The punishments for it can range from something as simple as failing an assignment to being expelled from school, from a fine of anywhere from $100 to $50,000 to up to ten years in jail. What is it? It is plagiarism and in the age of copying-and-pasting from the internet, it is drastically on the rise. (http://www.plagiarism.org/plag_article_plagiarism_faq.html ). According to a 2003 survey conducted by Rutgers University, 38% of undergrad students admitted to one or more instances of “cut-and-paste” anything from a sentence to a full paragraph that they found in an online source. (http://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/03/nyregion/a-campus-fad-that-s-being-copied-internet-plagiarism-seems-on-the-rise.html).
Simply put, plagiarism is the use of someone else’s thoughts, words or ideas as if they were your own and neglecting to give credit or acknowledgment to the source it came from (http://www.plagiarism.org/plag_article_plagiarism_faq.html). Plagiarism can be something as simple as forgetting to cite, or improperly citing, a source to bluntly turning in a paper or assignment that you did not write but that you claim to be yours (http://kykernel.com/2010/01/24/reported-plagiarism-on-the-rise/).
But why do people plagiarize things? Sometimes it is accidental, but other times it is intentional. A freshman at Rhode Island College was accused of plagiarizing but he claimed it was not because the website he used did not provide author information (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/02/education/02cheat.html?_r=1&src=me&ref=homepage). According to a writing tutor at Rhode Island College, students just do not understand that it is a serious offense to use words that you did not write as your own (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/02/education/02cheat.html?_r=1&src=me&ref=homepage). According to a report by the BBC news, the “decision to plagiarize may be associated with increasing pressure on students arising from….heavier coursework load, or lack of personal organization skills” (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/education/4257479.stm). Teresa Fishman from Clemson University says, “Now we have a whole generation of students who’ve grown up with information that just seems to be hanging out there in cyberspace and doesn’t seem to have an author” (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/02/education/02cheat.html?_r=1&src=me&ref=homepage).
Accidental or not, plagiarism is a crime and it is up to teachers and administrators at both the high school and college level to do something about it and to stress to students how important it is to give credit to authors and other sources that are used. 
This is a very important topic! I think it's very difficult to impress upon teenagers especially that plagiarism is cheating and will not benefit them in the long run. Programs like SafeAssign do help teachers to detect plagiarism but often even programs such as that do not do an adequate job of accurately spotting instances of plagiarism. I think that things have improved somewhat over the years, though, as when I was in my undergraduate program teachers did not strongly suspect that students would use the internet in order to cheat. It is extremely important for teachers to educate their students in proper citation formats and in the severity of the issue of claiming that the work of someone else is your own.
ReplyDeleteThe grey area with plagiarism comes in with sampling and remixing. There are many artists that have created "original" work by remixing or sampling the work of someone else. One example that I can think of is Shepard Fairey's Obama Hope poster. Technically he has "stolen" this image because the copyright belongs to someone else, but it can be argued that he has created new art from the image that stands apart from the original. These sorts of grey areas are topics that can be discussed with students in exploring the complex issue of copyright and plagiarism.
Plagiarism is an issue I think needs to be address especially at the high school level. From what I've seen working at the high school I work at, I don't think students are punished enough if they are caught doing this. I've heard if kids basically coping and pasting their work, hand it in and when caught, hardly any conserquences are handed out. Sure it's listed in most Syllabuses, but I think more teaching about it needs to be done.
ReplyDeletePlagiarism is an issue that has been escalated because of the internet. I agree that this is something that needs to be addressed at the high school level. Plagiarizing someones work is wrong and something that I think that many high school students view as harmless. Teachers need to stress the importance of recognizing someone for the work that they do and expressing that plagiarism is the same as stealing.
ReplyDeleteI can see where people think that plagerism arises out of a students inability to handle their course workload or lack of organizational skills. However, I would like to attribute plagerism to a lack of knowledge of what plagerism is, student laziness, or the increase in students decreasing ability to formulate original ideas. Some students I have encountered are like, "That's plagerizing? But I put it in quotes! There was no author!" Maybe we as educators can help students to clear up the gray areas and teach that plagerism is something black and white. Some students simply do not want to do the assignment or take the time to write a paper so they simply plagerize to save time. Also, I feel that students in this age have a hard time putting ideas, thoughts and opinions into their own words. It is like they have to be spoon-fed words because they simply can not come up with them. That's just my take on it, I'm curious if any of you feel the same?
ReplyDeleteThe above comment is mine but I can't claim it! sorry for the confusion.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Crasummers's comment. I know in the school I teach at, plagerism is not held to the standard that it should be. It seems to be a fact that students will take the easiest road and if teachers aren't going to check the student's work and make sure that it is original and not copied, then why wouldn't they continue to do it.
ReplyDeleteJayne Kreifels