More students cheating on university applications

Key

Question 1

a) True. Almost a third of applicants failed to get on to degree courses last year. Demand for places is expected to be even more fierce in 2011, with some 583,500 people submitting applications by the end of January – a rise of more than five per cent.

b) False. The Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (Ucas) has been employing Copycatch – for several years.

c) False. When it was first employed in 2007, it found cheating in five per cent of applications. .. latest figures show the proportion of personal statements containing plagiarism increased by around a third to 3.85 per cent in 2010

d) False. 275 started applications with the line “Nursing is a very challenging and demanding career”,

Question 2

a) A personal statement is part of the application process for students in the UK who want to go to university. They have to explain in writing why they wish to study for a particular degree. In their statement, candidates have to try to show that they are different from the rest but it should be their own work.

b) UCAS uses a computer programme which is capable of contrasting the content of personal statements with published documents.

Question 3

a) quote b) attempt/attempting c) awareness

Question 4

a) Personal statements for design courses from 189 candidates attempting to study design courses started with a quote from Coco Chanel.

b) Due to a rise of more than five per cent in people submitting applications by the end of January, the demand for places is expected to be even fiercer in 2011,

c) A Ucas spokesman said that the personal statement was one of the most important parts of the online application process and that it gave applicants the chance to stand out from the crowd, which was why it should be /should have been an individual, and personal, piece of work.