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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Not to share my exam revision notes

181 replies

Fundayout · 03/03/2023 18:49

A group of us work colleagues are sitting an exam in the summer. I’ve worked hard to go through past papers and write up the questions and answers so I’ve got them to refer back to.
The pack is about 15 sides of A4 so it’s taken a while.
Colleagues saw me printing them off and asked for copies to give to the others too! I laughed and said I might but I felt really annoyed by it. It’s taken me hours and hours to collate this information and they’ll just have that side to work through without doing anything!

AIBU or should I let them all have a copy too? No skin off my nose if they all pass etc .

OP posts:
Hoistupthemainsail · 04/03/2023 08:15

I would just say they would be useless to others as they are in your shorthand.

Aprilx · 04/03/2023 08:17

I would not want to share my notes, but then I also wouldn’t be printing them off and waving them around the office either. I would print them at home, well actually I do hand written notes so I wouldn’t be doing that either.

I guess if I were less discrete and somebody asked, I’d be annoyed but I would let them take a copy. I would be thinking that they aren’t going to get much value out of my notes anyway as writing the notes was the revision. My revision involves condensing course work into notes and then later on I condense the notes onto record cards, they would be even less useful for somebody else.

FabFitFifties · 04/03/2023 08:23

Act coy and embarrassed that they really aren't very good :you'd be mortified if people failed due to your mistakes etc

borntobequiet · 04/03/2023 08:23

Say no and tell them to do their own work. That they could even ask shows they haven’t a clue about the amount of effort involved, or they do and don’t care, which is worse.

TheNoodlesIncident · 04/03/2023 08:26

"Oh good idea! If we pool our resources we'll all benefit. Bring yours in, and if Sharon and Tracy bring theirs too we'll have plenty to go on!"

Expecting one colleague to do all the legwork is cheeky. Expecting to all help each other out is not. It works better if everyone pulls together, not everyone relying on one person's hours of graft.

YetAnotherSpartacus · 04/03/2023 08:28

It's not plagiarism exactly (although sharing work can be seen as facilitating plagiarism) but it can be seen as collusion and as an integrity matter.

Selling notes can be seen as a form of commercial plagiarism.

I would not share on the above grounds and in the OP's shoes I'd be checking the fine print on the exam instructions and conditions fairly carefully.

Tinypetunia · 04/03/2023 08:30

Clarinet1 · 03/03/2023 19:15

I’m not going to say whether you should or shouldn’t give the other people the notes but I think the point is that, by working through the past papers to prepare them, you will actually have assimilated information which will help
you do well in the exam. The fact that the have a copy in their hand/desk drawer/bag and may even stare lazily at it will not magically give them the tools to get a good mark!

This.

seekingasimplelife · 04/03/2023 08:47

BigWholeBean · 03/03/2023 21:11

Your success doesn’t depend on someone else’s failure. Share the notes

It might well do, if there is a limited percentage pass rate, or grade allocation (the bell curved exam results).

IHaveaSetOfVeryParticularSkills · 04/03/2023 08:49

Ask for what they are offering in exchange.

I was always happy to share my stuff, but only if they offered something back. Wasn't about to carry the whole group through the whole process.

Augend23 · 04/03/2023 08:56

YetAnotherSpartacus · 04/03/2023 08:28

It's not plagiarism exactly (although sharing work can be seen as facilitating plagiarism) but it can be seen as collusion and as an integrity matter.

Selling notes can be seen as a form of commercial plagiarism.

I would not share on the above grounds and in the OP's shoes I'd be checking the fine print on the exam instructions and conditions fairly carefully.

How on earth is writing and sharing notes plagiarism any more than publishing a textbook? Or writing a revision guide?

SomePosters · 04/03/2023 09:14

I get consistently high grades and would happily share my notes.

The work that went into making the notes is the ‘true’ revision. Reading those notes may help boost a colleagues memory IF they have done the work but they don’t create a shortcut to your place of understanding

Id be happy to share as I know I’m coming out with great results anyway and I often feel a bit awkward about how easily I get high grades. If my work can help boost someone else’s grades some that’s great… I want everyone to do as well as they can.

doingitforyorkshire · 04/03/2023 09:17

Nimbostratus100 · 03/03/2023 19:12

you have got something that can help other people, to no cost to yourself - I don't get why you wouldn't. Surely that is the default, to help out your colleagues

Show quote history

No cost to yourself? What about the time, effort and dedication to make them, the sense of responsibility to prepare for an exam fully? You put in all that and just give it to someone else to make it easier for them? Why would you?

I mean, if they had done similar and wanted to compare notes, completely different as both would benefit from a different approach, set of notes, revision techniques etc, yes I get that that clearly could be very helpful, but not handing it to them on a plate.

You run the risk of them expecting this future, of you making it easier for them to rely on someone else to do the donkey work and expect it to happen.

I'm all for helping people, but not doing stuff for them. I like and respect people who put in the work op has, and I'll help anyone along that process to encourage them to do well but it's definitely a no to just giving it to them, it isn't a very attractive trait, especially in a professional environment. I like to see people wanting to develop themselves and take responsibility for themselves.

