Introduction
There are so many ways of defining what plagiarism means. The commonly accepted definition of plagiarism is the act of using someone else’s words in order to convey a meaning without crediting the person who originally said it. However, there are also a number of other definitions for plagiarism and this paper aims to present those other definitions as well as explain why such practices should not be accepted by the academe.
Main text
Self plagiarism is something that is fast becoming a common practice for students these days. It is like that grade school volcano project that you used every single year only now, the students do it with their research work for say, a science experiment in physics that was originally used in chemistry. All he does is he changes the look and presentation but nothing else. This is still plagiarism because he had previously used the exact same work without telling his new teacher about it. Hence, self plagiarism. Now using the same paper but adding information to it and revising the content of the paper would not be considered self plagiarism because the paper will change in content in focus.
Buying term papers off the internet is also considered to be an act of plagiarism because you would still be using someone else’s words when you submit that paper to your teacher. It is just like listening to a story and then having it told all over again. Telling the person listening to you who the source of the story is an act of properly giving credit where it is due. Just remember, if someone else said it, did it, wrote it, or even thought about it, you have to say so in the paper you are writing because the essence of what you are saying was still said by somebody else. Failure to do so is plagiarism.
So now that we know why plagiarizing is bad, I need to tell you why we should never commit plagiarism either.
I believe that anybody who is really taking the time to study and understand his lessons will be able to write a totally original paper filled with his own understanding of the subject matter. Any quotes that are used within the page should be properly cited in order to let the person reading the paper that actual research was done in order to complete the work, aside from providing extra information for the reader.
By plagiarizing a paper, the student is practically announcing to the world that he is too lazy to study and would rather not put any effort into his grades. The temptation to plagiarize is strong specially for the hard to research and write topics. It seems easier to simply paraphrase and get things over with. However, that puts your knowledge of the subject matter into question because once you are asked to explain what it is you mean, you will get caught with a plagiarized paper.
Most importantly, the penalty for plagiarism on any educational level is too severe. Various colleges have different rules regarding how to deal with a plagiarizing student but the final punishment is always the same. These punishments range from suspension to expulsion, Neither of which would look good on a future resume or student application for higher studies.
So do the right thing, learn how to research and write term papers. Learn how to properly cite your sources within a paper. Your future educational ambitions depend on it.
Work Cited
Sauer. 2004. Research Help! What Is Plagiarism?. Web.