Plagiarism: A Serious Crime Plagiarism is a serious crime and should be treated seriously by anyone who chooses to plagiarize. Plagiarism should not be treated lightly and is something that needs to be thought about thoroughly before anyone decides that he or she wants to plagiarize. It is nothing needs to be ignored or brushed off like itðs nothing and the person can get away with it. People spend too much time thinking, writing, experimenting or working for someone to just think that they have the right to just come in and steal that personðs idea. Plagiarism is stealing. Stealing is taking someone elseðs things without them having knowledge that you are taking it and keeping it for yourself and telling people that it is yours. Plagiarism is the same thing. It is taking other peopleðs work and using it for you to receive credit. Shoplifters and thieves get prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, so why shouldnðt plagiarizers? Anyone that uses anyone elseðs work as his or her own and receives credit should be punished to the fullest extent of the law also. This is a crime too. You are stealing someoneðs work. People may not think that this is a serious crime because it is thought of to be just a book or an idea and how could this effect or hurt someone? But this is just as serious as stealing a car or a jacket from a store. You are hurting someone. You are hurting the person who spent their hard earned time thinking up an id...
“The plagiarists Tale” is an article about Quentin Rowan a man that went by the pen name Q. R. Markham. He wrote “assassin of secrets” a spy novel, after the publication of the novel James Bond fans found many similarities between the two. After further investigation results showed Quentin has plagiarized using many different novels as example. After word got out to the public the publishing company was infuriated and instantly took the novel off bookstore shelves. He said “I wish I could do it all over” he regretted everything he did. Quentin faced his consequences and is currently having a problem finding work.
Malesic mentions that a student committing plagiarism is “shameful” and “dishonest” (87). If a student plagiarized an author’s article then it is a disgrace. It is dishonest because the student is stealing someone else’s words and ideas. For example, once there was a student who was plagiarizing an author’s work on the Revolutionary War, and an honest student told the other that this was a shameful, idiotic decision. Whether a student feels guilty or not, plagiarizing is dishonest to him/herself the professor, and the author.
Plagiarism is defined as using others people’s ideas, writings, and quotes without giving credit to the author by citing the material in the paper. Plagiarism can come from copying many things including charts, graphs, text, and music. Even paraphrasing an author’s work without citing it can be considered plagiarism. Plagiarism certainly has been around long before the first research project was assigned. One of the most famous scientists Gregor Mendel had his work plagiarized by another scientist Hugo de Vries in the 19th century.[1] Mendel had come up with breakthroughs in genetics, but no one realized what he had accomplished. Later in the early 1900’s, de Vries published a paper with very similar to Medel’s work. It was not realized until a third scientist Carl Correns was doing some similar experiments and read the works of both Mendel and de Vries. In his paper, he gave credit to Mendel and discredited de Vries’ work.[2]
Simply defined, the word plagiarism means "the unauthorized use of the language and thoughts of another author and the representation of them as one's own" ("Plagiarism"). While many students understand and comprehend the first clause of this definition, many encounter problems with the second part - the thoughts part. Many students in today's educational system are frequently unable to develop their own thoughts, opinions, and ideas relating to the subject matter that they are studying. However, when people at a university are educated according to the ways set forth by John Henry Newman in "The Idea of a University," their ability to create original concepts would be cultivated to the point, where they do not feel the need to plagiarize and cheat. Newman also states that in the end, the university will produce citizens that can give back to society (48). Jeffrey Hart makes a similar point in "How to Get a College Education." Therefore, according to both Newman and Hart, an honest person will be fashioned by the university. Since honesty does not breed cheating, should not cheating then be minimized? Plagiarism and its sister cheating are plagues on society that only serve to corrupt it. Nevertheless, the education given by a university can diminish and, perhaps, even eradicate the disease by instilling in students, a sense of honor, and implementing harsh penalties on those caught cheating or plagiarizing.
