Plagiarism

Plagiarism
James A. Hallman III
East Tennessee State University

Plagiarism

One of the few things that are looked down on in every society is theft. Theft is exactly what is happening when one individual plagiarizes. Plagiarism is the taking of or stealing of one person’s ideas or thoughts and passed off like they are your very own ideas. One definition on merrianwebsterdictionary.com terms plagiarism as literary theft. In this paper I will go over why plagiarism is wrong and different types of plagiarism.
Plagiarism is wrong as I stated above because it is a form of stealing. Many people do not think of writing and thoughts as a material thing that can be stolen, but it can. Everyday someone has an idea, say it is an invention and it is going to make that person millions, but the thought is stolen and used as the other person’s idea. That is a form of theft on a bigger platform, but it is the same as plagiarism.
There are many types of plagiarism and I will give you a couple examples. Self-plagiarism is one type. It is when a person has already written their own thoughts down and uses them again and presents them as new. Photocopy plagiarism is another form, it deals with someone taking information directly from one web site and copying it onto their   paper acting like it is their own ideas without alteration. Another form deals with incorrect citing of works used.
Basically what is being said is to always credit the place at which you received information if it were not already a thought or an idea of your own. If you are not sure or have any questions refer to a APA reference book, or ask your professors.

Reference
Cfccnc, (2009, August, 25). A quick guide to plagiarism. You Tube, Retrieved from
          http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VnTPv9PtOoo&noredirect=1
Dictionary plagiarize, (2013). Merriam Webster Company. Retrieved from
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/plagiarize