Plagiarism in universities A general discussion

Kesuma A.Rahman Plagiarism as defined by Wikipedia is wrongful appropriation, close imitation, or publication of another author's language, thoughts, ideas, or expressions and representing it as an original work of your own. It is however a contravercial subject that is crowded by definitions, both strict and loose, froma multitude of disciplines. Concerns and awareness regarding plagiarism seems to be growing not only in Malaysia, but internationally. The causes of concern however begs to be explored. From an academia point of view, plagiarism itself is not yet a crime. It does however affect credibility in the sense that authors are seen as stealing other people's ideas. But it is a fine line. According to the definition, it is not just about the actual idea, but the expression and language used in conveying those ideas. And today, it is not just dissertations and thesises that are subject to plagiarism checks, even essays such as this is burdened by proof of originality. In other words, you are actually required to reference works by other authors to verify that whatever you have put down in writing is not similar to previous works, and if they are, references and citations are needed, failing which you may be regarded as an unintentional plagiarist. Even that seems to be regarded as crime and you can be labeled lazy, or worst, being intellectually unprepared. It may be true that you have simply run out of time and could not correctly reference sources, but the rules and definitions of plagiarism can be unwaivering. More so when plagiarism checks are today being done by computer programs. The way that assignments are done today is also too unimaginitive. It may not be the fault of the students themselves as the academia has outlined strict definitions of essay types and even to the point of preparing templates. Moreover, a strict curriculum restricts subject issues which contributes to questions being similar year after year. For a new student, dependent on and wary of strict grading procedures, it is inevitable that they follow these strict guidelines. Essays written using these guidelines are regarded as the perfect essays. Although this is perhaps to prepare them for acceptable conventions in the world of academia, one can't help feeling restricted. And we all know that restrictions hamper the expression of ideas and suppress new ones. Originality and freshness of essays must eventually take a toll and plagiarism will seem to be an easy way out. After all, the minimum requirement does appear to be quantity rather than quality. Plagiarism checks using software have also been regarded as uneffective. There are loopholes, especially when translation from another language occurs. In fact, plagiarism software have been used to enhance plagiarism itself. Using software, one can highlight sections of similar work and rephrase it. After several iterations, a low plagiarism index can be achieved and the essay can be passed as an original work. Perhaps, there are only so many ideas that can come out from a group of people in any given time. And perhaps there are only so many ways to express an idea correctly. Languages are also limited by words and grammar. And society cannot produce einstein-level theories and ideas every hour or day. If the focus is not to create new ideas but to understand current ones, perhaps it is better to remove all these restrictions in refferences and citations for lower level academia. Once these restrictions are removed, ideas can be discussed and expanded freely without accusations and judgements. Then the whole

issue of plagiarism itself will shrink due to an over-abundance of ideas. Plagiarism may not be the issue we make it out to be. Beyond the dust and the storm, perhaps it is just about protecting ones rights, specifically, economic rights to an idea. For all we know, the originators of an idea does not care to have their names on a plaque followed by a cheque. Nobody really wonders or appreciates who created fire or who invented the wheel. The creators and inventors probably didn't care either. Only when it is followed by economic reasoning that plagiarism itself becomes an issue.