Plagiarism: The Blurred Line of Literature Essay examples

Taking someone’s words and using them without a proper citation is a problem. Without being taught the correct way, this problem is not going to correct itself and will continue to become a bigger problem. There are major consequences for plagiarising, but these can be avoided with a simple citation. Tying together the definition of plagiarism, reasons for using documentation, and an explanation of MLA 8 and APA citations will all be brought together. Learning what kind of citation, and what needs a citation is a very important concept in becoming a successful writer. Citing a source correctly will save you time and problems.

Plagiarism is a form of cheating, and a serious violation of the honor code and academic honesty in educational institutions. According to dictionary.com, plagiarism is: a piece of writing or other work reflecting such unauthorized use or imitation [1]. In simplified terms, plagiarism is taking and using some else’s work without giving credit to the righteous owner, for using their information. This work includes but is not limited to text, graphs, pictures, statistics, or other types of information that is not considered “common knowledge.” It is also considered as stealing, thus it is not tolerated anywhere in the world, and penalties are strictly

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,

Plagiarism in today's “copy and paste generation” is an unremitting, complex issue that is not yet fully understood.

Plagiarism can be described in different ways depending on the policy of the academic or professional institution. Consequences of plagiarizing work have a significant impact on the individual. Strategies exist to help avoid plagiarism. There are policies for academic integrity in all of academia.

Plagiarism, defined by Merriam Webster Dictionary, is “the act of using another person's words or ideas without giving credit to that person”, but in simpler terms is the wrongful copying of another’s work for your own(Merriam-Webster). Plagiarism though seeming like a simple offense, can cause the downfall, if not caught, of a creative person and their work. However when justice is served, and the plagiarizer is caught, they can lose everything from their reputation to even their job. Even though plagiarism seems like a common sense crime not to commit, people such as Joe Biden, Jane Goodall, and even president Barack Obama, have been found to plagiarize another’s work. For the purpose of this essay, Jayson Blair, a once up and coming

In today’s era of education, plagiarism is a global issue; each academic institution is facing heavy issue. Plagiarism is derived from the Latin word “predatory”, which means kidnapping or theft. "Plagiarism, broadly defined, encompasses presenting other people’s ideas as your own without clearly giving

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).

People invest and take pride in their contributions; it is unfortunate that someone else could have no consideration and not give credit to whom it is due. Whether people are inclined to plagiarize because they are hesitant to work thoroughly or it has become culturally acceptable still makes it disreputable. Either way this infringement can and will have adverse effects on a person’s personal and professional

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).

Almost all colleges enforce policy when students commit plagiarism. With regard to plagiarism, two authors’ arguments differ. One of authors, Emma Teitel, a student in Dalhousie University, argued that the punishment of plagiarism is un-fare. She was punished for plagiarism in her third year. She claimed that she just made a technical mistake on her essay and did not intentionally plagiarize from another author’s work (Teitel, November 8, 2011). On the other hand, according to Todd Pettigrew, a professor in Kings University, colleges should make a rule clearly for plagiarized assignments depending on the number of offenses. For example, for student who commits plagiarism the second time should get a stronger punishment than the first offense.

In the piece ‘Something Borrowed,’ Malcom Gladwell portrays that plagiarism is not just black or white- it is a gray area that has to do with intent to copy one’s work without giving credit vs. accidentally borrowing an idea. In Gladwell’s work, he reinforces his point that “words belong to the person who wrote them” (75) by citing experiences that demonstrate that using other people’s things such as ideas, picnic tables, and song melodies is morally wrong. The most important part that was concentrated on in this work was the twisted life of Dorothy Lewis which was the story line of the Broadway play, “Frozen”. Dorothy was told to see this certain play because she received multiple calls that she could easily relate to the play, little did she know her life was the play.

From a societal perspective, plagiarism is seen as an anticipated but unfortunate matter of fact, somewhat like a social faux pas (Martin, 1994). If someone in a high level position were to be revealed for plagiarism, certainly there would be embarrassment and some stigma associated with such knowledge (Green, 2002) but when considered against all possible offenses, likely downplayed as minor. Sadly, these incidents are happening younger and younger (Lahey,

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

According to our readings, "the type of plagiarism deliberate or unintentional has an impact upon the perception of the offence for both faculty and students" (Academic Integrity 2011). This is an important distinction to some people, although the act of plagiarism remains unacceptable no matter why it is done.