Plagiarism

Why shouldn't we plagiarize? First, it shows a complete lack of skill as a writer. The purpose of writing a research paper is to learn through writing and the research process. When we skip these, we lose an opportunity to learn when and how to correctly cite a source. The more we write and research the better we become at citing.

Plagiarizing also shows no creativity or credibility. Who wants to read a report that is word for word from a book, or internet source? When we find information from a highly credible source by citing their work, it also raises your own credibility by proving you worked hard to find that information and give credit to the original author. It is not credible when you copy and paste an entire web document for a report. Which leads to the next point.

If you plagiarize, you are stealing. How is it that we can steal words? When we cite, we lead our readers to our sources so they can get the proper credit they are due. When we don't cite however, we destroy the trust that our audience had for us. It can also have some serious consequences. Have you ever been sued. If you plagiarize a copyrighted source and don't cite, you can be. At colleges, plagiarizing is considered an act of academic dishonesty which can have dire effects on your life. After college, if you are caught plagiarizing at work, you can lose your job. If you don't want to lose jobs and reputation, don't plagiarize.

Harris, Muriel, and Jennifer L. Kunka. "Research." Prentice Hall Reference Guide. 7th ed. Boston: Pearson Learning Solutions, 2008. 378-79