Discussion about Plagiarism
Studends in college have many oppotunities to write academic papers. Academic journals, articles and newspapers are an indispensible part of student’s life on campus. Students need academic papers for their credits. As a result of it , academic papers are becoming more and more important. However, a big problem is following this phenomenon. “Plagiarism”is getting more and more serious, especially in international students. This article will discuss these questions about “What is plagiarism?” “Why academic honesty is important?””How to avoid plagiarism?”.
Using another writer’s words as your own words, that is plagiarism(B.Badke 2003). In your academic paper, if you want to use some other people’s opinion, you should cite this opinion with author’s information. If you don’t state that it comes from others, people who read your article may believe that this is your opinion. Basically, you are plagiarizing. There are some other forms of plagiarism. If you clone other’s words,it is easy to understand that is a kind of plagiarism. Another kind of plagiarism is called “find-replace”. It means you change key words and phrases but retain the essential content of the source in a paper(Chu, Chao,Yang 2014). “Remix”is also a kind of plagiarism. It’s an act of paraphrasing from other sources and making the content fit together seamlessly(Chu, Chao,Yang 2014). In fact, there are so many kinds of plagiarism. But remember that, if you are using opinion which is not belonged to you, and you don’t tell others that it’s not yours, you are plagiarizing.
In western countries, academic honesty is so important. Actually, plagiarism is regarded as a kind of stealing. You use other’s opinion without state that it comes from others, it is like you are cheating. Academic honesty is essential to build up a better academic environment. Just try to imagine, if there are a lot of academic dishonesty exist, how hard we will be? Students who are honest will find it hard to get high grades. Everyone in the society will try their best to cheat others. Academic honesty is the fundamental values of an intellectual community and depreciates the achievements of the entire college community(E. Whitley,Keith-Spiegel,Honors 2012). In western countries, professors are so strict with plagiarism. If you are involed in plagiarism, it will result in serious penalties. Things are different in China. Although plagiarism is also not allowed in China, however, there are also a lot of people who prefer to copy other’s words. Lack of supervision is the cause of that phenomenon, which is totally different with western countries.
Everyone wants to know how to avoid plagiarism. Actually, there are some sufficient methods can help you to be far away from plagiarism. The first thing you can do to avoid plagiarism is to credit all the sources you use, even if you have paraphrased or summarized. It is easy to understand that although you have paraphrased or summarized some sources, they are still not your own ideas. If you want to use these words in your article, you need to make other people know the author of these words. If you don’t state that these are not yours,it’s a kind of like “Remix”. The second way to help you avoid plagiarism is that clearly distinguish between your work and the source being used. You can use quotation marks, indentation or a similar method. The purpose is also to make others know that these words are not yours. These are your quotations. Another way may help you is using a style of referencing that is appropriate for the subject.An appropriate reference is helpful for you to be far away from plagiarism. However,The most important thing is try to use your own words and ideas in a paper(Menager-Beeley,Paulos 2009).
Plagiarism is an important topic in western countries. Refusing plagiarism can show your good morality in academic field. When you are writing an academic paper, remember that try to use your own ideas as much as possible. If you need to use other’s ideas, state that they are not yours is a kind of respect to the author. If we try our best together, we can easily have a better academic environment, which is benefit with us all.
Reference
Badke, W. B. (2003). Beyond the answer sheet: Academic success for international students. New York: IUniverse.
Whitley, B. E., Keith-Spiegel, P., & Honors, V. (2012). Academic dishonesty: An educator’s guide. Mahwah, NJ: L. Erlbaum
Menager, R., & Paulos, L. (2009). Quick coach guide to avoiding plagiarism. Boston, MA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.
Chu, W. -., Chao, H. -., & Yang, S. -. (2014). Intelligent systems and applications: Proceedings of the international. Place of publication not identified: Ios Press.