to deceive takes a person down a dark path with many unexpected consequences, and that "... if you can't do the time, then don't do the crime..."!