Plagiarism On The Increase Essay -- Writing Cheating Essays

Plagiarism seems to be an increasing problem in today's society, especially on college and university campuses, with the immense resources presently available to people. Previously, individuals were restricted to finding information in resources such as books, magazines, journals, encyclopedias and newspapers, but with the technology and the growth and popularity of the Internet, plagiarism has truly become an issue. There seems to be a direct correlation with the increasing use of the Internet and decreasing amount in student writing. Plagiarism.org defines plagiarism as "the improper use, or failure to attribute, another person's writings or ideas". Plagiarism can actually include such things as copying, downloading or merely altering facts and data from published work, such as websites, books, encyclopedias or magazines, copying from friends or another's work, using media without acknowledgment from the original source or citing the source in a bibliography and using work from another class without permission from professors. There is also plagiarism that occurs accidentally. Accidental plagiarism occurs "when a writer does not intend to plagiarize, but fails to cite his or her sources completely and correctly". An tremendous misunderstanding that many students tend to have is that when they put information in their own words, which is called paraphrasing, they are not committing plagiarism. However, it is plagiarism until they properly reference where they actually received the information Obviously, plagiarism involves a great number of factors and our concern. In this day and age, students are faced with huge amounts of pressure to produce many assignments and get good grades. They may resort to plagia... ...g a chocolate bar from a local convenience store and stealing another person's ideas and work? Both of these situations are wrong , yet people continue to become involved in these illegal actions. People seem to be taking advantage of the immense resources in the world today, especially because computers and the Internet have become a necessity, instead of a luxury, in households. Certainly, the Internet is an excellent source of information, only if it is used wisely and cautiously. References "What's Wrong With Copying?". Economist. April 1997. Pg 77-78. "Your Idea Is Brilliant; Glad I Thought Of It". Fortune. October 2000. Pg 412. "Cybercheats". New Republic. March 1998. Pg 14-15. Online. www.ehhs.cmich.edu. 2000 Online. www.plagiarism.org. 2001. Online. www.virtualsalt.com. 2001. Online. www.writing.northwestern.edu. 1996.