Plagiarism; noun, the practice of taking someone else's work and passing it off as one's own. (Merriam-Webster) When viewed simply as a definition in a dictionary plagiarism seems very black and white. However, is this really the case? Is it so easy to look at something and say with one hundred percent certainty that it is or is not completely original? Certainly as time goes on less and less things can be truly original as the chances of someone else having the same idea increases exponentially. Why are some things that adhere to the very definition above still not considered plagiarism? Is plagiarism truly a book definition or is it really a matter of perception? One thing is certain; plagiarism is on the rise. With the rise of technology and the age of information upon us it is easier than ever to pull ideas from every corner of the world and every epoch of our species. Confucious is only a click away and Van Gogh is in reach of a Google search. No more time consuming trips to the local library, head scratching at the Dewie Decimal System. An iPad and a few minutes of time takes the place of a full time research team. Sometimes however, the temptation might become too much and an overloaded student may decide to save some time and use a segment here and there from the words of another. Access to material such as this is certainly easier to obtain than ever before and students claim to do it anonymously for a variety of reasons. Some feel overburdened and need a break while others feel they cannot compete with the quality of work they see online and feel the need to plagiarise. Many others however claim that most of the time the plagiarism is not intentional at all. It is a documented fact that the human brain retains much ... ... middle of paper ... ... has an assignment where students are asked to plagiarise in order to familiarise them on what is and is not considered as such. Professors think that a fresh approach may be what helps the students put a strict definition on what is and is not considered plagiarism. What can be done to stop this rise in plagiarism? If someone profits from the work of another should they be fined and made to pay the owner? Should a system similar to the US patent system be put into place to protect the work of others? Are all cases of plagiarism truly criminal or should the scope of what is considered theft be narrowed? Increased awareness and education techniques would go a long way to aid students in coming up with original work and to cite work that is used from others. When it comes down to it plagiarism is not as easy to define as the dictionary would suggest after all.
The better educated you are, the better off you are socially, and economically. Having a degree is, in general, a good indicator of your level of education. To get it some students study very hard. Others, on the contrary, prefer to take some shortcuts that seem to be easier for them. Those, not so much interested in acquiring a solid education, simply want to plagiarize to pass their classes, to get that degree. Plagiarism spreads out through any level of our education system. It even extends beyond that limit to reach almost any aspect of our society. With the internet revolution, this problem becomes more acute. “The web has provided global access to an unfathomable cornucopia of term papers, essays, and other scholarly works, right there out in the open for purchase or outright theft” (Simonson, Smaldino, & Zvacek, 2015, p. 160). This paper will discuss the different types of plagiarism. Before getting deeper into that discussion, we will start by explaining the word plagiarism.
Plagiarism is the copying of another individual’s writings and ideas. Plagiarism is an idea that has been constructed by society. It revolves around society’s ideas of intellectual and private property. It is considered to be a form of cheating. Often times in elementary schools and high schools, plagiarism is discussed as bad but is not actually prevented. Teachers often do not detect plagiarism and even when they do, sometimes it is ignored. The student is then rewarded with a good grade, ingraining within the student that it is acceptable to plagiarize. Plagiarism affects the ways an individual develops as a person and as a writer.
They show their view of plagiarism clearly in their documents through the use of terms such as “without hesitation” and “will not be tolerated” (Student code of conduct and discipline, 2015, p. 6; 9. Academic Honesty, n.d.). Many college students try to find out the ways how to avoid being accused of committing a serious academic offence as much as they can. Putting their own name on someone else’s works and getting good grades, some of them might succeed cleverly, but it is nothing but dishonesty. Both colleges warn students the consequences of plagiarism strongly, saying it can bring negative
Estow, Sarah, Eva K. Lawrence, and Kathrynn A. Adams. "Practice Makes Perfect: Improving Students' Skills in Understanding and Avoiding Plagiarism with a Themed Methods Course." ERIK, 2012: 4.
Plagiarism is the use of words or ideas of another person as if they were your own words or ideas (Merriam-Webster). Many colleges find plagiarism unacceptable and if caught, it usually results in being kicked out of that school. Plagiarism can be used on a number of things, including essays, newspapers, and magazine articles.
We need to find a way to work together and support students from all aspects. We need to value teachers and respect them. We need to stop seeing test scores as the only means to judge how well a student is doing. We need to ban the companies that provide the writers who write for a fee. Instead get back to the basics of guiding students to be the creative and capable thinkers that the future will require. For the majority of students, I am sure that they would write their own papers if they knew how to. Let’s even educate parents so that they can help stop the rapidly growing instances of plagiarism starting as early as elementary school. Teaching children at an early age to think for their selves try their hardest and do their own works would solve a lot of the problems around plagiarism.
