Plagiarism

Plagiarism

Introduction

There are several definitions of plagiarism, some consider it as “wrongful appropriation” or “close imitation” of another writer's ideas, thoughts expressions and language. It has become so common now days that before entering a course of subject or study, is strictly told to prohibit from plagiarizing. It is not respected and acceptable in any field of education process. The reason why it is strictly prohibited is because limits an individual's thinking and eliminates self learning while doing a research or any assignment. It is often said that individuals who plagiarize and do not produce original work, often lack wisdom and are not that bright. They often face problems expressing their own views as this practice stops them from sharing their own ideas and views.

Discussion

Why Students Plagiarize

There are various reasons why students opt for plagiarism and prefer copying material from sources rather than writing original material. Many students imitate the content from internet or any other source, because they lack in research and writing skills. They do not know how to efficiently utilize the online libraries as source for writing original material and many students are unable to critically evaluate the efficient internet sources (Gilmore, 2008). This has an impact on the entire research process, resulting in an overall affect in student's writing. One of the reasons why students often plagiarize is due to their confused thoughts about plagiarism and paraphrasing. The problem is highlighted when the students have to paraphrase unfamiliar and difficult vocabulary and different technical terms. It has also been argued that plagiarism is most common when the students are assigned to paraphrase advanced and difficult technical text as they lack the cognitive resources required to process it. Most students also imitate content due to the over burden of assignments, as they seek plagiarism as a time effective technique ...