Plagiarism and the Internet :: Cheating School Education Essays

Plagiarism and the Internet Premarital sexual activity and drug and alcohol use are high in the list of problems in schools and universities today. Equally as severe is plagiarism, the act of taking credit for another person words or ideas. Plagiarism is a major problem in educational institutions. There are reasons for this action, the  ¡Ãƒ easy ¡ÃƒÅ" way out of writing assignments and projects. However, there are also ways to remedy the situation. Thus, plagiarism is a problem, but it is possible through education to substantially lower its use. Students rationalize entirely too much when it comes to essays and other assignments. Whether it is poor time management or lack of incentive, plagiarism is always wrong. Not only is taking another person ¦Ãƒ s thoughts not moral, but it is punishable by law. It is a serious offense. Pupils plagiarize because it is virtually effortless. With the Internet both available everywhere and used as a daily necessity, there is a plethora of information at one ¦Ãƒ s fingertips. Also, students find that plagiarism is not addressed as a serious problem because it is often undetected, much less punished. These reasons encompass the motives behind plagiarism. The situation isn ¦Ãƒ t entirely hopeless, however. Education is the key to decreasing the thirty-six percent of college students who confess to plagiarizing papers and other such materials (Paradigms 1). One way to educate is to inform students of the Copyright Act and of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. The former states that fair uses are not an infringement of copyright (Loren 4). A fair use refers to uses such as reports, essays, and research in which a source is properly cited. The Digital Millenium Copyright Act provides for copyright owners who believe that their material on the Internet is breaching their rights (Loren 4). Both of these laws have severe consequences. If educators familiarized their students with these, then plagiarism would decrease inversely with the understanding of the severity of the act. Teachers must make this effort, just as students must make their own effort to do their own work. Also, teachers ought to enforce discipline when it co mes to a violation like plagiarism and create an association between plagiarism and punishment, not plagiarism and indifference. This is how plagiarism should be dealt with in the classroom. An omnipresent situation in schools today is plagiarism.