To use the term 'sufferers' in relation to depressed people?

[Flojobunny]

Is it ethical?
I have changed the words individuals with depression, depressed people etc to sufferers of depression. Mainly so the clever plagiarism programme my uni use won't pick it up!
AIBU?

I agree with skylerwhite - use your paragraph and reference it, then you will be fine.

They use turnitin and despite my best efforts my last 2 modules came up with 24 and 25%, I am aware that a huge chunk of this was my reference list and also highlighted chunks which I had clearly referenced but my introduction and conclusion need to be clear.

Thankyou for all the advice. I'm trying to avoid an extension because I just want to get it done and over with then its one less stress to worry about.

We wouldn't get suspicious unless it was at about 80%! We take referencing into account.

I think perhaps a visit to student study skills or student support and guidance may give you some tools regarding academic writing, referencing and saying something in your own words that echoes others (whilst also referencing those words for clarity).

I lost more marks during my time at Uni due to the academic writing style and poor referencing rather than my actual line of argument! You will never lose marks for good referencing and you can gain marks if you can show wider reading.

Academic writing is a skill in itself! Good luck, make use of the help available.

Another thought, could you show your personal tutor or module leader a draft?

Is your uni still open? I thought they were all closed for the summer by now.

Not sure why sufferers is so bad? Physical diseases attract this kind of term. You could use the word survivors, although I think that's probably going to cause even more flaming...

ExcuseTypos we don't close at all. All student services are open (summer timetable) and our faculty doesn't recognise the academic year as we having rolling cohorts.

I work in a group care home that supports 10 people with learning disabilities ranging from mild to severe, not one of them 'suffers' due to their disability.

They all live productive, happy,fun-filled, lives, they have jobs, friends, families, hobbies. They don't suffer at all and I know at least one of them would be upset to be described as 'suffering' from autism.

My bad for not reading OP properly, I saw someone mention disabilities and assumed you were talking about them too.

Flojobunny - a couple of alternative wording options could be:

People with depression
People who experience depression
Also sufferers of depression - for the purposes of illustrating your assignment is not unethical or demeaning. It is a statement of fact not aimed at any individual, or with any malicious intent, so that isnt unethical.

Unless I have misinterpreted the reason you mentioned unethical.

If you are talking about ethics with reference to avoiding the anti-plagiarism software, here are some thoughts - I am doing a PhD so am up against the same challenge!

Provided you are rewording your statement to fit in with the 'argument' you are making (ie not copying it word for word from a text or online source) and also you include some relevant reference to any research that can validate your position (for example, "the study of depression in teenage boys by Jones and Jones 2009 suggest x and y") then that is fine.

You need to demonstrate you are bringing into your assignment existing knowledge to back up your argument, plus giving credit to the source, not passing off the research as your own. The argument you are being asked to make will be a blend of your ideas plus past knowledge.

It is a fine balance, and you are correct to think about it, that does not make you unethical, you are playing by the rules.

Sorry I also meant to say, well done for your determination to complete your assignment, not easy when other important things in your life are vying for your attention. Take care x

I've seen plagiarism software pick up on paragraphs that have had the sentences reordered and quite a few of the words changed. If you can't write the conclusion yourself then you are better off just leaving it out - it will lose you less marks than plagiarising and you won't get the black mark against your name. In my university you get zero marks the third time you are caught and it triggers a disciplinary hearing which might result in expulsion.

The essay I mentioned already had a bad mark because I didn't think the student understood it and then he had an extra 20% taken off for the plagiarism.

Cross posted there with the OP. If you've already been caught out twice even if you didn't do it on purpose they are likely to come down on you like a tonne of bricks if you try this.

I really don't get the whole 'being offended by being called a sufferer' thing. I have depression, it makes my life hell sometimes. The definition of suffer includes 'to be affected by or subject to (an illness or ailment)' so surely it is correct?
I'm not offended by anyone saying I suffer from depression.

Depression is an illness, which is a fact. Humans can and do get ill, another fact, so how is stating this plagiarism, don't get it.

'Sufferers' is generally considered bad form because it defines people by a health condition or disability and makes assumptions about their experience that may not be shared by all individuals all of the time. It can be patronising. If someone with X or Y chooses to use the word, that's quite different.

Please don't plagiarise. You will be caught out. Write your own conclusion in your own words, referencing anyone whose work you are relying on.

It's plagiarism because she's planning to take a paragraph that someone else has written, change a few words and claim that it is her own sweetestcup

But surely it only defines the person with the condition if they are constantly described by that condition...I could equally be defined if I was always described as 'MrsHB has depression' I don't think the word sufferer has anything to do with it. Or am I missing something?

Sufferers is fine. Depression is not a disability, it is a disease/condition and therefore people who have it suffer.

I suffer from bipolar and anorexia and am certainly not offended by the terminology because it's true - they're a pain in the arse!

I can tell you that when I am going through a bout of depression I am definitely suffering!

When I am not going through a bout of depression (ie most of the time) I feel completely normal.

Saying 'sufferer from depression' makes it sound like a chronic condition you live with all the time, like diabetes.

You could put it in as a quotation then reference it.

turnitin is a great piece of software (I'm a Qualifications administrator, much experience using it from the "other" side) and it is very difficult to fool.

Ie. If you are plagiarising then it will catch you. Even if you change a few words around.
The solution? Write your own work.

"Sufferers" of depression doesn't seem offensive to me, perhaps because it is precisely the quality of the experience of depression that is the essence of the condition, and the quality of that experience is that it is negative, awful, suffered.

For a lot of other conditions, the essence of the condition is something other than an experience or state of mind. The essence of, say, paraplegia is paralysis of the lower body, and it isn't proper or accurate to equate that with any particular negative experience of state of mind. Individuals will vary in how they feel about their condition.

YABU about the plagiarism, though.

If there was ever a time when it was appropriate to use the term 'suffering', then it's about depression.