Statement of Plagiarism, Essay Example

What is plagiarism?

Plagiarism, precisely described by Gabriel (2010) is a growing ‘disconnect pervading the internet age whereby concepts of intellectual property, copyright and originality are being assaulted in the information technology data transfer mechanism’  (Gabriel, 2010, p. 1). There seems to be  no respect in the use of intellectual property. Respect means giving credence to another author  for his/her work, which has been quoted in personal writing. In doing so it means honoring concepts with  reference   to their source and not applying them to a piece of writing as if it were your words (Gabriel, 2010).

Gabriel continues to advance that digital technology facilitates copying and pasting information. However, it is cheating/plagiarism when this is not cited properly. More importantly the authors words ought to be reproduced in the writers own words and cited properly as using the author’s ideas. Frequently, plagiarism incidences occur when students do not cite their reproductions and if they do it not done according to citation rules. Consequently it is considered cheating or misrepresentation using another writer’s thoughts as your own, which is intellectual theft (Gabriel, 2010).

Plagiarism has evolved into many phases Gabriel (2010) further described where students feel that once an author’s name is not attached to a piece of writing they have the liberty to use it verbatim without citing from where it was retrieved. He blames this practice entirely on internet technology and perhaps ignorance of correct citation formulas. As such, it would appear that students do not understand that plagiarism also means using information from the internet which they have not written as their own. It is still stealing even though a name was not ascribed to the content (Gabriel, 2010).

Why is plagiarism wrong?

Simply described, plagiarism is wrong because it is stealing another person’s idea without giving any credit to them. Worse yet it is using that person’s work as your own. Ultimately, when students continue to function in this way applying concepts which already exist and stealing ideas of established authors where their original thoughts are? Essentially, plagiarism blocks creativity and education will ultimately reach a dead end when all recycled information cannot move anymore. Science becomes stagnant with old/obsolete ideas because students fail to even use their own words, just reproducing words and work of predecessors. This is wrong for the student, science and world. More importantly, plagiarism is a crime for which a person could be prosecuted (Gabriel, 2010).

How can you avoid plagiarism?

Many students enter colleges and universities without fully understanding the seriousness of plagiarism. More importantly, they may have just a vague idea of what constitutes plagiarism. Gabriel (2010) highlighted where some students felt that once the information is retrieved from the internet it is common knowledge therefore, there is no obligation for citation. Others feel as in the case of the student who copied form the web and it emerged as a purple shade issue that it is quite safe doing that. When confronted he was no way interested in replacing it with originality. His concern was how it could be turned black (Gabriel, 2010)

In concluding, a way of addressing this irregularity effectively in my opinion is by conducting classes that would educate students about plagiarism, its legal consequences and how to avoid it. They should be offered practice writing sessions where plagiarism free writing is modeled, learning also to appropriately  cite another author’s concepts/work if it must be used

References

Gabriel, T, (2010). Plagiarism Lines Blur for Students in Digital Age. Retrieved on April 11^th, 2014 from http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/02/education/02cheat.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0