PLAGIARISM 1

PLAGIARISM

Plagiarism paper- Week 3

Amanda Berry

IST 511

Dr. Tourtellotte

10/31/19
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Table of Contents

PLAGIARISM ............................................................................................................... 1

Introduction ............................................................................................................... 3

References ................................................................................................................. 5
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Introduction

Of the many lessons we are taught throughout our lives, citing evidence and avoiding

plagiarism may be the most important ones to master. Understanding plagiarism and how to

avoid it is essential to the success of both students and professionals. The process of properly

giving credit to the person whose work you are citing is sometimes difficult to understand.

First, one must understand what plagiarism is. Mirriam-Webster online Dictionary has

many definitions for the word plagiarize. The Mirriam-Webster definition I am focusing on is:

“to commit literary theft” (2019). This is the most apt definition, in my opinion, as the word

itself comes from, “Latin plagiarius, meaning to kidnap” (2019). To me, plagiarism is

kidnapping another person’s ideas without their permission. When someone chooses to

plagiarize, according to plagiarism.org, they are not only stealing the ideas and works that are not

their own, they are also lying about it being their own intellectual property (p.org, 2017).

Once plagiarism is defined and understood, the second step is to learn how to cite work

that is not your own. There are many ways to cite resources that are included in your papers.

Miguel Roig (2006) provides a list of guidelines to follow when citing: word-for-word text must

be in quotes, acknowledge every source used, paraphrase or summarize content not used word-

for-word, and others (p. 6-41). There are manuals you can refer to about how to properly cite

when writing as well. If something is published or turned in that has been plagiarized, there are

consequences for doing so.

Among crimes that can be committed in the academic world, plagiarism is possibly the

worst. Roig states, “Plagiarists have been demoted, dismissed from their schools, from their jobs,

and their degrees and honors have been rescinded” (p. 3). To avoid these consequences, it is the

responsibility of students to maintain a level of academic integrity throughout their academic

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career. It is also the responsibility of professors to hold students to the highest academic

standard.

Citing evidence is introduced to students as young as third grade. A skill that is

emphasized majority of our academic life, avoiding plagiarism has become almost second nature.

It is imperative that honesty in academic writing as well as other aspects of creativity is upheld.

Doing so will pave the way for new ideas to come to light.
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References

Plagiarize (2019). Retrieved from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/plagiarize.

Roig, Miguel (August, 2006). Avoiding plagiarism, self-plagiarism, and other questionable writing

practices: A guide to ethical writing [pdf]. Retrieved from

https://www.cse.msu.edu/~alexliu/plagiarism.pdf

What is plagiarism? (May 18, 2017) Retrieved from https://www.plagiarism.org/article/what-is-

plagiarism