Plagiarism Essay

Academic Plagiarism

Faith N. K

American Psychological Association’s (APA) Style

(30, 04, 2013)

Academic Plagiarism

1.0 Defining academic plagiarism
2.0 What are different types of academic plagiarism?
3.0 Is academic plagiarism a problem for the non-native speakers only?
4.0 What are the penalties of academic plagiarism?
5.0 How can one avoid academic plagiarism?
6.0 How should the culprits of academic plagiarism be punished?

Academic Plagiarism

1.0 Defining academic plagiarism
The practice of stealing another person’s academic work and presenting it as your own is defined as academic plagiarism. This is a growing vice among students in our institutions of higher learning today. Most students in our local universities steal other persons’ writings or related academic materials and present such works as their original work. Academic plagiarism is when a person steals another person’s works and passes it on as his or her original work (Gibaldi, 1998).
2.0 What are different types of academic plagiarism?
There are several types of academic plagiarism. According to Loveleena Rajeev (2012), there are six types of academic plagiarism. The first is partial plagiarism. This happens when a person steals and puts together data from two or three different sources. The second is source plagiarism. This takes place when due credit is not given to the author one has gathered information from. The third is minimalistic plagiarism. This happens when one summarizes the same content using different flows. This could happen by changing the order and sentence of the original work. The fourth is source citation. This takes place when a person presents a complete source of information which lacks quotes. The fifth is mosaic plagiarism. This type of plagiarism takes place when one changes the sentence construction but not the original wording. Finally, the sixth is full-proof plagiarism. It occurs when all the sources used have citations but the entire text is a paraphrased version of the original.

3.0 Is academic plagiarism a problem for the non-native speakers only?
In my view, academic plagiarism is a problem for both the native and non- native speakers. Academic plagiarism by students is influenced by a variety of factors. Some of the factors that influence plagiarism are of human nature regardless of whether one is a native or a non-native speaker. For example laziness is recognized as a factor that may influence one to plagiarize whether they are native or non-native speakers. Another common factor among the native and non-native speakers that may influence plagiarism is lack of confidence in one’s own work. The temptation to plagiarise may occur when one has high regards of what is written by someone else.
However, non-native speakers may be faced with exceptional challenges that may influence them to plagiarize. For example a non-native speaker may be faced with the challenge of correlating ideas and grammar. This may lead to plagiarism. According to Sheryl Holt (2013), non-native speakers prefer quoting their ‘masters’ as the most reliable source without critical thinking.
4.0 What are the penalties of academic plagiarism?
The penalties of academic plagiarism include suspensions and probations of the culprits from schools or institutions they are in, redoing the assignment and lowering of the students’ course grades. Attorney Standler (2010) states that anyone who plagiarizes copy righted material can be sued in federal court by the owner of the copyright. He also describes how unsympathetic the courts can be toward college students who have been disciplined for plagiarism and seek relief via lawsuit.
5.0 How can one avoid academic plagiarism?
Generally, it is the responsibility of everyone to avoid plagiarism. Plagiarism should be understood as a collective responsibility among all the stakeholders meaning that it is also the responsibility of teachers to assist the students un dealing with it (Council of Writing Program Administration 2003 p. 3) .Loveleena (2003) states that plagiarism is an offensive act that leads to infraction of originality and can be avoided by using proper citation of reference on the work done and also by reading and researching widely on the topic under research. Sheryl Holt (2011) on the other hand says that there is need for a person to be a suspicious reader with a keen eye of identifying and addressing plagiarism. She advises that once plagiarism is identified, there is need to have a one on one chart on what constitute plagiarism with a culprit and provide an opportunity to the culprit to rewrite the paper.
6.0 How should the culprits of academic plagiarism be punished?
In conclusion, some of the reasons that lead students to practice plagiarism are laziness, ignorance and lack of exposure or experience on the subject under discussion. Plagiarism does not affect students only but also the institution and nation at large because it increases lack of originality among individuals. Therefore, measures on how to curb plagiarism should be taken and there should be consequences in place for culprits who are performing it. In my view, students who involve in the acts of plagiarism should redo the assignment, be suspended and in extreme cases be expelled. Authors who are involved in academic plagiarism should also be punished by having their works banned from their societies.

References
Council of Writing Program Administrators. (2003). Defining and Avoiding Plagiarism: The WPA Statement on Best Practices. Retrieved from http://www.wpacouncil.org
Gibaldi, J. (1998). MLA Style manual and guide to scholarly publishing. (2nd Ed).
Modern Language Association of America.
Jones, L. (2011), Academic Integrity & Academic Dishonesty: A Handbook about Cheating & Plagiarism Florida: Florida Institute of Technology, Melbourne.
Loveleena Rajeev (2012). Different types of Plagiarism. Retrieved from (Buzzle: http://www.buzzle.com/articles/different-types-of-plagiarism.html),
Murdoch University Academic Integrity (2011), Retrieved from http://www.murdoch.edu.au/teach/plagiarism/
Ronald B Standler, (2010), Plagiarism in Colleges in USA retrieved from http://www.rbs2.com/plag.pdf.
Sheryl Holt (2013), Success with Graduate and Scholarly Writing: A Guide for Non-native Writers of English

References: Council of Writing Program Administrators. (2003). Defining and Avoiding Plagiarism: The WPA Statement on Best Practices. Retrieved from http://www.wpacouncil.org Gibaldi, J. (1998). MLA Style manual and guide to scholarly publishing. (2nd Ed). Modern Language Association of America. Jones, L. (2011), Academic Integrity & Academic Dishonesty: A Handbook about Cheating & Plagiarism Florida: Florida Institute of Technology, Melbourne. Loveleena Rajeev (2012). Different types of Plagiarism. Retrieved from (Buzzle: http://www.buzzle.com/articles/different-types-of-plagiarism.html), Murdoch University Academic Integrity (2011), Retrieved from http://www.murdoch.edu.au/teach/plagiarism/ Ronald B Standler, (2010), Plagiarism in Colleges in USA retrieved from http://www.rbs2.com/plag.pdf. Sheryl Holt (2013), Success with Graduate and Scholarly Writing: A Guide for Non-native Writers of English