Plagiarism (Sunday, May 30, 2010 / 8:30 AM)
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.
It is indeed easy for many to plagiarise with many sources, such as the internet and books, available for reference. In my opinions, I believe that it is appropriate for primary schools to educate their students about citation and plagiarism.
I believe it is beneficial for teachers to teach their students about plagiarism, giving them a deeper understanding of what it is about, and what they should do to avoid it. Many primary school students may not know about plagiarism and therefore they turn directly to the internet to obtain information for their work, without knowing that it is not the right thing to do. Thus there is a need to educate them on this particular area. This will benefit the students as they approach a higher level of education.
As of students or even professors resorting to plagiarism, most of them should be aware of the consequences of plagiarism. However it may be due to the heavy load and stress which is given to them which caused them to plagiarise. As competition is getting tougher in the area of academic these days, it is more likely for people to resort to plagiarism to portray themselves as more capable and more knowledgeable. Also, given a short period of time to complete the work given, students may feel pressured and thus again, resorting to plagiarism.
Regarding Anilir who has plagiarized about 40 percent of the data and other parts of his thesis and also falsely claimed to have graduated from the Illinois Institute of Technology in the United States and Istanbul Technical University in Turkey, it clearly shows how people would plagiarise for their own benefit.
Kaylee Chan
