COMM 99 Foreign Studies

In essence, plagiarism has been a topic of concern among students, scholars and even in the wider contemporary world. Plagiarism is a word used to refer to the practice of taking someone else’s work or ideas and passing them off as one’s own. This has been a topic of discussion with people questioning the ethical and moral implications of the practice. Plagiarism has been considered to be an illegal offense in many learning institutions all over the world and students caught engaging in plagiarism face heavy penalties ranging from deduction of marks to expulsion from the institution, (Park, 2003). This essay is going to discuss on why people plagiarize. Considering various factors involved, there can be no justification for plagiarism. Plagiarism is abusing creativity and originality and we should educate ourselves accordingly to avoid it.

According to the first article, “Why do people plagiarize?” by Ashante Infantry, there are several high profile individuals in the society associated with plagiarism. They include Chris Spence who served as a board of director of Toronto District School as well Germany politicians such as the minister of education. One of the reasons that people plagiarize is because they want people to like them. Those caught in the act have agreed that they wanted to impress people. The other reason is lack of self-confidence in their work and low self-esteem, (Ashante Infantry, 2013). The other reason encouraging perpetrators of plagiarism are pressure of elite university campuses and journalism as well as laziness.  Also in some of these career plagiarists it can be noted that it became a bizarre habit that they could not stop. I strongly agree with the author since all these reasons can encourage plagiarism especially in this competitive contemporary world where professionals have to appear more intelligent than their competitors. Encouraging people to have confidence in their work as well as promote creativity can discourage this practice of plagiarism.

The second article by Lisa Taylor talks about the ethical implications of plagiarism among journalists. Lisa Taylor says that ignorance of law is no excuse for plagiarism among journalists and students. The journalists should be honest and consider that law must be exercised appropriately as they carry their duties. Course policies are one way of preventing students from engaging in plagiarism and they should be educated on the importance of originality, (McCabe, 2005). Therefore, the author clearly states the importance of educating students concerning plagiarism so that they can observe that even while practicing their professions. Teachers or tutors apathy can encourage students to engage in plagiarism especially when the students do not get punished appropriately according to the school policies. I agree with the author in this article and especially how a lot of emphasis is on educating the student concerning plagiarism.

The two documents clearly discourage the practice of plagiarism and the various factors that encourage the practice. It is clearly that plagiarism is not encouraged among students as well as professionals. Plagiarism encourages laziness among students and this result into producing half-baked professional into the job market. Creativity and originality should be encouraged from early levels of learning in order to boost self-esteem of individuals.   Plagiarism is a topic of concern and there are several measures to encourage plagiarists to stop it. Learning institutions and professional regulatory bodies have an important role to play in eradicating plagiarism. They can formulate and strictly implement policies that discourage plagiarism among students and professionals.

In summary, the two articles support the fact that there is no justification for plagiarism and we should educate ourselves accordingly. Plagiarism is not ethical and it is cause by several factors such as competition and lack of self-esteem. One of the reasons that people plagiarize is because they want people to like them. The other reason encouraging perpetrators of plagiarism are pressure of elite university campuses and journalism as well as laziness.  Also in some of these career plagiarists it can be noted that it became a bizarre habit that they could not stop. The other reason is lack of self-confidence in their work and low self-esteem. There are also several measures that can remedy the situation such as using strict policies against the practice. Creativity and originality should be encouraged from early levels of learning in order to boost self-esteem of individuals. Learning institutions and professional regulatory bodies have an important role to play in eradicating plagiarism. Strict course policies are one way of preventing students from engaging in plagiarism and they should be educated on the importance of originality.

References

Ashante Infantry (January 16, 2013). Why do people plagiarise? The Toronto Star.

Lisa Taylor, 2014. Ethics and Law in the practice of Journalism. Routledge

McCabe, D. (2005). Cheating: Why students do it and how we can help them stop. Guiding students from cheating and plagiarism to honesty and integrity: Strategies for change, 237-242.   

Park, C. (2003). In other (people's) words: Plagiarism by university students--literature and lessons. Assessment & evaluation in higher education, 28(5), 471-488.