Plagiarism is wrong in many ways. First of all plagiarism is stealing. According to Muriel Harris, author of "Prentice Hall Reference Guide", "...[W]hen we take information and don't indicate whose work it is that we are using, we are stealing"(Harris 378). A second reason plagiarism is wrong is that we are not learning anything if we are using someone else's work. The whole purpose of using our own thoughts in our writing is to learn something. The more we have to reasearch for our paper the more we will learn from it. A third reason that plagiarism is wrong is our responsibility to the authors who have already put a lot of work into their writing. There is a fine line between plagiarism and citing an author's work. In order for writing to be credible it is essential to use good sources in our work. However, when writers get lazy and take other people's thoughts without giving them credit for them, plagiarism strikes again! A final thought on plagiarism being wrong is the consequences that one comes to bear. As a student when one decides to plagiarize they can most often find themselves with a zero for their grade. They will most likely also be kicked out of that class and possibly the school. As a professional one might get tied up in civil court and be sued for lots of money.
Harris, Muriel, and Jennifer L. Kunka. "Research." Prentice Hall Reference Guide.
7th ed. Boston, MA: Pearson Learning Solutions, 2008. 378-81. Print.
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