Influence, Not Plagiarism I briefly go over some of my thoughts about plagiarism and how it has transformed, and at times,

demotes influence. We all copy, or gain influence, from others. Rather its from an artistic point of view or just overall personal style, inspiration is all around us. The only problem is plagiarism occasionally inhibits influence.

Matthew Lozano Professor Ludlow Mattson English 114 17 December 2013 Influence, Not Plagiarism In this paper I will be reacting to VISWANATHAN-GATE, written by Malcolm Gladwell, located on Gladwell.com. Throughout the entire article, Gladwell is completely against the leisure callout of writers for plagiarizing. People are starting to accuse individuals of plagiarism, when in fact its just work that has been enhanced through influence. The idea that Megan McCafferty accuses Harvard college student, Kaavya Viswanathan, for copying her work, whereas in reality, it was the structure of the sentence that wasused, enrages Mr. Gladwell. The structure of the sentences is similar, but it wasnt word for word. He switched up the description, making the two different people described in his work and Megan McCafferys different entities. He just urges that if Viswanathan is convicted of plagiarism, than we are all copiers. Malcolm also mocks the claims by stating, Calling this plagiarism is the equivalent of crying "copy" in a crowded Kinkos. And for these simple actions, his paper is based of off. Personally, I would like to look at plagiarism in a whole. As defined by MerriamWebster.com, it is to use the words or ideas of another person as if they were your own words or ideas. I completely understand the notion, that you cannot take someone elses work and state it as your own. I get that. But from time to time, I feel as though plagiarism and its meaning, gets spread way to thin. It often gets confused with creativity and influence. Lets just get this straight, literature is art, and art is nothing but

creativity. With this notion in mind, there is no piece of literature that is not influenced by any way shape or form. We, as artists of literature, need to be able to identify plagiarism, the correct way. We cant keep calling out plagiarism whenever words seem similar to others. Another thing is, there are many similarities between a work of art and a scholarly work. The difference is, one is pure art while the other one is for specific purpose, to either educate someone or to earn an achievement (grade). Before questioning any form of literature for plagiarism the type of work that it is needs to be accounted for. Our use of the word plagiarism, in this day and age, needs to be redefined. As from Gladwells article, he implies, this is the second problem with plagiarism. It is not merely extremist. It has also become disconnected from the broader question of what does and does not inhibit creativity. What I have interpreted from this quote is that plagiarism in a way is taking away from the writer. No one wants to gain influence from others due to the fear of being called a plagiarist. The label of being a plagiarist isnt necessarily the worst part, but more the possible lawsuit that could potentially be filed. No work of art is worth losing more than what its ideally worth. With this constant threat in the back of writer, there first instinct is to advert it anyway possibly. This often tampers the true potential of a paper. Influence is the fuel behind works of literature, without it, its boring to the read, in the notion of connection. If a work is similar, but entirely the exact same, the reader feels as though he or she can relate due to perhaps seeing it previously or it seeming familiar. For these reasons and many reasons, the understanding of plagiarism needs to be touched upon. Cheating is wrong, but using quotes from other authors to enhance your own personal scholarly work is not cheating. It is using what you possibly can to enhance

your work, just doing it the correct way. Simply acknowledge the reader where or whom you got the information from. If you, as the creative writer, feel the obligation to credit another artists work, to which you acquired influence, then rightfully do so. Do not entirely avoid influence from others works; just know the modern ropes of plagiarism.