Introduction Cheating has seemingly become an everyday phenomenon in exam situations at most of Hungarian universities. Almost every student prepares for the examinations making handy little bits of paper, contemplating on where to sit and, during the exam itself, the most sophisticated even use their mobile phones to surmount the numerous gaps in their knowledge. Day after day in the exam period stories such as the following circulate in the corridors of the School of English and American Studies, as well as other faculties of ELTE and other universities in our country. It may seem surprising, but the story is not fiction, in fact, a student at ELTE told it to HVG last year. 'I always elaborate on all the possible topics at home and write them down on A/4 sheets of paper. My special 'examination suit' has an A/4 size pocket. I always put the sheets into it, and, at the examination I wait until the topic of the essay is given out, then pick the right sheet in my pocket, and h!
             and that one in.' 2.1. Research Questions Is cheating really such an everyday phenomenon as it appears to be? Is cheating so easy to manage? What about morals? 3.1. Theoretical Background Brown, Earlam and Race reported in their practical handbook for teachers that 'Sitting written exams is one of the most stressful parts of life for many pupils' (p. 44). The book also suggests that if candidates get away with cheating, it is going to be regarded as the teacher's fault. Most teachers feel uncomfortable when encountering cheating and they do not think it is their task to prevent pupils from doing it. At least, they try to minimise the possibilities by telling students to leave their bags someplace far from the desks, and before starting the exam they are reminded to double check that they have nothing on their person that could be interpreted as a crib (Brown, Earlam & Race, 1995, p. 44). But there are always a few who take...