Plagiarism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Plagiarism - Essay Example Plagiarism usually applies to specific texts that are print published, texts that are online, manuscripts, not forgetting the work of other writers. Thus, if plagiarism is present, either intentional or unintentional, it results to low or poor quality of the paper submitted either by a student or the author irrespective of their rank (Ali et al, 2011). Most students are aware of the consequences arising from actions that constitute plagiarism. For instance, if student copies information that is published into a newspaper and it does not attribute the source for the main purpose of claiming the information is his own, or even the act of turning another student’s constitute plagiarism. Moreover, plagiarism has a negative externalities on students in the form of low grades for students who plagiarize thereby diminishing the education credentials or grade for a student (Dee and Jacob, 2012). Plagiarism may lead to an institution or an individual being sued by the author who owns t he ideas plagiarized for breach of intellectual property law. In addition, university authorities should do well not to desist in attempting to dissuade students from plagiarism (Selwyn, 2008); moreover, good college experience for students lies in the synthesizing of the ideas gained in class and reproducing them in their own unique way while avoiding plagiarism. Quoting is one of the strategies used in avoiding plagiarism when referring to wordings that are factual or a statement that are hard to change without altering the intended meaning. When using this strategy it is advisable to write the authors’ exact words using quotation marks, and when quoting longer quotes it is advisable to put as in an indented paragraph and the source included either within the text of paper or on the footnote. An example of a quotation would be: â€Å"Adam Winkler who studies constitutional-law at the U.C.L.A was able to broadly demonstrate in his book Gunfight how fire arm possession has b een regulated in the United States of America† (Jill, 2012). In case of quoting longer sections the writer should use a block quote such as: Adam Winkler who studies constitutional-law at the U.C.L.A was able to broadly demonstrate in his book Gunfight how firearm possession has been regulated in the United States of America. Regulation of firearms has been done in Kentucky and Louisiana through having concealed weapons being passed in these cities. The rules were later implemented in the cities of Indiana in 1820, Virginia, Tennessee, Alabama and Ohio by end of 1859. The law was gradually adopted eventually spread to Texas Oklahoma and Florida. The governor of Texas explained that concealing a dangerous weapon is murdering an individual and therefore it is the duty of every one to respect a man who obeys the law (Jill, 2012). Paraphrasing is another strategy used in avoiding plagiarism which involves the putting someone else ideas in your own words at the same time ensuring t he words are not rearranged or replaced with few words. In addition, it entails reading, internalizing the ideas presented and then writing them in one’s own words, and eventually citing the source from which the text was read from since the idea was got from that specific source. It is important to note that when a student does not have sufficient time to conduct research essential to effectively complete their research paper they can cite that of another person who did the research, but acknowledge them by