Can you use the same research paper for two different classes?

I have a research paper due for both Eng. Comp. and for Biology, would there be anything ethically wrong with submitting the same research paper for both classes?

Can you use the same research paper for two different classes?
Yes, there is definitely something ethically wrong with that practice. Most universities consider this academic dishonesty, and you could be taken to student judicial proceedings if you are caught.





Each professor is asking for a specific assignment, and expecting you to complete OTHER, DIFFERENT assignments for other classes. You would, in simple terms, be plagiarizing yourself if you submitted the same paper twice.





If you are completely determined to submit the same paper for two different courses, you MUST ask your professors if they will accept this. They will probably say no, and explain why.
Reply:ethically, yes.


your english teacher would spot it in a minute. trust me.


two different disciplines would have very different ways of wording a paper.
Reply:Not just ethically wrong, it's technically a legal problem as well. You cannot (by most university standards) submit the same paper twice without the consent of BOTH instructors. Otherwise this is considered a form of plagiarism, and is often treated with the same degree of severity in front of a university judicial panel.
Reply:Well, yes. You were given two assignments and you should do two research papers. Can't quite understand how a biology research paper would qualify as an English composition research paper. That's a pretty huge stretch.


And it could be a real complication if your two profs ever found out.....
Reply:I don't think it would be unethical to use the paper as a base from which to rework a new paper. Professors do this all the time in their own work for conferences, publishing, and book writing. They don't develope new content at every corner. Papers are often read as lectures for years before being turned into books.
Reply:It happens all the time - its not the most ethical thing in the world to do, but its relatively common. Where you might run into trouble would be if you used the same paper in say, two history classes. Faculty in most departments routinely pass around lists of research papers that have been submitted to see if there are any duplications. If so, the person usually winds up failing both courses. And really, are you learning anything by just making a copy of a paper? That's the purpose of doing a research paper - to learn about a specific topic and you aren't doing that if you submit the same paper in two classes. Even if you don't get caught, you're cheating yourself.
Reply:Yes. Teachers will frown upon teh duplication of one paper for two courses. They fiew their course as the most important, and feel that if you submit one paper for both courses you are not treating the courses wtih equal imporatncve, which is a huge ego blow to the theacher. you can use the same research, but rewrite the focus of the paper to address the subject matter.