Plagiarism: a Social Problem
PLAGIARISM: A SOCIAL PROBLEM
It's four in the morning, and you're just one page into a 15-page term paper that's due at ten, and the professor isn't giving extensions. A few years ago, that would have been it: You would have passed in the paper late, if at all, and dealt with the consequences. But this is 2007, and so, in your most desperate hour, you try a desperate ploy. You log on to the internet enter "term papers" into the search engine, and find your way to www.al-termpaper.com. There, you scroll down past the big red disclaimer ("All work offered is for research purposes only"), find a paper that fits the assignment, enter your credit card number, and then wait until the file shows up in your email account. You feel a little ashamed, but, hey, the course is just a general requirement anyway. You put your name on the title page, print it out, and set the alarm for nine (Lathrop). "Plagiarism is the unauthorized use or close imitation of the language and thoughts of another author and the representation of them as one's own original work" (Plagiarism). Many are noticing how plagiarism is becoming a more prevalent problem in schools today and the thought of plagiarism is on many intellectual minds. Warnings about plagarism are included on every syllabus distributed on the first day of class, accompanied by a lengthy discussion of the same topic delivered from almost every teacher. It is forced into the minds of professors as they read through a thick stack of essays. but only few have the "literary theft" tattooed on their permanent records, forever damaging their student and professional careers. Many students are unaware of what true plagiarism consists of and how easily it can occur. The Princeton Integrity Honor Code plainly states that plagiarism can include "the key idea, the word choice, the order of the examples, and even the basic structure of original sentences" (Academic). Plagiarism is not a new trend in schools today, we see it since the
It's four in the morning, and you're just one page into a 15-page term paper that's due at ten, and the professor isn't giving extensions. A few years ago, that would have been it: You would have passed in the paper late, if at all, and dealt with the consequences. But this is 2007, and so, in your most desperate hour, you try a desperate ploy. You log on to the internet enter "term papers" into the search engine, and find your way to www.al-termpaper.com. There, you scroll down past the big red disclaimer ("All work offered is for research purposes only"), find a paper that fits the assignment, enter your credit card number, and then wait until the file shows up in your email account. You feel a little ashamed, but, hey, the course is just a general requirement anyway. You put your name on the title page, print it out, and set the alarm for nine (Lathrop). "Plagiarism is the unauthorized use or close imitation of the language and thoughts of another author and the representation of them as one's own original work" (Plagiarism). Many are noticing how plagiarism is becoming a more prevalent problem in schools today and the thought of plagiarism is on many intellectual minds. Warnings about plagarism are included on every syllabus distributed on the first day of class, accompanied by a lengthy discussion of the same topic delivered from almost every teacher. It is forced into the minds of professors as they read through a thick stack of essays. but only few have the "literary theft" tattooed on their permanent records, forever damaging their student and professional careers. Many students are unaware of what true plagiarism consists of and how easily it can occur. The Princeton Integrity Honor Code plainly states that plagiarism can include "the key idea, the word choice, the order of the examples, and even the basic structure of original sentences" (Academic). Plagiarism is not a new trend in schools today, we see it since the