Plagiarism: A Very Serious Offense
Plagiarism is a very serious subject to talk about. It doesn’t sound like it is that big of a deal but very serious things can come out of it. Students could lose scholarships and get kicked out of school for something as simple as copying someone else’s work. Students should learn the rules and regulations of the school ,that they are attending, about plagiarism.[1] That’s basically what plagiarism is; copying someone else’s work.
The true definition of plagiarism is “Using someone else’s ideas or phrasing and representing those ideas or phrasing as our own, either on purpose or through carelessness.”[2] There are many different ways of remedying this problem.
One way to fix this situation is to paraphrase and that is to really put the information that one may obtain into his or her own words. This way can be a double-edged sword, so to speak. Putting someone else’s ideas into your own words can be very tricky, because if one follows the original material to closely it is considered plagiarism. Only if the paraphrase correctly says the same thing as the original in the student’s own words is the paraphrase not thought to be plagiarism.
Another way to correct plagiarism is to quote and give credit where credit is due. If the student takes someone’s own words and uses them in a paper he or she better put quotation marks around the quote and disclose to whom the quote belonged to.
The last thing a student can do to avoid plagiarism is to check over their paraphrasing and quoting to make sure that they haven’t missed anything that may make their paper violate the plagiarism rule. Always cite sources used to gather information and sources used to incorporate graphs, tables, and etc. into the paper.
There are many reasons why students choose to plagiarize. These students in general are students that seem to procrastinate or do the easiest thing possible which is to just copy something from someone who has already done their research on the subject.
What is the true meaning of censorship? “Censorship is the suppression of speech or other public communication which may be considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, politically incorrect or inconvenient as determined by a government, media outlet or other controlling body” (wikipedia.org). It is basically the control over how much unpolished information is let out into society, to protect it from the negative effects of the information stated in the rough version.
Hugo, Victor. Les Miserables. Comp. Lee Fahnestock and Norman MacAfee. Trans. Wilbour, C.E. Only Complete and Unabridged Paperback Editon ed. New York, New York: Signet Classics, 1987. Print.
Procedure of research conducted in early semesters whereas 35 students followed a pretest to identify their knowledge about plagiarism. The participants completed paraphrasing assignment continuously in over the next 6 weeks with 100 to 125 words in each assignment and they were provided a citation in APA style right after the post test. This ended by the post test which was done immediately after they finished with their six-week practice.
The most effective way to ensure the freedom of the media system is one in which the media have the ability to make careful decisions alone.
Seale, C., Anderson, E., & Kinnersley, P. (2005). Comparison of GP and nurse practitioner consultations: an observational study. British Journal of General Practice, 55(521), 938-943.
The contentious debate about our healthcare system is an epitome of the ongoing political circus in America. With the 2012 elections looming just around the corner, we can expect the vitriol to rise rapidly. Our country spends twice as much on health care per capita compared to other developed countries. The current system is so dysfunctional and projected spending will increase every year, putting an unbelievable strain to our fragile economy. Majority of health care dollars spending are channeled on to patients with chronic illnesses, many of which can be prevented. Unfortunately, medical doctors practicing preventive care are being squeezed out of the equation. The shortage of primary care doctors in America is inevitable because of limited income, lesser prestige, and fewer opportunities.
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.
Plagiarism is stealing, cheating and just plain wrong. When you think of plagiarism, you probably just think of someone copying and pasting information from the Internet. But did you know that people can also plagiarize songs and not just information from the internet? Take Justin Bieber for example. He was sued back in 2013 for $10 million for copyright infringement. He supposedly stole lyrics from "two Virginia songwriters who claim that Bieber's song "Somebody to Love" contains numerous lyrical and stylistic similarities to the song they wrote in 2008 by the same name." (NY Daily News. Justin Bieber, Usher sued for $10 million for copyright infringement. February 06, 2014.)
In order to properly learn more about plagiarism, it is important to appreciate the process of distribution and creation of ideas in the university. All knowledge is developed from preceding knowledge. As we read, revise, execute, research, and collect perspectives, we are building on other people’s thoughts. While drawing on other peoples thoughts and ideas, we manage to develop our own. In this base therefore, students should not shy away from using the work of others. Instead, they should learn how to avoid plagiarism.
Gossard, Julia. “Les Misérables: A Historian’s Review.” The Alcade RSS. N.p, 16 Jan. 2013. Web. 07 Apr. 2014.
Plagiarism takes various forms. A student may cheat doing something as extreme as purchasing a paper, hiring someone to write a paper or turning in a paper freely provided by a friend. Many students unknowingly commit Plagiarism by failing to properly cite their sources crediting the authors. Still others cite, but plagiarize by coping much too much and writing far, far too little of their own synthesized thoughts and ideas. Students must be careful about copying too much. If a paper is mostly other writers’ material, that can be considered Plagiarism, even if the student credits their sources.
Censorship has been used by governments and influential groups throughout history as a tool for political and economic gain since ancient times. The Romans thought censorship was necessary to shape the morals of society to match up with government ideals. During the 1500's the Catholic Church banned certain texts that conflicted with the established religion from being read. In these times the idea of censorship was viewed differently that it is today. With powerful organizations limiting information it was often impossible for an average person to obtain literature or hear ideas that vary from state ideals, they probably didn't even know that their information was being censored. We live in a different age today, information is more readily available and censorship is often looked at as a negative practice that limits freedoms. That said, it still exists today and can be viewed as an obstacle to true democracy.
Since the foundation of the United States after a harsh split from Britain, almost 200 years later, an issue that could claim the founding grounds for the country is now being challenged by educators, high-ranking officials, and other countries. Though it is being challenged, many libertarians, democrats, and free-speech thinkers hold the claim that censorship violates our so-called unalienable rights, as it has been proven throughout many court cases. Censorship in the United States is detrimental because it has drastically and negatively altered many significant events.
Plagiarism is a very serious issue because it can affect the learning of many students. For example teachers and principals in an academic institute are very strict towards this matter so, it can lead to many consequences such as suspension, failure or even the risk of being expelled from a school and possibly even a school board. To avoid these consequences it is important to avoid plagiarizing, which can be a very hard thing to do for people who consistently rely on someone else’s work. There are many different ways to avoid plagiarism such as, making sure what the source is trying to say in order to fulfill the task assigned.
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.