Correctly Citing Sources Is Important to Avoiding Plagiarism
Is plagiarism really as big an issue as some news reports would have us believe? Are students wrong to make use of the odd choice paragraph or phrase to help spruce up their essay? This article explains why it’s never okay to use a direct quote without giving credit to the original writer – there is by no means an excuse.
Great writing is not easy to create – it takes time and mental work, even for experienced authors. It’s unsurprising that students are tempted to look for short cuts, especially when the student is encountering writers’ block. But is there any hurt in this practice, when it’s just a few lines?
You will find obvious ethical issues with copying somebody else’s work and not giving due credit. On these though, it may be argued that plagiarism with the text by itself is far much less extreme than plagiarism of suggestions. An additional issue is that there is no universal definition of plagiarism or accepted idea of how numerous consecutive words copied without giving credit score would constitute an instance of plagiarism. In that case, is it so incorrect that a student chooses to copy one or two nicely written sentences that accurately convey a specific process, phenomenon or idea?
To answer this we might turn the concept on its head, and ask why is it so challenging for that student to provide credit score towards the original author of his choice sentences. There’s no argument that can be presented for not performing this simple job. Failing to complete this really is taking credit from an additional author’s carefully constructed choice words. As mentioned at the outset, great writing requires mental work and time, so why ought to the authentic author be deprived of credit for his efforts?
Utilizing quotations from function rather than paraphrasing is preferable in some conditions. A little change in wording can lead to subtle misinterpretation, especially in the case of technical or scientific writing. Once more, there is no actual excuse for not giving credit to the original author.
Lastly, what of somebody who includes a lack of ability in writing simply because of language problems, education degree or even learning disability? Perhaps in these circumstances tutors could permit a much more liberal use of direct quotations (from any other student, a piece riddled with direct quotations and small other content may be regarded as plagiarism as there is no original suggestions in the work). Still, there is no reason to not give correct credit for all those quotes. Students ought to, therefore, usually give correct credit for just about any quotations they have utilized, and use a plagiarism checker to make certain they haven’t accidentally incorporated unreferenced materials.
Jennifer is a Fellow of the Institute of Legal Executives, holding the LL.B with first class honours and having over six years of experience as being a lawyer in private practice. She recommends Viper, a free plagiarism checker that permits students to check their work for plagiarism and remove any instances of it prior to submission to their university.
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