17 Class Projects That Everyone Cheated On
Here's a roundup of the school assignments where cutting corners was practically a tradition.
- Chris Graciano
- 4 min read
Some projects were less about learning and more about finding the quickest way to finish. From science boards filled with copy-paste facts to history reports lifted straight from the internet, cheating was the unspoken rule. Here are 17 class projects that nearly every student found a shortcut for at some point.
1. The State History Report
Mikhail Nilov on Pexels
Instead of digging through books, most kids copied summaries straight from encyclopedias or later, Wikipedia. Teachers expected detailed research, but what they got was recycled information. Everyone knew the real effort went into formatting rather than writing.
2. The Family Tree Project
LaeNera on DeviantArt
Supposed to teach genealogy, it often turned into a guessing game for most students. Kids stretched details, added made-up ancestors, or begged parents to fill in the blanks. By the end, accuracy mattered less than presentation.
3. The “Famous Inventor” Poster
Mark Mathosian on Flickr
With the internet, pulling ready-made timelines and photos was almost too easy. Students pasted images without reading the captions, yet still earned passing grades. It became a copy-and-paste tradition for generations.
4. The Volcano Science Fair Project
Judy Baxter on Flickr
Baking soda and vinegar were all anyone needed, and most kids never built their own model. Parents or older siblings often stepped in, turning it into a recycled family project. Judges had seen the same eruption a thousand times.
5. The Book Report
Kaboompics.com on Pexels
CliffsNotes, SparkNotes, or later online summaries saved the day for the majority of the class. Few students actually read the full book, yet still managed to sound convincing. Teachers often knew, but grading every detail wasn’t realistic.
6. The Poster About an Animal
Chris Wallace on Pinterval
Choosing an exotic animal seemed fun until research was due. Most kids would simply print out a picture, add a few random facts about the animal, and call it a day. The flashy photo was often marred by a lack of depth.
7. The Biography Presentation
Herlambang Tinasih Gusti on Unsplash
Standing in front of the class to talk about a historical figure was nerve-wracking. Instead of original work, many simply rephrased what they found online. Half the time, presentations sounded identical because everyone used the same source.
8. The Solar System Model
Brad Beck on Flickr
Foam balls and coat hangers made up most projects, often store-bought kits rather than handmade. Planets were painted the night before, usually with missing details. Few models survived the trip to school without falling apart.
9. The Country Report
Pavel Danilyuk on Pexels
Assigned in middle school, this project became a cut-and-paste fest of facts from online travel guides. Photos of flags and landmarks were glued on without much explanation. Teachers rarely expected more than surface-level info anyway.
10. The Science Board “Experiment”
RDNE Stock project on Pexels
The experiment was rarely original; students recycled the same “does sunlight help plants grow?” type of projects. Results were often fabricated to match the hypothesis. The flashy tri-fold board did most of the heavy lifting.
11. The Poetry Anthology
RDNE Stock project on Pexels
Collecting poems for a class binder usually meant pulling random works off the internet. Some even swapped pages with friends instead of finding their own. Teachers praised effort, but everyone knew it was the easiest project to fake.
12. The Current Events Scrapbook
charan sai on Pexels
Supposed to show awareness of the news, most students just cut out articles they barely read. Glue and scissors did the job faster than understanding the content. It looked polished, but few actually knew what was in it.
13. The “Famous American” Essay
Andrea Piacquadio on Pexels
Every year, someone picked Abraham Lincoln or Martin Luther King Jr. and pulled straight from pre-written biographies. Teachers heard the same facts repeatedly, often word-for-word. Originality was rare, but grades still rolled in.
14. The Plant Growth Journal
Anna Shvets on Pexels
Rather than watering seeds daily, many kids “estimated” results. Some even borrowed data from classmates instead of doing their own work. The final chart looked neat, but the plants were usually dead by the time deadlines came around.
15. The Art Appreciation Report
Ron Lach on Pexels
Assigned to teach culture and elegance, this project ended with students copying descriptions from museum websites. A single paragraph of copied text would often pass as deep analysis. Teachers graded the effort, not the insight.
16. The Career Day Presentation
COD Newsroom on Flickr
Choosing a future job was easy; actually researching it was not. Many kids recycled slides from older siblings or Googled quick salary numbers. Presentations looked polished but had little thought behind them.
17. The Recycling Poster Contest
SuSanA Secretariat on Wikimedia Commons
Almost every school hosted one, but most students simply traced or copied clipart. “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle” appeared in bold letters, and that was enough. Few posters were original, but everyone walked away with credit.