Plagiarism is a serious crime that most don’t understand. Stealing others work or ideas as your own is plagiarism and a form of academic dishonesty. To avoid plagiarism you must ALWAYS credit your source. How are we protected from plagiarism? The Copyright Act of 1970 protects those ideas and work from others stealing it. There is four types of plagiarism that I have found in my research which include direct plagiarism, self-plagiarism, mosaic plagiarism, and accidental plagiarism. Direct plagiarism occurs when a student/ person uses word for word work without attribution or quotation marks. Attribution is giving credit to the author or artist. Self-Plagiarism is when someone uses his/her previous work as new work. This includes old work with
Of course, there has been an effort to fight against plagiarism with the help of software that checked the content of a person's term paper, but it is the want to commit even the act is the exact problem. It is unclear how the Internet is shaping students perception of what is fair use of texts that made available to
Disciplinary action in regards to plagiarism is so infrequently taken, especially at the college level, that plagiarism isnt being taken too seriously. There are some universities, however, that are taking it seriously, and immediate action has taken place. On the whole, plagiarism is a serious offense, and steps need to be taken in order to control the use of the information on the Internet. When it comes to the Internet, plagiarism is high among high school and college students for a number of reasons. For starters, the Internet is a relatively new phenomenon, only in the past ten to fifteen years have we been using it for research.
If the wording is too similar, rewrite the information in a different way (Differences Between Paraphrasing & Plagiarism).” When doing research papers or assignments, students should be more aware of the difference between the two. In conclusion, students plagiarize for many reasons but the key motives would have to be laziness and procrastination, fear of responsibility and failure, and not knowing the difference between paraphrasing and plagiarism. Students must stop taking the easy way out and practice hard work.
Plagiarism, or the unaccredited use of another's work or ideas, has become more and more of a problem in recent times than it was in the past. According to statistics found in a survey conducted by the Free Press, 58% of high school students let someone copy their work in 1969, but by 1989 this number had risen to 97%. The expansion of the World Wide Web and the number of people accessing the Web on a regular basis has caused an epidemic of plagiarism in this country, especially among students. This is a serious problem that must be addressed because many students feel that if they are not getting in trouble for cheating, than it is okay.
Plagiarism is a very serious topic to be dealt with, due to the fact that it can damage one’s future very severely. It is done often by students in high school and other institutes such as universities and colleges. People plagiarize intentionally and sometimes even unintentionally. The people who plagiarize intentionally are people who don’t really care about their future and career. The people who plagiarize unintentionally are people who do not cite their work properly and completely. Most people that plagiarize do not get a good mark and most likely have to face consequences such as failure, suspension or the chance of being expelled. In conclusion it is believed that one should not put his/her future at risk and try to expand their mind through the process of critical thinking independently, so they do not have to make the mistake of plagiarizing.
As students of high school and college, and even in the professional world, we are asked to research and write on subjects that are seen to be important. The research that we are asked to do, has been done many times in the past, which means people are bound to use others’ ideas and words with no recognition, sometimes without even knowing it. This leads to plagiarism, which is something many people have heard of, but never learned the true definition and the harm it can create. Schools and society need to be more proactive in explaining what plagiarism is, how to write correctly in order to prevent it, and teach the consequences plagiarism has.
Plagiarism and Copyright Infringement are two terms that mean different things yet are routinely mentioned as synonyms for each other. This is not the case. The underlying reasoning for people who choose to plagiarize and infringe on copyrights involve some of the same ethics and morals, but from a legal standpoint these terms mean different things. This paper will point out the similarities and differences between the two terms. It will first give some meaning and perspective behind each term then it will go into the details of what each term means. It will point out the types of plagiarism that routinely show in academia and what is covered under Copyright law protection. It will go on to compare and contrast the two concepts.
Plagiarism is a serious offense and a growing trend in our society today. Some may associate plagiarism with the idea of taking someone else’s writing and making it their own. In fact plagiarism involves anything that is copied or taken and said to be of your own work. Dictionary.com defines plagiarism as “the unauthorized use or close imitation of the language and thoughts of another author and the representation of them as one's own original work, as by not crediting the author”. In fact this definition covers all types of cheating and misrepresentation of ones own work. There are many numbers and statistics that can be found on the amount of individuals that have admitted to cheating. Perhaps the most astounding number is one that was reported by Moeck in 2002 aloft of 40% of higher education students commit academic dishonesty. This number I’m sure has grown since this report and will continue to grow with the development of the Internet. There are a number of ideas and strategies that can be employed in order to stop this ever-growing phenomenon. As teachers and adults, we are responsible for stopping this trend and educating students about the consequences and dangers of plagiarism. I believe there are a variety of reasons individuals plagiarize. First, students are insecure with their own ability; they don’t believe they can do the work therefore they take others. Second, students believe they can get away with the act because they know others who have plagiarized, and there were not any consequences. Lastly, students are uneducated on what plagiarism is and do not know the consequences of their actions if they commit an act. These ideas will be the focus of the position taken on plagiarism in today’s academic society.