Plagiarism: Why it Continues to Occur?
Darian Camacho
English 111, Section 11
Professor Coulter
March 21, 2013
Plagiarism: Why it Continues to Occur? The increase in plagiarism has gained the attention of many institutions, administrators and educators, as well as researchers and the public. This increase has brought to attention the concern of why plagiarism continues to occur. In order to debate this concern we should first understand the definition and background of plagiarism, the factors which influence plagiarism, and what is or is not being done to prevent it. I will be looking into three articles in which my discussion will be based on. These articles include “Combating Plagiarism” by Brian Hansen, “Internet Plagiarism
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781). Some institutions do not even bother to use these plagiarism-detection services due to legal affairs. Mike Smith, who is the assistant chancellor for legal affairs of Berkeley, stated, “There probably were ways we could have done it legally, but given all the questions, the administrators here just felt that it really didn’t want to go in that direction” (as cited in Hansen, 2003, p. 781).
Hansen raises another question, “Are news organizations doing enough to guard against plagiarism and other types of journalistic fraud?” (2003, p. 781). Hansen interviewed editors, columnists, and instructors to discuss this question. The discussion going on was about a scandal involving Jayson Blair who was caught plagiarizing the articles he had written for “The New York Times.” Hansen states that “many experts were shocked when The Times conceded this spring that Blair’s editors never asked him to identify his anonymous sources” (2003, p. 781). After the scandal was made public, other news organizations began to review their policies. The increase of plagiarism is of a concern to all. Looking back at what was discussed, you can see that there are many factors that contribute to the continuing occurrence of plagiarism. First, students may be unaware of what actually counts as plagiarism. Thus, educators should be more open to their students in explaining what plagiarism is and how to prevent it. Further, plagiarism was not always considered unethical.
Plagiarism is a temptation every college student faces. It's also a serious issue that doesn't always get taken care of. I think the way it has been dealt with is strange. Strange in the sense that there isn't just one procedure when it comes to the punishment of those who plagiarize. In Raymond A. Schroth's article, he focused more so on the professor's side of the issue. He also presented ways to prevent the issue in effective ways and gave information on not so effective way. I really enjoyed his approach to the article. Trip Gabriel's article brought to light just how common the issue of plagiarism is. It made me truly question the way students are taught how not to plagiarize and if it needs to be revisited or updated so it's more geared
Plagiarism is a serious issue that may diminish the value of a scholarly work and interferes with the professional growth of an individual. For example, in 2003, Jayson Blair resigned from his position as a reporter for the New York Time because of “alleged plagiarism” (Dolak, 2003). Another case of plagiarism would be Matthew C. Whitaker, an associate professor at Arizona State University who in 2011 and 2015 was accused of plagiarism (Ryman, 2017). In both scenarios, Jayson Blair and Matthew C. Whitaker failed to properly paraphrase and cite sources (Dolak, 2003; Ryman 2017).
As one begins to grasp the concept of Schroth’s (2012) article The Plagiarism Plague, it is easy to identify the author’s dissatisfaction for plagiarism and the negative connotations he has for someone who is involved in this heinous offense. He initiates and summarizes his commentary with personal stories of how plagiarism has affected him. Schroth offers several solutions for the copyright issue that is upon us; he states, “the sanction for plagiarism must be at least an F on the paper, accompanied by a letter in the student's file to be consulted if it happens again, with the understanding that a second offense would mean expulsion.” Schroth was also sure to mention the collective approach necessary from all educators for his solution to be implemented. He believes the “policy will be effective only with leadership from the president and full cooperation from the faculty.” The writer goes on to explain how plagiarism has become an epidemic in this society and the effects of its prevalence thereof. Although plagiarism has become rampant in this society, it is still immoral and unethical. College students continue to plagiarize however, because they refuse to regard their education as a top priority and it has become culturally acceptable for people to falsify information without any serious penalties for their dishonesty.
Many do not realize that plagiarism is wrong, copying someone else’s work and making it yours is a fraud. Plagiarism is most commonly found in schools, copying words and phrases without giving credit to the authors or writers through the Internet. Many do not realize they are plagiarizing by taking ideas from other writers, because people find it easier to cheat their way through something instead of putting in the effort themselves. David Callahan the author of “A Better Way To Prevent Cheating: Appeal to Fairness” believes that universities do not educate their student about plagiarism. Where as Tim Gabriel the author of “Plagiarism Lines
Plagiarism, “the act of using another person 's words or ideas without giving credit to that person: the act of plagiarizing something” (Merriam-Webster, 2017), is said to be reaching epidemic proportions (Park,2003). Throughout history, plagiarism has been an issue, however, the severity and the implications where not fully understood until the development of the printing press in the 17th century. Now in the age of information sharing, society has an obligation to consider where changing 21st century values fit within academic writing and whether there are any implications for standards regarding plagiarism. Plagiarism is a serious form of cheating as it essentially defines
Plagiarism is using someone else’s work, words, production, researches and ideas without the approval or the acknowledgment of the writer or producer, and claiming the credit for himself. Many reasons and factors are attributed for the use of plagiarism and could be cultural, historical, linguistic, environmental and educational background. Plagiarism is a form of an academic dishonesty, academic misconduct, and a digital cheating. It is declared to be an unacceptable legal act and institutional regulations. And universities, schools, and instructors do not only need to decrease plagiarism, but they must also affect positively on students writings, increase the understanding of how to use digital technology to facilitate their academic writing.
