Plagiarism :: Cheating Essays papers

Plagiarism When we think of plagiarism the word criminal comes into mind. Contrary, one does not often intentionally mean to take an already written and published thought. However, the online Merriam-Webster Dictionary states that to plagiarize is â€Å"to commit literary theft† that is, to take ones â€Å"idea[s]† that are written down and â€Å"pass† theirs off as your own work. Nevertheless, the question- what if I did think and create that idea in my own mind- always pop up. The only way to explain the frequency of students plagiarizing is to blame the schools for not enforcing and teaching the rules. Therefore, when we educate others and ourselves the rules of copying and cheating there will not be any cases of accidental plagiarism. Society nowadays is flooded with online-websites, self help lines, and novels about the dangers of plagiarism and how to avoid it; yet students continue to steal others work for their own. With the over abundance of technological support and the vast variety of reference books and novels it is almost a temptation for students to plagiarize. All the same, students would not feel compelled to plagiarize if teachers would bring all the rules of citation into light. If we educate students at a young age that plagiarism is not the way to go then maybe the amount of plagiarism would drop. Furthermore, if there was a mandatory class that students took in their late elementary and throughout secondary schooling plagiarism would not be a major problem like it is today. Similar to the ignorance shared in the 1960’s because of the lack of knowledge about minorities, plagiarism is an issue that most people do not feel entirely confident and comfortable with due to their shortage of education.