Why is academic integrity important

Why is Academic Integrity Important?
"At its core, academic integrity requires honesty. This involves giving credit where it is due and acknowledging the contributions of others to one's ownintellectual efforts. It also includes assuring that one's own work has been completed in accordance with the standards of one's course or discipline.
 What is the relationship between academic integrityand plagiarism?
Honesty and integrity are foundational values in education. Students, teachers, and administrators are held to the same standards for the conducting and reporting of research, and allare expected to produce original work and to follow strict guidelines when the work of others has been used. Violations of academic integrity can be intentional or unintentional, but neither isexcusable.
Is it the same to write informally than to write for  an academic purpose? Why?
Academic writing is formal writing. Many novice writers have trouble telling informal writing apart from formalwriting. They resort to informal writing, since it’s easier and more familiar.
Informal writing is fine for diary entries, blogs, personal writing, letters or emails to friends. However, writersworking on papers for school, college application essays, scientific papers, research papers, conference presentations, and business proposals generally employ a more formal style akin to donning a suit ordress to attend a wedding.
What are the characteristics of an academic paper?
Academic writing is writing done by scholars for other scholars. Writing done by scholars for scholars? Doesn't thatleave you out? Actually, it doesn't. Now that you are in college you are part of a community of scholars. 
Academic writing is devoted to topics and questions that are of interest to the academiccommunity. When you write an academic paper, you must first try to find a topic or a question that is relevant and appropriate.
 Academic writing should present the reader with an informed argument. To...