Abstract

According to the Oxford Dictionary, plagiarism is defined as the wrong use of someone elses
work by presenting it as ones own without giving due credit to the former (Oxford 2011).
Although it may not constitute of an offense punishable by law, plagiarism remains a very
serious and complex issue in academia. In this world of ever-advancing technologies where
there is almost no limit to the amount of available sources of information, plagiarism has been
observed to be on the increase amongst the students population worldwide. This is leading to
severe actions being undertaken, such as students termination, by most academic institutions
in a genuine attempt to discourage this malpractice. Hence, it is in the interest of students to
know why and how they can avoid being indulged in this act academic dishonesty so as not to
experience personal disappointments in the future.























Why and how should a student avoid plagiarism?
Plagiarism refers to the improper use of someone elses work and claiming it to be ones own
(US Copyright Office (2006)). The main corporate issue with plagiarism is that sufficient credit
is not given to the original author and this constitutes of a moral offense to the plagiarists
audience (Wikipedia - Plagiarism (2013)) as well as belittling the integrity of the initial
published work. Plagiarism can be of many types, namely: deliberate plagiarism, self-
plagiarism, paraphrasing, patchwork paraphrasing and source-stitching plagiarism (Viper Anti-
Plagiarism Scanner - Types of plagiarism (2009)). Though any kind of plagiarism is considered
to be a dishonest and unethical practice, there are no clear rules which indicate that a plagiarist
is liable to any judicial penalty. However, in most universities across the world, plagiarism is
an issue which is strictly addressed to by internal disciplinary committees, to which both
students and lecturers are adhered to and the severity of eventual sanctions to plagiarist students
are showcased in the forms of temporary suspensions or even termination. In this modern era
of technological advances, it is as easy as a mouse click to copy published articles and with the
wide availability of the internet, students are often ignorantly and unintentionally lured to
commit this offence. Since plagiarism can be easily detected by specially-built software
packages and to avoid personal disappointments, it is mandatory for students to understand
why the practice of plagiarism is strongly discouraged and how can it be avoided.
While in junior school, plagiarism is not a serious issue, though encouraged not to indulge into
that practice, most universities and high schools have set up and enforced their own laws over
the years since it is becoming increasingly easy to plagiarise. The main reason behind
discouraging plagiarism at undergraduate or even higher levels of studies is that eventual
consequences are severe and can ruin ones academic or even professional career. The most
common sanctions resulting from this issue are: being expelled from a particular academic
course, not accepting ones research work or thesis, rustication and in extreme circumstances,
even legal actions are considered, although this may not be the case worldwide (Viper-Anti
Plagiarism Scanner - Consequences of Plagiarism (2009)).If a student has been forced to quit
his course of study due to him being accused of plagiarism offences, it is very difficult for him
to be able to secure a seat at another university or even obtain a job as no university or employer
would not want someone who has been discredited of his honesty and unworthiness. According
to statistical records, 143 university students in the UK were expelled for plagiarism offences
in 2007 (Facts and Stats - Academic Integrity (2012)). Due to an increase in the academic
standards, university students face a lot of pressure and are very much tempted to commit
plagiarism. This tendency has created a misconception among them that the seriousness with
which plagiarism is dealt with as well as the odds of subsequent sanctions will be reduced as
the number of plagiarists increases (Queens University - Academic Integrity (2013)).Contrary
to this, an increase in plagiarism in the last few years is what has tempted universities to revise
and adopt more severe sanctions to deal with it. Plagiarism comes under more strict and rigid
scrutiny when high-level research works such as a dissertation or a thesis are submitted. The
slightest plagiarism noted will cause the whole piece of work not to be accepted by the
academic institution since the backbone of these research works is originality and the student
should be able to produce works of publication standards. The mentioned consequences of
plagiarism may be found harsh by the student population but it should be born in mind that the
compromising of ones career is the heavy price to pay for indulging in any act of plagiarism.

