Plagiarism : Should Colleges Allow Self Plagiarism?

Plagiarism is an increasing large issue on college campuses, a habit to most of the student. According to the article ‘’The Plagiarism Plague’’, the findings on the survey made to 50,000 students on more than 60 campuses was that 70 percent of the students admitted that they cheated. Half of the students surveyed admitted that one or more times made serious cheating on writing assignments, with 77 percent of the students surveyed said that cheating was not a serious issue.

Ms. Wilensky believes that plagiarism occurs because “students leave high school unprepared for the intellectual rigors of college writing.” In college, the writing becomes more thorough, detailed, and the need for accuracy grows. Incoming freshmen are not taught crucial critical thinking skills needed for successful college writing while still in high school. I believe that this is true because high school teachers , especially upperclassmen teachers, are trying to prepare their students for the SAT/ACT and/ or state finals.

In the article, “Plagiarism Lines Blur for Students in Digital Age” written by author Trip Gabriel, there are multiple views on the aspects of plagiarism. Some people refuse to take plagiarism seriously, having a strong educational background as foundation as well as respect for other individuals work. Plagiarism is a serious offense and often considered a form of theft. Consequences for plagiarism can vary depending upon the campus, but can lead up to expulsion. Plagiarism commonly known as taking pieces of ideas or words and phrases from someone without giving credit.

Plagiarism cases can provide insight on the dire consequences that can occur if a student is caught plagiarizing within an academic setting. A former student of Rutgers University, Amanda Serpico, was accused by her professor of plagiarizing on her opinion paper in her argumentation class (Bailey, 2011). Amanda received credit for using citations in a majority of the paper and providing the sources in the reference section, but she did not properly cite at least three verbatim passages that she used within her work (Bailey, 2011). Amanda utilized Turnitin software to review her paper and to detect plagiarism before turning in the assignment for grading to her professor (Bailey, 2011). The plagiarism accusation resulted in Amanda receiving a failing grade on the paper, a failing grade in the course, and being denied admission to several graduate schools. (Bailey,

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.

Plagiarism cases can provide insight on the dire consequences that can occur if a student is caught copying within an academic setting. The professors accused Amanda Serpico, a former student of Rutgers University, of plagiarizing on her opinion paper in her argumentation class (Bailey, 2011). Amanda obtained partial credit for using citations in a majority of the writing and providing the sources in the reference section, but she did not properly cite at least three verbatim passages that she used within her work (Bailey, 2011). Amanda utilized Turnitin software to review her document and to detect plagiarism before turning in the paper for grading, but the plagiarism accusation still resulted in her receiving a failing grade on the assignment and in the course and denied admission to several graduate schools. (Bailey, 2011).

Superior education institutions are correct when enforcing honesty among their students. It is important because a student register at a college/university with the purpose of getting

Plagiarism is when a person tries to pass of another’s words as their own. Plagiarism can occur whether it is intentional or unintentional. One such instance is forgetting to give credit by forgetting an in-text citation or not putting quotation marks around words taken directly from the text (Janechek). According to Purdue Owl, plagiarism includes “buying, stealing, or borrowing a paper; hiring someone to write your paper for you; and copying large sections of text” (“Welcome to the Purdue OWL”).

In the article, Rethinking Plagiarism in the Digital Age, written by Lea Calvert Evering and Gary Moorman they discuss the idea of plagiarism, why do students plagiarize and what is the best method besides punishment to teach students not to plagiarize. In the beginning of the article Lea Calvert Evering and Gary Moorman claims that the concept of plagiarism to be “based on a capitalist view of property and ownership” (Evering & Moorman 35). The authors believe that we should reconsider and modify what we consider plagiarism because this idea is being challenged by this generation involving technology. According to this article, plagiarism is practiced among students in American secondary school and higher education. It states, “In a survey of 2,294 high school juniors...McCabe...found that 34% submitted their own work that was copied word

According to Dixie State College, Student Rights and Responsibilities Code (5.33 Section 11.A.2): "Plagiarism: includes but is not limited to the use of another's words or ideas as if they were one's own, including, but not limited to, representing, either with the intent to deceive or by the omission of the true source, part of or an entire work produced by someone other than the student, obtained by purchase or otherwise, as the student's original work or representing the identifiable but altered ideas, data, or writing of another person as if those ideas, data, or writing were the student's original work." (Dixie State University , 2015)

Due to the Internet academic plagiarism has become the most common and serious problem in school of all levels. “In Roget’s Thesaurus plagiarism comes under theft, and there’s little sympathy for those accused of stealing other people’s work and presenting it as their own” (Revell, 2006). Plagiarism is on the rise in academia due to two main reasons. One of the reasons is because students do not know how to cite sources and references properly, or students do not fully understand what constitutes plagiarism. In addition, many students do not know they can also plagiarize against themselves. Self-plagiarism or double dipping occurs when students use the same paper that he or she had submitted for another class without the proper citation of the original work (University of Phoenix, 2009). Therefore, when a student plagiarizes his or her paper it is equivalent to committing theft.

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.

When faced with the option between right and wrong, which would be chosen? In most cases majority of people would go for the morally correct option but then there are always a select few who choose the wrong way to do things. Plagiarism is a widespread issue that educators need to deal with. Rachel Dearlove, the author of Rethinking the plagiarism problem, is an example of how writing to the high education audience is a way to explain plagiarism to students in ways that they understand. Brooks Winchell, author of Successful plagiarism 101, wrote in a new way to educators about the perfect plagiarized essay, and ways students try to do it. These two articles were written in two different styles that aim get the reader involved and to

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

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