PLAGARISM

Plagiarism

Plagiarism

Abstract

Plagiarism is a grave concern when discussing ethics in an academic environment. With the introduction of the internet and the World Wide Web many publications are available online and some students use these papers for academic assignments instead of doing research and creating an original essay. This paper will discuss the rules, types, methods of avoiding, combating, and why students plagiarize. (Bombak, 2005)

Introduction

The word plagiarism comes from the Greek and Latin terms for kidnapping and can be defined as the presenting of words and/or ideas belonging to someone else as if it is his own work without properly acknowledging the source from which the information was obtained. Plagiarism is also the use of direct quotes without quotation marks, footnotes, or textual citation of the sources. (Bombak, 2005)Plagiarism has become a very serious problem with high school and college students just about everywhere.

A Review: Plagiarism

Plagiarism has been around for as long as schools have. In the early nineties, with the introduction of the personal computer and the internet a new type of plagiarism arose. This new type of plagiarism is referred to as electronic or cyber-plagiarism. Before the introduction of this newer technology students plagiarized by going to libraries and researching different books taking a few ideas from one book and a few from another, all while replacing some of the authors words with his own. (Brown, 2001) Today the problem has become much worst. A student can easily log on to the web and buy essays from any of the many websites that sell papers on any subject from Florida oranges to international business endeavors. The internet also makes it possible for individuals to research topics by simply typing in the subject matter, hitting search and allowing the computer to list a number of sources pertaining to the subject matter. Through the use of the internet one can find many articles from books, (Brown, 2001) magazines, newspapers, and encyclopedias to add to ones own personal ideas and opinions. Most personal ideas and opinions are just that, which makes it difficult to determine whether the information found on the internet is valid. The internet provides a rapid and easy way to do research at the last minute for one who likes to procrastinate or just does not want to take the time to go out and research the subject matter in order to complete the assignment. Last minute pressure can cause individuals ...