Think about the last time someone lied to your face, and you knew they were lying. Not only did it probably not feel great, it probably also increased your anger. Don’t escalate your situation further by lying.
Be open about how you feel. If you feel the urge to cry, let those tears flow. The more emotion that your teacher sees from you, the better. If the authority figure sees that you are upset, they may be more lenient with punishment. Trying to play it cool is likely to backfire, because they’ll think you need to be taught a lesson.
Make sure to tell your teacher that you studied for the test. It will look better for you if they know you did try to do well on your own.
If you aren’t exactly sure what evidence your teacher has against you, plan on denying. If they didn’t catch you in the moment, they may only have a suspicion.
If your teacher accuses you of plagiarizing, simply tell them that you used the source in question for research. After reading the information and going directly to your paper to write it, you may have unintentionally phrased things similarly. If your score was uncharacteristically high on a test, just tell your teacher that you studied intently for it, as opposed to other times. Each accusation will be different, but unless you have a great excuse, keep it simple. Repeat that you studied hard, you did your best, and you’re upset that you’re being blamed.
Having the ability to accept consequences can make you a stronger, more courageous person in the long run.
It’s important to show everyone that the cheating was out of character and you are deeply sorry. Enlist the help of an older sibling or an adult you trust to help plan out your words. You may be required to write a statement. If so, edit, edit, edit. Read it to parents, teachers, and friends to get feedback.
Not only will you be able to put this event behind you sooner, you will also show the authority figure that you are serious about fixing the problem.
Cheating on one test won’t ruin your life. While the consequences can be intense, as stated earlier, it doesn’t help to continuously beat yourself up or wallow in misery. Stay optimistic, and don’t dwell on the mistake you made.
If you are facing expulsion from school, it is important to understand your rights. Laws about school expulsion vary from state to state, and from public to private schools. You have the right to be represented by a lawyer throughout this process. [5] X Research source If you decide to appeal a suspension or expulsion that you believe to be unjust, you can learn more about that here.
You don’t necessarily need to tell anyone what you figure out about yourself, but keep it as useful knowledge going forward.
No matter what caused you to cheat, you should be able to make a plan to follow going forward. While apologizing and accepting your punishment is OK once, making this plan will help it from becoming a routine occurrence.
You may need to make sacrifices in order to become a better student, but this will be worth it in order to avoid the temptation to cheat and the punishment that comes along with it.
