Why Is Plagiarism Wrong

Plagiarism exists everywhere in this world and you can never escape it. It usually starts in a school with essays and homework and then travels to the real world of music, movies, and multimedia. Our students’ job is to understand the importance of plagiarism and why not to do it. This policy will talk about those things as well as what is plagiarism, the different types of it, how to avoid it, why it is considered wrong, when and why to cite information, and the consequences that follow after it. After reading the policy, our students are expected to be well informed about plagiarism and make the good choices to avoid it.
Since a lot of factors come into play while defining plagiarism, it now has countless definitions as people see it differently …show more content…
We feel as if many students think that only word for word quotes need to be cited, although that is not the case. A source needs to be credited any time it is used, whether you are using the actual sentences as quotes or not. This means that even if a person is merely stating facts, without direct quotes, which they have gotten from a website, they will need to cite that information. If not, consequences will be put into action. Another thing that many students seem to be mistaken of is the idea that they are allowed to copy and paste without citing, as long as they change a few words inside the quote. This does not show originality of one’s own thoughts and is basically a mirror copy of someone else’s, making it incorrect and considered plagiarism. Students will also need to cite when paraphrasing as those ideas did not originate from their own minds and are basically summarizing something they have read. Plagiarism does not only exist in the writing world, though. Many cases of plagiarism have been dealt within the media. Visual plagiarism might not be as big of a problem as other versions. However, in our art classes, it is one to be taken seriously. An artists’ work, whether a drawing or even a photograph, is their own and may not be used without granted permission. One main aspect of visual plagiarism is that a student is not allowed to take and alter any picture and turn it in considering it their own artwork. One will create or paint their own work, but will be allowed to draw inspiration from other artists if they have authorization from their teacher. If not, consequences will be determined. Cheating during classes will also not be tolerated. Whether a student is copying someone’s homework that they forgot to do or getting the answers to a test, it is morally wrong and the student will be punished for