PLAGIARISM
by DARSHANIE PREMATILAKE
"To steal and pass off (the ideas or words of another) as one's own: use (another's production) without crediting the source"
(Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary).
In short, plagiarism in writing is copying what somebody else wrote and presenting it as your own without crediting or acknowledging the real author.
Sometimes people confuse 'plagiarism' and 'referencing'. During referencing, you read and understand what earlier workers wrote and use that information to enrich your writing with due credit to the author. But plagiarism is copying others' work without mentioning their names.
Once, an undergraduate gave me her assignment for marking. While reading her work, halfway through, I noticed a different writing pattern and some elaborative words that were alien to her usual writing style.
The next day, without any preamble, I asked her the meaning of one such word. The look she gave me was enough to realise that she was clueless.
Obviously, my student had directly copied a passage from a textbook, even without understanding the proper meaning, let alone its applicability to her work!
Whether you are a student, a teacher, a scientist, or a professor, using someone's work as your own is wrong and should be avoided at all costs.
Now, there are many software programs to detect plagiarized work. Hence, you must be very careful in writing and presenting your work for publication. If you are accused of plagiarism, undoubtedly, you'll lose your credibility in writing as well as in the scientific community.
Plagiarism is illegal; never be a victim of plagiarism.
Links:
http://www.ithenticate.com/
http://www.Turnitin.com
www.writecheck.com
(Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary).
In short, plagiarism in writing is copying what somebody else wrote and presenting it as your own without crediting or acknowledging the real author.
Sometimes people confuse 'plagiarism' and 'referencing'. During referencing, you read and understand what earlier workers wrote and use that information to enrich your writing with due credit to the author. But plagiarism is copying others' work without mentioning their names.
Once, an undergraduate gave me her assignment for marking. While reading her work, halfway through, I noticed a different writing pattern and some elaborative words that were alien to her usual writing style.
The next day, without any preamble, I asked her the meaning of one such word. The look she gave me was enough to realise that she was clueless.
Obviously, my student had directly copied a passage from a textbook, even without understanding the proper meaning, let alone its applicability to her work!
Whether you are a student, a teacher, a scientist, or a professor, using someone's work as your own is wrong and should be avoided at all costs.
Now, there are many software programs to detect plagiarized work. Hence, you must be very careful in writing and presenting your work for publication. If you are accused of plagiarism, undoubtedly, you'll lose your credibility in writing as well as in the scientific community.
Plagiarism is illegal; never be a victim of plagiarism.
Links:
http://www.ithenticate.com/
http://www.Turnitin.com
www.writecheck.com
What do you think?
"If you steal from one author, it's plagiarism; if you steal from many, it's research."
Wilson Mizner (1876 - 1933)
"The best way to become a successful
writer is to read good writing, remember it, and then forget where you remember it from."
Gene Fowler (1890 - 1960)
"If you steal from one author, it's plagiarism; if you steal from many, it's research."
Wilson Mizner (1876 - 1933)
"The best way to become a successful
writer is to read good writing, remember it, and then forget where you remember it from."
Gene Fowler (1890 - 1960)
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