When I think of plagiarism, I imagine a person literally stealing from another individual. The term plagiarism is derived from the Latin word plagi rius, which essentially represents the felony of kidnapping. An individual who kidnaps anothers work is a felon. Obviously, this form of larceny is not as immoral as the form for which one can be imprisoned; however, most educators and honest students view plagiarism in this manner. Within education I conceive that there are two kinds of plagiarism: copying a paper word-for-word and not providing the correct recognition to the original author when utilizing their composition. I believe that each situation of plagiarism should be considered serious enough to investigate in order to determine an appropriate consequence. If an individual is not clear on how to cite works properly within the context of an essay, then the omission should be determined non-intentional and, therefore, not subject to punishment. However, if someone deliberately duplicates somebody elses work, then he or she should be reprimanded. This form of pilfering usually occurs in the higher levels of education, as in high school or college.
All in all, plagiarism is bad and ethics are changed for the worse in the world today. It is time for the world to look at itself and see where its ethics are and if they are right or wrong. Change needs to be made and people need to reevaluate their ethics. If a change in ethics are made, then the world will become a better place.
When we have an idea or insight, rarely is it the first time it has ever occurred to an individual. Furthermore, what we learn through formal education, dialogue, and reading (for those who pay attention) becomes an integral part of our thought--we assimilate the ideas of others. Thus, what we may think and say is not necessarily of our own origin, but rather it is a conglomeration of the ideas of others in conjunction with our own native thoughts and understanding--such is human nature. However, there is a fundamental difference between this assimilation of idea and thought through socialization/education versus plagiarism. Plagiarism is defined, as the knowing act of stealing another's ideas and passing those ideas on as your own with the intent to deceive. It is theft of intellectual property which is owned and has value. Plagiarism is to steal and lie while assimilation is the process of educating the mind to gain knowledge from a vast variety of sources. Even though there is significant difference between the legal and moral dealings of plagiarism, there is overlap between the is and ought. Socrates and Confucius, we have read, would agree that assimilation is necessary for education and for being moral, but, as I will show, consider that plagiarism is immoral.
The impact of plagiarism can be a self-destructive for a student. On the other hand, plagiarism may cause an instructor to feel betrayed and disrespected by a student.
Most universities believe students should be expelled immediately due to the acts of plagiarism. But is it really safe to jump to such an extreme conclusion for an action that in most cases, require some sort of investigation or trial? For many years, universities have battled students on this particular subject. Plagiarism has levels that should be dealt with by first locating the cause, examining the evidence, and determining whether it was purposely planned or not. Students, just like their professors, sometimes make simple mistakes and no student should be immediately expelled for unobvious plagiarism. Immediate expulsion is unruly and unfair to students who actually work hard, but may lack the necessary knowledge to detect plagiarism.
One aspect of the creative industry that has remained the same throughout generations is the difficulty for artists to inject their work into popular culture. Utopian Plagiarism, Hypertextuality, and Electronic Cultural Production by Critical Art Ensemble (CAE) written in 1991 argues that “The Video revolution failed for two reasons – a lack of access and an absence of desire” (99) while artists from the documentary Press. Pause. Play. point out how easy access is to creative technology. The artists from PPP point out that it is much more difficult for good work to breakthrough into popular culture because there is so much of it. Comparing the arguments by CAE with the ideas in PPP reveals that artists breaking through into popular culture has always been difficult, but it is difficult today for different reasons than it used to be. For this reason, quality plagiarism is essential in the creative industry.
In the United States it is illegal for one to plagiarize the copyrighted work of another human being. Not only does plagiarism violate legal statutes, but it also infringes on longstanding morals and ethics.
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.
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.
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.
Today we face a serious problem which is Plagiarism and modern pirates. Plagiarism is the perform of occupying other’s ideas or work and showing the work off as one's own. The critical consequences of plagiarism of ideas and words are known by anyone with an academic background. Plagiarism is deemed academic misconduct and a violation of journalist ethics.