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Pocket Change on Plagiarism


It's common knowledge that people are lazy. Nobody wants to work and apply themselves in thought or in the creative processes. Why write a paper or original article, make it thought provoking, unique and something you can take pride in and be able to call your own? It's not like anyone will read it and pay any attention to what you wrote. Truth is, would it not be much simpler to copy and paste the material from someone else's work?

Let's face it, people have better things to do than actually read a whole article. They simply skim through one article or paper and go to the next. By looking at the first few lines and then whatever is in the last paragraph, one should pickup on the topic without wasting time on "filler."

And, you can always trick the reader by adding some type of reference: name of book, website, or whatever as a "Bibliography" at the bottom to make it look complete and professional. Nobody is going to do a search of any type to verify if you did the work. Besides - everyone does it. Or do they?

Maybe I should discuss a little of what plagiarism is first before any statements are made about who is or who is not doing it.




The following quote is from a children's article about, What is Plagiarism.

"The word plagiarism comes from a Latin word for kidnapping. You know that kidnapping is stealing a person. Well, plagiarism is stealing a person's ideas or writing."

Now-a-days, "borrowing" or "sharing" would be better words to use. Nobody actually steals anymore. We share everything on the internet, from songs to programs. Hence the word, shareware. Besides, information should be free and available to all. Some definitions are simply out of date and don't apply to today's lifestyle.

And get this: according to an article in the Duke University Libraries, called, Avoiding Plagiarism, there is this brief statement that says, "...and/or does not give appropriate credit to the original source." Now, you tell me, if you list or add the links to where the stuff comes from, how can it be plagiarism?! Really. People make no sense.



Always remember, "You are writing the paper - not someone else." You're not going to lose your job or get kicked out of school because of failing to use proper citations in crediting someone else's work. That last direct quote, BTW, came from the video, Diagnosis: Plagiarism. Does anyone really care who quoted that? Anyone could have said that and it sounded like every teacher I ever had, and how can anyone remember what every person in your past once said - and when! There is no need to worry about quotes that this, it's not like your trying to being dishonest when most of the stuff you write is common knowledge anyway.

Not everyone feels this way though. There are plenty of videos on youtube about the subject of plagiarism. Found one that is entitled: The Video to End Plagiarism.

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Guess one needs to watch the video to understand what they're talking about and finding what the big fuss is. The above video is entertaining and loaded with information. Didn't really understand much of it and I didn't think it was very helpful either. After all, I been writing for years and I never did anything that they talked about nor did I have any trouble with my work in the past. I remember having a few friends do some of the writing for me and it was fine. Hell, even had my mother do a report or two for me. Family and friends, always there when you need them.

If all this information on plagiarism isn't enough for you, there is also this thing called, self plagiarism. This topic just makes my head spin. Not only can't you c/p work from other sources without proper credit and citations but now, you can't copy your own work either! Believe this? Here you are writing for days on end creating this master piece of 100% original ingenuity and you can't reuse it more than once without dealing with the ethic police and these things called, citations. Anyone else see the joke there?

But it's no joke to many people. So, I added and included a bunch of links which you may use to learn more about this plague of plagiarism. The pictures' sources are listed at the bottom and lead back to some background stories if you like such a thing. Me, I think I had enough and it's time for a break - and some more coffee.

In closing, maybe it's, just fair to give credit where credit is due and leave it at that. Seems right, I guess.

Sometimes the problem is that you can't always give credit to someone, if nobody knows who originated a comment or statement in the first place. This following saying has been around for a long time. Longer than George Burns who was famous for saying it at the end of his shows. I will use the name, anonymous since I can't find the original source, you may have heard of him or her.

Always end with a song ~anonymous.
And I found this song about plagiarism. It's called the, Plagiarism Song. How cool is that?

This page is my two cents worth about the subject. Hoped you like it.

~WFreeman
(a copy of this article is also found on my blog site: SoulSongStudios.Wordpress.com)

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References:

Pictures:

Sonic -
http://gamezblog.com/developer-of-lugaru-hd-victim-of-plagiarism/
F Grade -
http://edforum.adventist.org/articles/educational-sites-provide-ample-fodder-for-plagiarism
What is -
http://classguides.lib.uconn.edu/content.php?pid=50827&sid=386249

Youtube.com

Diagnosis: Plagiarism - http://youtu.be/n3_tin1ik6E
The Video to End Plagiarism - http://youtu.be/2a8VJAo2Aic
Plagiarism Song - http://youtu.be/kjjh8_qTFG8

Various Links

http://kidshealth.org/kid/feeling/school/plagiarism.html#
http://library.duke.edu/research/plagiarism/index.html

Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citation
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plagiarism
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarcasm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shareware