How to Avoid Plagiarism
Imagine you read a poem or listen to a song that really matches your emotions and at the same time you are asked in your poetry class to write a personal poem. Now you are put in temptation. You could copy the poem or the song’s lyrics and present it under your name. “It describes the same emotions,” you tell yourself trying to justify the act. You can do this and risk a bad grade or expulsion for plagiarism, or you can do much better by reaching for the pen and writing down what your own unique mind directs your fingers to write. Just because somebody else has succeeded in describing your feelings, it doesn’t mean that you cannot do it just as well, better or at least more precisely. |
The word plagiarism is derived from the Latin plagiare, which means to kidnap. Due to today’s speedy and easily accessible communications systems, allowing us to draw from written sources from all around the world, the temptation to plagiarize is great. However, as the paragraph above suggests, you can do much better by not plagiarizing - whether it is poetry or a scientific analysis.
Plagiarism is unnecessary. Your honest thoughts, written and described in the way that proves your point, will earn much more respect than hijacking the words from someone else. Whenever you find the opinions of certain authors important to your work, plagiarism can be avoided by proper citation (see Citation Styles and Guidelines).
By feeling confident about your writing, allowing yourself the time you need to research and revise your paper and remembering to cite your sources, you can keep your conscience clear about plagiarism. The time is now to develop these skills to avoid being a simple user and rather to act as a full-fledged partner in any discussion.
Being a competent, responsible writer is something you take with you after college and it will give you independence in your career and in your mind.