Academic ethics are those principles which govern a students behaviour in regards of the
activities that he conduct (Oxford 2011). Plagiarism is considered to be a breach of these
ethics and is one of the most complex ethical issues in academia since it cannot be completely
eliminated. Students should be aware of the fact that copying someone elses work, either on
purpose or ignorantly, does not demonstrate the pedagogical values inculcated in them since
their tender school days. In fact, this indicates their dearth of originality and the lack of
reasoning and critical thinking. The latter represent the expected outcomes when they complete
their studies. But, if they commit the act of plagiarism during the course of their studies itself,
it will be difficult for them to achieve success in the proper manner. Moreover, the copied piece
of work is in itself an original one, which has been done after much time and effort have been
dedicated to research work and analysis. Not only the plagiarist, but the original authors
credibility is questioned after the latters work has been copied without giving due credit to
him. This reiterates the fact why many authors or researchers are reluctant in allowing the
public to gain access to their works. Hence, it is in the benefit of all students to be aware and
understand the different ethical policies within the academic community and to adhere strictly
to these standards in each of their undertaken works. Certain responsibilities are key for them
to be able to be able to do so. These responsibilities include: reading and familiarising oneself
with the ethical policies, understanding and avoiding acts that shall violate these policies in any
way, undertaking commitments to always act with honesty and integrity in all academic works,
ensuring that the requirements and expectations of their pedagogical works are well understood
and to seek guidance if one is unsure as to whether an act shall violate any of the expectations
(University of Notherlowa Policies (2012)). In the light of the above, it can be said that the
primary focus of students should be on the development of a proper and unique attitude, such
that they do not breach any of the mentioned academic ethical values. While doing so, not only
will they have a clear conscience about their own abilities and will be able to express an
appreciation to authors for their original pieces of work but this shall promote an awareness in
the attempt to suppress plagiarism.
Having looked at why plagiarism should be avoided, the next question which usually follows
refers to how it can be avoided and this is a question which has raised further questions rather
than being answered as it is difficult to judge effectively which words can be documented and
which cannot. According to the Harvard University in the United States, the best way for a
student to ensure that his written academic works are plagiarism-free is to be able to take good
notes from a source and summarize what he has understood using his own words without
forgetting to reference or cite the sources (University of Harvard Harvard Guide to Using
Sources (2013)). To begin with, paraphrasing is one of the easiest, yet time consuming ways
to do this. To paraphrase means to put the ideas from an original source into our own words,
usually following the same order of presentation of ideas as in the original one. However, the
concept of paraphrasing follows a principle which says that any paraphrase should be cited
exactly in the same way as a direct quote would have been and if more than two exact words
have been used, these words should be written within inverted commas (Write Check
Resources (2013)). Due to the tedious task of paraphrasing, it is a common practice among
students to quote directly from an original article and to cite the source. However, this is a lazy
concept which does not help to promote the intellectual growth of students. Citation is another
way to avoid plagiarism. However, citation of sources of information are done using particular
formats, depending upon the institutions prescription and the use of wrong formats are
considered to be plagiarism. Thus, it is important for scholars to master the proper formats for
citing sources. The two main formats that are generally accepted worldwide for citing are the
MLA (Modern Language Association of America) and APA (American Psychological
Association). (University of California Berkeley Library Citing Sources (2013)). One of the
most common ways adopted in the academic community since old days to avoid plagiarism is
by referencing. This involves citing the sources in the document itself and including a reference
page at the end of it, where the detailed specifications of the sources are included. These details
include the authors name, publishers, date of publication, title, chapters, paragraphs and even
page numbers. As it can be deduced, the detailed referencing allows the assessors to locate the
source to counter check the documented information. Referencing and the above-mentioned
ways to avoid plagiarism enhance the credibility of students and prove that the latter are well
versed about a particular topic (Writing and Humanistic Studies Cambridge (2012)). As
pointed out by scholar Ed White, it is no sin for someone to accept another persons
ideasBut you must interpose yourself between the sources and the writing, thus making other
peoples ideas your own through a process of critical scrutiny (Inquiry (1993)).
Though the use of other peoples ideas to make up a unique write-up in the appropriate way is
a means of not committing plagiarism, grasp understanding and originality in the area being
written about is the best natural method for students to avoid being indulged in plagiarism
issues. At university level, each student is enrolled in a specialist field of study. Thus to be able
to innovate and produce plagiarism-free academic works, scholars should familiarise
themselves with the field they are into. The familiarisation of different concepts in a particular
field does not originate out of thin air. Extensive reading, literature reviewing and attending
seminars are few ways through which this can be achieved (Academic Stack Exchange
Familiarisation with state-of the art before PhD (2010)). It should be clear in the minds of
students that academic works of sufficient quality and originality is expected from them and it
is obvious that everything falling within a scope cannot be grasped. However, with sufficient
practice, a student should be able to get the best out of himself. Not only the concepts need to
be understood, but the ideas and core principles behind the latter are the insights that need to
be grasped to be able to completely avoiding plagiarism. The students shall then be able to
generate ideas of their own, although the ideas may not be of the required standard initially.
With a proper planning and good time management, there will be a gradual improvement in
the written academic works and this development of personal skills will allow the students to
be a source of inspiration to themselves rather than using ideas from outer sources. Despite the
fact that the afore-mentioned description is the good initiative for students not to plagiarise, it
is to be stressed out that some academic works, such as conducting a research, cannot be done
without referring to adequate outer sources of information. Hence, a good blend of references
and originality seem to be the solution to diminish the propagation of plagiarism in the
academic community.
To conclude, it can be said that plagiarism is a very subjective issue and needs to be dealt with
from the roots itself. Increased pressure arising from studies, lack of personal skills and laziness
are some of the main causes which lure students to plagiarise. More severe sanctions and
actions should be taken against those who commit this act so as to be able to eradicate this
problem from the academic community. Hence, it is vital for students to know why and how
should plagiarism be avoided in order not to compromise with their careers.

List of references
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8. Oxford Dictionary (2011), p 563, plagiarism.
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