Plagiarism has become a major issue among university students around the world. Academic misconduct has been a concern to those teaching at the universities. Hence, to prevent this from occurring the educational bodies have implemented measures to avoid plagiarism. Presently, the newly recruited students are informed of the consequences of plagiarism and that stern action is in place (Ashworth, Bannister, & Thorne,1997,p.1). However, plagiarism can be divided into two parts: deliberate and inadvertent. Presented here are the reasons why student plagiarism is considered quite high at western universities, even though many of the university students do not mean to cheat. There are three reasons as follows: (1) lack of clear understanding about the concept; (2) lack of knowledge about citation and referencing skills; and (3) poor time management. The first focus is on definitions of plagiarism and the differences between two types of plagiarism, reasons for inadvertent plagiarism, and lastly why international students have became the most plagiarising students in western universities.
With the ever-increasing wealth of information provided by a simple Internet search, students are finding their resource options growing. From hundreds of topic specific sources to completely written essays, students are challenged to use their own words. Michelle Cleary addresses the issues of plagiarism faced by students today while giving real-life solutions from an instructor’s view in her article, "Top 10 Reasons Students Plagiarize & What Teachers Can Do about It (With Apologies to David Letterman)". From research methods to writing instructions, the author uses a cause and effect scenario to illustrate the plagiarism problems and suggests methods that encourage academic success. Students struggle not only with the temptation to plagiarize, but also worry about inadvertently plagiarizing, and the ramifications of their actions.
When it is come to plagiarism, university writing educators are pessimistic about successfully eradicating this problem. It is difficult for them to find ways of promoting academic integrity so as to prevent university students from committing this academic fraud. Moreover, most of them just end up employing punitive enforcement or merely punishing students who plagiarize. Scott Jaschik, an editor of Inside Higher Ed, addresses this issue in "Winning Hearts and Minds in War on Plagiarism". This article, published in Inside Higher Ed in 2009, primarily targets university writing educators. In this article, he specifically explains educators' unique approaches to solve plagiarism. He also reveals different causes that induce students to
The problem is that institutions’ reactions to plagiarism, through policy and disciplinary structures, often lack nuance. Universities often don’t seek to understand what leads students to plagiarise; they tend not to distinguish between different forms of the
In any educational or work setting integrity is paramount. Consequences of plagiarism can severely effect one’s academic or professional reputation. Proper citation of one’s sources can be easily detected with the evolution of plagiarism software. At the same time, this technology can also aid in creating an appropriately-cited document.
Gerdy, K. 2004. Law student plagiarism: why it happens, where it’s found, and how to find it.
Academic learning in today’s changing world brings demands to future professionals. Whether in a traditional classroom, or through distance learning, one thing is similar and which cannot bring forth a successful educational future. One thing that can damage anyone’s academic future is plagiarism. Whether being the future of a straight “A” student, or a student who is just getting by. The fact remains that anyone can fall victim to plagiarism. Plagiarism is the use of other writer’s words without acknowledging the source and taking those words and passing them off as one’s own ideas (Jones, 2001). Some people may think plagiarism is just copying someone else’s work but in reality plagiarism is much serious and hold very serious
The paper responds to this proposition with a thesis that understanding the ethical reasoning provided by students in defending plagiarism is crucial in preventing it in student populations. The reasons can provide the basis for specific action-orientated recommendations to reduce plagiarism and to design programs to encourage originality and
Plagiarism, what is it and how to avoid it has been a major question on every students’ mind. Sure it is easy just to copy and paste and take all the credit for the work that another individual put in, but is it worth it? According to WPA, Writing Program Administrators, the definition of plagiarism as states, “plagiarism occurs when a writer deliberately uses someone else’s language, ideas, or other original (not common-knowledge) material without acknowledging its source.” Plagiarism has always concerned teachers and administrators, who want students’ work to repre¬sent their own efforts and to reflect the outcomes of their learning. However, with the advent of the Internet and easy access to almost limitless written material on