TOPIC: PLAGIARISM

Topic: Plagiarism

Topic: Plagiarism

Academic learning in today's changing world brings demands to future professionals. Whether in a traditional classroom, or through distance learning, one thing is similar and which cannot bring forth a successful educational future. One thing that can damage anyone's academic future is plagiarism. Whether being the future of a straight 'A' student, or a student who is just getting by. The fact remains that anyone can fall victim to plagiarism. Plagiarism is the use of other writer's words without acknowledging the source and taking those words and passing them off as one's own ideas (Jones, 2001). Some people may think plagiarism is just copying someone else's work but in reality plagiarism is much serious and hold very serious consequences. When plagiarism is caught the outcome can be critical to a students' academic future (Jones, 2001).

'Academic honesty and its consequences have become increasingly complex. Highly accessible electronic media, profound consequences for misconduct and reporting, andlack of standard practice intensifies the issues' (Afshani, Cook-Morales, Nguyen, Pena, Pena, &Robinson-Zanartu, 2005, p. 318). 'Some universities, and departments, have developed clear guidelines and consequences for plagiarizers' (Afshani, 2005, p. 333). Consequences of plagiarism can vary in range from mild reprimands from instructors to expulsion from an academic institution (Afshani, 2005, p. 333).

Although some universities have enforced clear guidelines and consequences for plagiarism, inconsistencies remain with how students are to be punished. Depending on the instructor, student, and situation, many different actions may be taken. A student who admits to plagiarism when confronted could possibly receive a less harsh punishment than one who denies committing the plagiarism. In one case where two students had admitted to plagiarism, they received a failure in the course, had to enroll again in the program. and had to retake the course in another semester. Another case involving a student who denied plagiarism resulted in the student's expulsion from the school. The question is how do universities and instructors decide what consequences will be applied to which students? Many schools use the 'A-B-C-D-E model (Kiehl, 2006, p. 201), the intent of which is to make the concepts of decision-making models practical, rather than abstract' (Kiehl, 2006, p. 200).'The letters A-B-C-D-E serve as a mnemonic in which A = assessment, B = benefit, C = consequences and consultation, D = duty, and E = education' (Kiehl, 2006, p. 201). Using this model makes it easier ethically to hand down a punishment to a student (Kiehl, 2006, p. 200).

In the academic learning environment today, students are surrounded with ideas and thoughts of others. These works can be accessed through written material, electronically, heard in lectures and sermons, or even in class discussions. Without giving proper credit to the author of the original work plagiarism is the outcome (Lowe, 2003).

Plagiarism can be intentional or unintentional. In an academic environment students are faced with a variety of ways to practice intentional plagiarism such as downloading a paper from the internet, paraphrasing without using the proper citations, copying papers from students ...