Dont make a rod for your own back op.

LuciferRising · 04/03/2023 09:40

Escapefromcolditz · 04/03/2023 08:00

I’d love to know if there’s any relationship between academic ability and the willingness to share notes!

I thankfully pass all exams and do well (have 3 more coming up this year. In newish sector), and I am very happy to help others succeed especially those more junior to me.

Nimbostratus100 · 04/03/2023 09:48

Escapefromcolditz · 04/03/2023 08:00

I’d love to know if there’s any relationship between academic ability and the willingness to share notes!

what do you want to know about my academic ability? I have 3 degrees, and a track record of research in genetics and virology before becoming a teacher.

I would never not willingly share anything that would help out a colleague.

Oblomov23 · 04/03/2023 09:54

"no cost to yourself". I disagree. By giving it to them, they could do well in the exam, for free, no effort put in by them.
Most exams, not all, but most you are competing against the other people sitting.
Why would you want someone to do better than you, by your service.

YetAnotherSpartacus · 04/03/2023 10:06

How on earth is writing and sharing notes plagiarism any more than publishing a textbook? Or writing a revision guide?

It's a grey area but if there are a number of very similar or identical answers then it may raise suspicions and it certainly will if a number of papers share the same mistake. If not plagiarism exactly it raises questions about cheating, gaining an unfair advantage and academic integrity. The person sharing the notes is at risk of being found to have enabled cheating. And if the notes are sold then it could be contract cheating which is a whole other legal issue.

www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=7031538

CovertImage · 04/03/2023 10:12

A lot of people are defending this saying that helping other people do better doesn't affect your own success but surely people passing an exam - assuming they otherwise wouldn't - devalues the exam.

Nimbostratus100 · 04/03/2023 10:14

YetAnotherSpartacus · 04/03/2023 10:06

How on earth is writing and sharing notes plagiarism any more than publishing a textbook? Or writing a revision guide?

It's a grey area but if there are a number of very similar or identical answers then it may raise suspicions and it certainly will if a number of papers share the same mistake. If not plagiarism exactly it raises questions about cheating, gaining an unfair advantage and academic integrity. The person sharing the notes is at risk of being found to have enabled cheating. And if the notes are sold then it could be contract cheating which is a whole other legal issue.

www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=7031538

sharing note is NOT plagiarism!

Nimbostratus100 · 04/03/2023 10:15

CovertImage · 04/03/2023 10:12

A lot of people are defending this saying that helping other people do better doesn't affect your own success but surely people passing an exam - assuming they otherwise wouldn't - devalues the exam.

nonsense, they still have to learn and understand and work towards it, the OP would just be giving them a bit of a boost to help out with that process

moreafayenow · 04/03/2023 10:16

How weird. Just let them have a copy of the notes and say you all owe me a lunch/nice coffee trip Wink

Why would you be so stingy? Doesn't hurt you at all. If it's a work based exam, in most non medical or legal professions, the pass rate is the pass rate regardless of what everyone else gets on the day

user15297345 · 04/03/2023 10:19

I'd happily share mine. You benefit more from making notes than reading someone else's. I'd ask that in return they share any additions or corrections they think are needed, or organise a revision session?

I don't understand why some people are so reluctant to help others. At my work we help each other do applications, papers, etc and share our own examples. It's a far happier place to work than under a previous manager when we were constantly trying to get one up on each other.

YetAnotherSpartacus · 04/03/2023 10:21

sharing note is NOT plagiarism!

Are you an academic? Where I teach, as said, it is a grey area - and it's not just about plagiarism per se, it is about enabling it, enabling cheating and can be seen as an integrity issue.

Personally, I'd not risk a bunch of people using my notes to potentially write very similar papers to mine.

YetAnotherSpartacus · 04/03/2023 10:22

I realise this is a professional exam which is why I advised the OP to check the guidelines very carefully.

LuciferRising · 04/03/2023 10:27

CovertImage · 04/03/2023 10:12

A lot of people are defending this saying that helping other people do better doesn't affect your own success but surely people passing an exam - assuming they otherwise wouldn't - devalues the exam.

People will not pass exams simply by receiving notes. You need to read and understand the material. Sharing notes gives people insight into what you are looking at and gives them a kick start into revising. When I make notes I discount all the information I know and make them on what I do not know. This will differ from person to person.

Revising and passing exams is a skill. Some people struggle with it. Just like interviews.

Regarding the past exam papers, I'd likely send links to where I found them. I would only have made notes on questions that I would need to, not all of them. If they wanted to catch up and go over the material I would be more than happy because it cements my understanding.

Sharing notes will not give people the ability to pass exams unless they put in the work.

Magenta82 · 04/03/2023 10:29

To me it depends on whether you made the notes in your own time or work time.

If you made them in your own time they are yours and there is no reason to share, the other people can make their own notes.

If you created them in work time you probably should share as you were paid to produce them. You got the benefits of going through the papers, the notes are secondary to this