Problem formulation and identification

Plagiarism in an Academic Environment


Plagiarism is defined by the Encyclopedia Britannica as the act of taking the writing of another individual and passing it off as one’s own. With unlimited ways to commit plagiarism and different reasons people commit it. S.E. Van Bramer defines plagiarism as “To steal and pass off (the ideas or words of another) as one's own: use (a createdproduction) without crediting the source vi: to commit literary theft: present as new and original an idea or product derived from an existing source.” If the student knows the definition of plagiarism, why would one commit it? We are going to explore the reasons students plagiarize and seriousness of the offense.
How is plagiarism committed? It can be a simple as copying someone else’s workdirectly, purchasing a paper online or not understanding the often complicated rules of citing another author’s work. The two types of plagiarism are intentional and unintentional.
Let us first look at why intentional plagiarism is committed. There are many reasons that people would commit plagiarism. In college, students can get overwhelmed with assignments and feel plagiarism is the only wayto get the work completed. Some students think that plagiarizing papers can be a thrill and would like to see if they can get their paper past their professor. Students may feel justified simply because “other students are doing it.” Students are also under continuous pressure from family, peers, and instructors to maintain and make high grade point averages. Students may also be competing forscholarships, admissions and places in the job market. No matter what the reason, there is no good reason to commit plagiarism.
The second type of plagiarism is unintentional. Ignorance of the proper forms of citation is the most common reason for unintentional plagiarism. Problems with paraphrasing by changing the original work into the students on work without citing the author isplagiarism. Another common reason for plagiarism is because students take sloppy notes and do not copy the information correctly. In order to prevent unintentional plagiarism the student should write down all the reference information while conducting the research and keep notes well organized. They must also understand the often complicated rules of citing another author’s work or even there ownwork. The University Of Phoenix Student Code Of Academic Integrity states that a student can commit self-plagiarism on ones on work. For example, if a student has attended a previous class in which he or she had presented papers and find oneself writing a similar paper in the present class, if information is obtained or copied from the previous work it still must be cited even though the previouswork was by the same author. (p.1-2) Ignorance of the rules on plagiarism is no excuse although plagiarism may be unintentional it is still wrong and subject to punishment just as intentional plagiarism.
Students are frequently asked to perform their own work of drafting or research. Due to redundancy, ignorance, a deliberate attempt to mislead, or fear of not accomplishing the jobcorrectly the student may commit plagiarism. With all of the pressure a student feels he or she may purchase a paper online at one of the many websites such as www.masterpapers.com. This site states it, “Provides help with custom term papers, essays, complicated research papers and proposals, MBA projects, and dissertations.”
Teachers who see plagiarism know it is an unacceptable behavior andthat it is punishable on many levels. Plagiarism has reached a growing dimension especially in the campuses of the United States, where, for example, universities can make the students sign a "Contract of Honesty.” Due to access of new technologies it is now easier than ever to copy and manipulates text. For instance, let’s say the student is researching a topic on The Maya Culture, the student...