While pursuing our studies we often have to consult and refer to the ideas of other people in reading them as texts, or by listening to lectures or during classroom lessons. Subsequently all the learning has to be compiled by way of our own writings and presentations and it becomes imperative to give credit to the sources from where we have taken the given information. If we do not give credit to such sources, it amounts to plagiarism, which is also defined as using the ideas and works of other writers without citing them appropriately. Plagiarism can be avoided by citing in the required format all the sources that have been used in a given piece of work. Such sources could pertain to other people’s ideas, theories and opinions that are available as common knowledge by way of magazines, books and on the worldwide web. All material that comes directly from the text must be put in quotations and appropriate paraphrasing must be done so that the same arrangements of words are not replaced. There should be a checking done of the paraphrasing in one’s work to ensure that the same words and phrases from the text are not used in one’s work.
The adverse consequences of plagiarizing can be very severe in that zero marks can be given in the assignment and the course depending upon the disciplinary authority’s discretion. A permanent notation in this regard is added on to the file of the student. There could be a disciplinary hearing or the student may be reprimanded formally. Sometimes plagiarism can be taken as a very serious offence and the student may be expelled without being given any other hearing opportunity. Sometimes the certificates, diplomas and degrees are withheld or withdrawn by the university and legal action can also be taken against offenders in extreme cases. Hence it is essential that all original concepts and data used in the written assignment have to be referenced appropriately to avoid the charge of plagiarism. If the ideas from other sources are not paraphrased, they can be included as quotations but must be quoted and referenced as required.
I feel that plagiarism is indeed an immoral practice since there is no justification in a learning environment to take credit for work done by others. In essence plagiarism amounts to copying the work of others, which is not fair especially when we are pursuing a course in increasing our knowledge and abilities. The learning schedule requires students to use as many sources as possible in understanding theories and in getting information for the course. The understanding has to be conveyed in the assignment and all reference to other’s work is logically required to be mentioned in the right formats. In such an environment there is no room for stealing information. There is need to refer to other sources while writing assignments, for which there is a provision to cite the sources within the text and as references depending upon the formatting style required by the assignment. The consequences of plagiarism are indeed bad. Firstly it is illegal and several forms of punishment are meted out to all those against whom a case of plagiarism is established. There can be minor punishment by way of warning and reprimands and major ones too by way of dismissals and withholding of degrees and diplomas. When ever I have a question about plagiarism I will refer to the site, which is indeed very exhaustive in giving all the information and details about plagiarism.
References
www.indiana.edu
www.tldsb.on.ca