Plagarism in schools Essay

The term ‘plagiarism’ comes from the Latin word meaning ‘kidnapping’.   It is form of academic dishonesty in which one person passes on another persons work, words and ideas as own.   Several universities and schools do not allow plagiarism of any sort.   Some of the educational institutions often term plagiarism as the worst form of academic dishonesty.   They prefer their students to research and use resources in an appropriate manner and also express their own ideas and views.   Children often find it difficult to understand what plagiarism is.   A student may often use plagiarism in order to compete with others in the same grade.   Plagiarism also puts on extra pressure on the teachers, professors and the lecturers in detecting this serious form of dishonesty and taking action against such students (Nagy, 2004, & Dowshen, 2005). In a study conducted by Duke University in several parts of the US, it was found that about 75 % of the students indulged in some form of plagiarism.   About 33 % of the students admitted that they plagiarized to a severe extent.   In another survey, about 72 % of the students admitted that they plagiarized to serious extents when given home assignments.   In another study conducted in High School American students in 1998, 80 % admitted that they plagiarized in some form of the other, and only on 5 % of the occasions were they caught for it (Nagy, 2004). The teachers also do consider that the students frequently indulge in plagiarism.   Teachers consider the advent of the internet as a major factor for helping to plagiarize their homework.   About 58 % of the teachers consider plagiarism to be an academic issue and about 28 % of them consider that more than 50 % of the students plagiarize their homework.   Teachers consider plagiarism to be particular difficult to detect in certain cases and also to be time-consuming (ATL, 2008). In certain occasions plagiarism can be unintentional.   It is important for the student to quote the references in all cases and to express the ideas and argument in the own words.   The students should also express their ideas in the specific area.   Paraphrasing is one way of avoiding plagiarism, but use of individual ideas needs to be incorporated.   Other people’s words and sentences needs to be clearly quoted.   The individual’s own ideas can be supported by another person’s views mentioned in the texts.   Information taken from several sources and framed using skill and creativity to compile a datasheet cannot be considered as plagiarism (University of Queensland, 2007 & BBC, 2008). References: Association of Teachers & Lecturers (2008). â€Å"School work plagued by plagiarism – ATL survey.† Retrieved on 2008, March 13, from ATL Web site: http://www.atl.org.uk/atl_en/news/Media_office/releases/plagiarism.asp BBC (2007). â€Å"Exploring and Deterring Plagiarism in Schools.† Retrieved on 2008, March 13, from BBC Web site: http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/actionnetwork/F1635812?thread=3606871 Dowshen, S. (1995). â€Å"What is Plagiarism?† Retrieved on 2008, March 13, from Kidshealth Web site: http://www.kidshealth.org/kid/feeling/school/plagiarism.html Nagy, C. (2004). â€Å"Dealing with High School Plagiarism.† Retrieved on 2008, March 13, from New Foundations Web site: http://www.newfoundations.com/ETHICPROP/Nagy718F04.html The University of Queensland, Australia (2007). â€Å"What is Plagiarism?† Retrieved on 2008, March 13, from University of Queensland Web site: http://www.library.uq.edu.au/training/plagiarism.html