EFFECTS OF PLAGIARISM AMONG COLLEGE STUDENTS AND POSSIBLE REMEDIES
Introduction
Plagiarism, also known as academic dishonesty, is the representation of another author’s language, thoughts, ideas, or expressions as one’s original work. This results due to a lack of proper work citing and has adverse consequences for students. The repercussions of Plagiarism depend on institutions‘ rules as well as the type of Plagiarism (Maurer 2006, p. 1050-1084). Various results are as discussed below.
Grade Penalties
Institutions treat academic theft with much demeanor and do not tolerate Plagiarism at all. As a result, students found plagiarizing are heavily punished by grade penalization. In this context, academic sanctions may include lower grades, failing the course, or dismissal from an academic major. This incident diminishes someone’s chances of a useful reference from the instructor for a bursary application, study abroad program, graduate school, or even internship (Deckert 1993, P. 131 -148)This affects the students’ academic reputation and as well as the overall grade attained upon graduation. It affects someone’s academic progress and results in retakes of the units concerned. Similarly, partial penalties lead to poor results achieved by a student and might disqualify the student from graduation. In some instances, degrees can be revoked when later discovered that an individual plagiarized a capstone, project or thesis
Punitive Action
To uphold academic integrity, many universities ruthlessly take disciplinary actions against the victims of Plagiarism.In respect to this, students found committing the crime might be suspended from attending classes for a definite period (White‐Blackburn 1977, p.312 -319). Suspensions result in loss of time for learning and therefore lead to the sinking of grades. Alternatively, one can receive warnings posted in school dashboards, which is shameful as it causes circle discussions about an individual(s). When the offense persists, some institutions send the offenders back home to come with guardians, and this inconveniences parents a lot.
Individual Toll
Plagiarism keeps a student from learning which the sole reason for being at school is. This form of cheating gives one an unfair advantage over other students who are doing their work—in this regard, being punished for this crime damages student’s reputation and, therefore, undermines instructors’ trust and confidence towards a particular individual. In respect to this, peers might lose connection to the victim and chose not to work with the individual on group projects. This lowers individual self-esteem and thus might result in poor performance.
Suspension or Expulsion from School
Deliberate Plagiarism might result in the definite or indefinite suspension of a student from an institution. Expulsion means a termination of student’s studies and thus destroys the student’s academics qualifications. If this happens, a student is compelled to leave the institution, and no academic credential accorded to him or her. An academic misconduct notation misconduct might be placed on an individual’s transcript, which might be seen by other colleges and universities. Thus one cannot be able to transfer to any other undergraduate school. As a result, this reduces someone’s chances of completing their education and negatively affect the future. Similarly, school suspension impairs student’s employment opportunities, and the future of the victim is always uncertain in the job market.
Vocation Insinuations
Some jobs, particularly in law implementation, requires a clean penal history. However, a piracy charge in college could question someone’s integrity and suitability for a typical profession. In a competitive job market, employers consider letters of referees and instructors to help them sort out applicants for a given job opportunity. In this context, Plagiarism could cost an individual in a scenario where instructors attest the character someone exhibited back at school
Possible ways of Avoiding Plagiarism
Paraphrasing
This method employs the rewording of a phrase using different words but keeping the original meaning. This involves summarizing a typical phrase, use of synonyms, and even use of quotes. This method is paramount because it shows a learner understands the source of his or her information. Additionally, it gives the writer an alternative way of using direct quotes, which should be used infrequently. (Scanlon, 2002 p. 374 -385) Paraphrasing technique includes:
(I)Reading a whole text or paragraph and understanding about it,
(ii) Writing down ideas without looking at the original one,
(iii) Use of synonyms or changing word order
(iv)Finally, comparing the new text with the original to confirm whether the meaning has been kept.
Proper Citing
This method entails mentioning the original author of borrowed information to give them credit and acknowledging their ideas. It acts as proof about the source of information that a writer in cooperates into his or her work from a different author. This method is paramount because it shows the reader that one has done proper research by listing sources used to get the information (Landau 2002, p. 112-115)
Use of Plagiarism Checkers
Proper use of Turnitin helps students eliminate Plagiarism. This plagiarism checker acts as feedback mechanisms to help students what constitutes of Plagiarism and thus assist them in developing their academic writing skills. It gives students the similarity report, and thus it becomes easy to eliminate piracy.
Conclusion
Plagiarism is unethical and thus undermines academic integrity. Therefore, it has adverse consequences for students and should be avoided at all costs. Students should learn about various methods discussed above on how to prevent this form of intellectual theft because it destroys one’s academic reputation. Similarly, lecturers should treat piracy cases with the seriousness it deserves to ensure students acquire the academic credentials they deserve and foster effectiveness and professionalism in the job market.
References
. Deckert, G.D., 1993. Perspectives on Plagiarism from ESL students in Hong Kong. Journal of Second Language Writing, 2(2), pp.131-148.
Landau, J.D., Druen, P.B., and Arcuri, J.A., 2002. Methods for helping students avoid Plagiarism. The teaching of Psychology, 29(2), pp.112-115.
Maurer, H.A., Kappe, F., and Zaka, B., 2006. Plagiarism-A survey. J. UCS, 12(8), pp.1050-1084.
Scanlon, P.M. and Neumann, D.R., 2002. Internet plagiarism among college students. Journal of College Student Development, 43(3), pp.374-385.
White‐Blackburn, G., Semb, S., and Semb, G., 1977. THE EFFECTS OF A GOOD‐BEHAVIOR CONTRACT ON THE CLASSROOM BEHAVIORS OF SIXTH‐GRADE STUDENTS 1. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 10(2), pp.312-319