Plagiarism is a Crime
Plagiarism is probably the most hated writing offense. Taking credit for someone else’s idea or body of work is simply unacceptable. It is an academic offense that is and should not be taken lightly. It is a serious offense that requires serious punishment. The plague of plagiarism in essay writing has become more widespread with the birth of the internet. Because of the ease of access to limitless information and the lack of regulation to monitor and discipline offenders, the very advantage of the internet also attributes to its biggest disadvantage. Some people simply abuse the free flow of information in this medium and put it directly into their essay writing. Plagiarism in essay writing is becoming more and more widespread. But this type of cheating can be easily avoided by citing your references properly.
Difference between Plagiarism and Borrowing
When one borrows, there is the idea or recognition that it is not his own and he recognizes the owner by citing him/her in the essay writing paper. Plagiarism on the other hand, is taking ownership for someone else’s idea or body of work. It is cheating against the true author and cheating against oneself by taking recognition for another person’s hard work. Plagiarism can in fact, be avoided in a lot of ways. The most common way to avoid committing this offense in essay writing is by quotation and citation. If someone uses a direct quotation or a phrase or statements directly lifted from another material, the author and source have to be properly cited as well. Another way is to paraphrase. This should not be confused with rewording. Paraphrasing is stating an idea in a different matter that is your very own way of stating the same idea. Rewording is just mere changing the use of words. When this method is used, it should still not be forgotten to mention where the idea was taken from otherwise, failure to do so is still considered plagiarism.
Saying NO to Plagiarism
Borrowing an idea, a statement, an image, a graph or what have you does not equate to lack of originality. Factual support is needed for the arguments presented in an essay. Hence, using resources or references is not prohibited in essay writing. In fact, it is encouraged for as long as credit is given to whom it is due.
