Jonathan Sat Staring At His Computer Screen The Previous Two

Jonathan Sat Staring At His Computer Screen The Previous Two Days Had

Jonathan sat staring at his computer screen. The previous two days had been the most disastrous weekend of his entire life. First, his girlfriend broke up with him on Friday and informed him that she was dating his best friend behind his back. Then he got a phone call from his mother informing him that his childhood dog has been hit by a car. And if that wasn’t enough, his car died on the way to work, and since it was his third unexcused absence from work, he was fired.

In the midst of all these crises, Jonathan was supposed to be preparing his persuasive speech for his public speaking class. Admittedly, Jonathan had had the two weeks prior to work on the speech, but he had not gotten around to it and thought he could pull it together over the weekend. Now at 1:00 a.m. on Monday morning, he finally got a chance to sit down at his computer to prepare the speech he was giving in nine and a half hours. His topic was prison reform. He searched through a number of websites and finally found one that seemed really relevant.

As he read through the first paragraph, he thought to himself, this is exactly what I want to say. After two paragraphs the information just stopped, and the website asked him to pay $29.95 for the rest of the speech. Without even realizing it, Jonathan had found a speech mill website. Jonathan found himself reaching for his wallet thinking, well it says what I want it to say, so why not?

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If I were a student in Jonathan’s class and he confided in me that he used a speech mill for his speech, I would likely feel a mixture of concern and disappointment. Academic integrity is foundational to educational institutions, and using a speech mill undermines this principle by presenting someone else's work as one's own. While I would empathize with his difficult circumstances, I would also emphasize to him the importance of honesty and the value of developing his own voice. Cheating erodes personal integrity and can have long-term consequences for trustworthiness and self-respect. I might suggest alternative approaches, such as seeking assistance from classmates, utilizing resources provided by the instructor, or managing time better to avoid last-minute desperation.

If I were Jonathan, I could have made several ethical choices to uphold integrity and honesty. First, I could have acknowledged the crisis he was experiencing and sought support or extensions from his instructor, explaining his personal hardships rather than resorting to dishonesty. Second, even if pressed for time, I could have focused on creating an outline based on my understanding rather than copying from a website. Third, I could have used the relevant information from the sources as a guide for developing my own speech. These choices would have allowed him to maintain academic integrity while still delivering a meaningful presentation.

Regarding whether it is ever ethical to use a speech written by a speech mill, generally, the answer is no. Utilizing these services typically involves submitting work that is not one's own, which constitutes academic dishonesty. However, in rare cases, if a student legitimately purchases speech material for personal use, such as research or background information, and explicitly credits the source, some might argue it as a form of ethical use—though this is still highly questionable within academic contexts. The core ethical concern lies in misrepresentation and lack of attribution, which is central to academic integrity standards. Educational institutions emphasize the importance of students engaging critically and independently with course material to develop skills vital to their growth and future careers.

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