Plagiarism Detection Service as a Learning Tool, Essay Example

The value of a plagiarism detection service is manifest through its use.  Much has been documented in regards to the prominence of plagiarism, which has become a large problem in academics.  It is with the use of valuable plagiarism detection services where students may learn valuable skills in their writing career.

Prevalence

Plagiarism is quite common.  The negative feature of plagiarism is its presence within educational institutions, at the earliest levels through collegiate ranks.  The high prominence of plagiarism in schools accounts for the growing problem, in which the Internet and other sources are utilized for assignment with ease.

It is well documented to the prevalence of plagiarism.  From a 1991 Rutgers University Study, 66% of students from 31 prestigious schools in the United States have cheated, from a pool of 16,000 students (n.d.).  According to a separate source, in a 1997 Psychological Record study, 36% of undergraduates admitted to plagiarism (Connelly Chronicle, 1998).  These startling numbers ground in the common nature of plagiarism effectively.

Sandsmark (2000) also supports the common nature of plagiarism in high school and college.  The former saw 4 out of 5 high achievers admitting to cheating in 1998, according to publishers of Who’s Who Among American High School Students (2000).  Sandsmark also related the students’ indifference to the nature of plagiarism, with half of them claiming is was “no big deal” (2000).  Additionally, Sandsmark notes that there was a 744% increase from 1993 to 1997 for cheating on the campus of the University of California – Berkley (200).  Truly there is a definite presence of plagiarism in these two environments in which academic integrity is crucial.

The presence of plagiarism in these types of institutions leads to undermining of academic honesty and integrity.  With the common nature of plagiarism certainly in these highly valued institutions, the further presence of plagiarism throughout institutions comes to no surprise.  Thus, plagiarism becomes an unfortunate “skill” of many students.

The Plagiarism Detection Service

The presence of plagiarism takes away what truly is a skill for many students at any level.  Frodesen (n.d.) notes that many students have difficulties integrating others’ ideas into their papers and being able to differentiate between proper paraphrasing and extenuating their own ideas.  Frodesen makes a good point in the realm of plagiarism, where students often are unable to utilize others’ ideas properly.  In these difficulties, students are unable to find their own voice in their writing.

Students unable to paraphrase and quote others’ work commonly are not plagiarizing consciously.  In many cases the problem stems from an inability to write from these factors.  However, as students develop these important skills, we begin to see how the implementation of an effective plagiarism detection service can allow students to harness these skills, and catch themselves in their mistakes.

A plagiarism detection service allows students to ensure academic integrity.  The service would enable a student to make sure that he or she has quoted sources properly.  It will also allow the student to distinguish their ideas from those that are already established.  The benefits also extend to developing these important skills in the students’ writing experiences.

As Frodesen (n.d.) notes, students are unable to effectively quote or paraphrase.  A plagiarism detection service would allow the student to see how they are implementing their sources into the paper.  Thus, if they are merely “substituting synonyms” (Frodesen, n.d.) in a paraphrase, the service would help the student develop a more effective synopsis of the work.

These benefits would drastically reinforce these skills in a student’s writing.  Paraphrasing is certainly difficult for students who are not accustomed to proper paraphrasing techniques, as seen in Frodesen’s warnings (n.d.).  Additionally, students cannot be too dependent on other techniques, such as extensive quotations without the original developments of their voice in the writing.

The plagiarism detection service would overall ensure the student is developing a work with his or her own ideas.  The original voice of the student would be substantiated through the service’s ability to distinguish plagiarism in all forms.  Thus, when a student makes too much use of others’ ideas, the service would help the student away from this tendency in the case of inexperienced writers.

Conclusion

The prevalence of plagiarism in students is quite noticeable.  It becomes commonplace in academics and it truly undermines the abilities of students, who become too dependent on others’ ideas even when outright plagiarism is not present.  Writing skills have been undermined in the presence of plagiarism, when students partake in this and are unable to write effectively even when attempting to write without blatant academic dishonesty.

The plagiarism detection service allows students to develop these important skills.  Apart from informing the student of outright plagiarism, it can help students develop writing skills.  As many students have trouble utilizing quotes and paraphrasing effectively, a plagiarism detection service would help ensure that the student’s thoughts and ideas are present, alongside of the proper use of others’ ideas.

References

Connelly Chronicle. (1998). “Detecting and Preventing Plagiarism Via the Web.” Newsletter of La Salle University Library. Retrieved from www.lasalle.edu/library/chronicle.

Frodesen, Jan. (n.d.). “Developing Paraphrasing Skills: A Pre-Paraphrasing Mini-Lesson.” University of California – Santa Barbara. Retrieved from http://www.ucop.edu/dws/lounge/dws_ml_pre_paraphrasing.pdf.

Sandsmark, Fred. (2000). “Your Cheatin’ Heart Doesn’t Stand a Chance.” TechWeek.  Retrieved from www.techweek.com.

“What Is Plagiarism?” (n.d.) Retrieved from http://www.plagiarism.org/learning_center/what_is_plagiarism.html.