I'm having students grade worksheets from another class. We get to number 15 that asks, "explain how an artist creates the illusion of three-dimensional form on a two-dimensional surface."
"The answer," I say, "is shading and using value changes." I then read what a lot of students copy directly from the book and explain that they are to mark the question 1/2 off if the paper they are grading copies directly from the book.
"Wait," says Brian. "Could you read that again?"
"Can't you just tell by reading it that it's coming straight out of the book?" I ask him.
"No."
"Really? You can't tell by reading it that it wasn't a kid that said it?"
"No, I know some kids that actually talk like this."
"Like what? Read it to me."
"Ok...wait." He looks down at his paper and then back up. "What number are we on?"