How to Avoid Plagiarism

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Plagiarism, conventionally defined as literary theft, is the stealing and replication of the original ideas of another person without requesting for consent or crediting the author of a recorded or authored work (Heath 4). It may take several forms, for example, presenting an idea as original even though it has been derived from an existing source, or even neglecting to put quotation marks when quoting a sentence from borrowed work. In as much as plagiarism is widely regarded as a bad practice, it is at times committed unintentionally. As a result, there is an anti-plagiarism policy in several academic institutions and heavy penalties are imposed on individuals involved in plagiarism. In my own view, failure to acknowledge or recognize the author of the original work is a dishonorable practice. Students who plagiarize published work are seen to be too lazy to do their own research work and properly grasp the concepts they are researching. Others are used to waiting till the last hour to start their work, increasing the chances of copying information. Most students perceive reading and research as a waste of time and consider some new information to be extremely difficult to understand (Heath 5). Teachers and lecturers who entertain plagiarism produce students with outstanding grades but very poor knowledge and understanding in their field of study (Bhanot, Fallows 173). Plagiarism normally makes an individual loose reliability and integrity in the eyes of the administration, hence getting leadership positions or institutional scholarships are out of the question. Plagiarism is seen as a severe contravention of normal scholarly conduct, necessitating colleges and universities in the US and UK to establish eit... ... middle of paper ... ... of the tools are commercialized while others are offered for free to researchers. 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. Works Cited Lin, Tan (2009). HEATH. Zasterle. Bhanot, Rakesh., Fallows, Stephen. Quality Issues in ICT-based Higher Education (SEDA Series) Routledge, 2005. Marsh, Bill. Plagiarism: Alchemy and Remedy in Higher Education. Albany, SUNY Press, 2007.

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