Not to share my exam revision notes

[Fundayout]

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 .

This is just ridiculous - sharing notes is not plagiarism! Sharing a text book is not plagiarism! Going to the same lesson is not plagiarism! Revising together is not plagiarism! testing each other is not plagiarism! watching the same video is not plagiarism! Using the same practice questions is not plagiarism!

any of these could result in people giving similarly worded answers in an exam

Not a grey area at all -

Bloody cheek. They should have done their own.

Some people on here are either mugs, or the cheeky fucker sort of people who would ask for someone's notes.

No. You give them nothing. You've put the work in. They can also put the work in.

On what planet is it the OPs job to help her colleagues in this scenario?

I can't believe how mean and stingy people are- you have something that would help your colleagues, it is of no loss or cost to you to share it-

in my world, it is a no brainer -

You sound like you have a bit of a guilty conscience Nimbo!

In what way?

Very grateful to be in the sector I am in after reading some of these replies.

My exam notes would be pointless to share with others, they’d make no sense to anyone else but me.

Colleague sounds lazy and unprepared.

@Nimbostratus100

"is of no loss or cost to you to share it".

But it is. Why give your notes to someone, you are competition with. You are competing against them. If they then get a mark that means you then drop down a grade because the marking boundaries change, that would be a direct cost to you.

unless there are only 10 people in the world taking this exam, then this really isnt a consideration

Because it’s nice to be nice and it makes absolutely bigger all difference to her.

why choose to hoard them when you could generous at no cost?

Only if the exam is competitively marked. Most professional exams aren’t they have a pretty straightforward cut off

I would just say you haven’t proof read and checked them, therefore it is a basic draft form that you’re working from and alot is in shorthand that wouldn’t make sense to anyone else.

I wouldn’t want to give anyone information that was factually incorrect, and much of it was prepared quickly, so it would be better if they did their own revision notes.

As for sharing, I think its fine to co-operate with colleagues on actual work product,
but
This isn't work, its a professional exam that you take as individual. It's to show what the individual has learnt and how much effort they put into learning it.

So I don't think you should feel obliged to share your notes - they are not text book, they are only your unchecked opinion. as pp have said what if a colleague gets an exam answer wrong by misunderstanding your notes and blaming you.

Share the links to the papers by all means. Suggest you all get together to go over some of the exam questions informally and everyone would benefit.

No - you all run the risk of being accused of cheating (I.e. collusion).

Depends on your team dynamic I suppose. I would but I work with a great supportive team and everyone goes above and beyond for each other if they can so it’s all fairly reciprocal. I know at a later date they would do something that equally helps me out if needed.

I can appreciate not all colleagues are like that though.

Some of the A level students at DD's school will not share notes as they feel they are in competition with their peers, there are only a certain percentage of A grades etc, so they aren't going to do anything to benefit another student. It's frustrating as the teachers expect anyone who is absent through illness to catch up from a classmate's notes.
I can understand the OP not sharing if that is the case.

it wasn’t you specifically as an individual.

I was just wondering if people who find academic stuff easy and have good prep and exam technique might be more likely to share as they might feel like they have more control over their own outcomes so worry less about their potential losses from sharing.

Or if people who struggle terribly are more likely to share because they know what it’s like to need a bit of help and would willingly give it.

just gently musing on some unspoken whys of people’s responses.

Just tell them you use your own shorthand and have in jokes in the notes, so not suitable for sharing.

@Nimbostratus100

GCSE's and A'levels, which may affect most of MN as most of us are parents, are competitive.

"Grade boundaries are set at the end of the marking period, which means it’s only once all the papers have been marked that the awarding body will set the boundaries."

So yes, you are in competition with your peers. Re most school exams.

revising from the same notes isn't plagiarism

If all concerned put the wrong answer down, there certainly could be a suspicion raised that copying occurred. It may be that it was just the notes that caused them make the mistake but it could certainly raise questions.

How on earth are people taking exams now? Ours are online with a proctor or done at test centres where you can't copy. I haven't sat in a hall with others since university days decades ago.

Change a load of stuff then photocopy them. They'll either fail or figure it out after page 1 and secretly think you are going to fail!

This post shows you how many CF’s there are who think it ok to ask other people to do their work for them!