How would you define plagiarism? Through many years of academic writing classes in high school and in college, it has been known fear to avoid plagiarism. Based on the various academic policies I have read, plagiarism is simply not giving credit to the work of another person in the body of my own work. Bakhtiyari et al. (2014) states that the American heritage calls plagiarism as being a “literary thief”, which can be defined as the act of publishing another person’s words or literary concepts as their own. Understanding and recognizing plagiarism is an essential element in a person’s academic/writing career.
How is plagiarism different from fair use? As previously stated, plagiarism is taking the work of another person and using it as one’s
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Using the Internet to search online for information has become a major tool to gain new information on various topics. However, obtaining research online has recently increased plagiarism due to a common feature through computers called “copy and paste” (Ison, 2014). Regardless of the application a person is in, the computer allows the user to copy and paste information from the internet to a word document. Ison (2014) shows that a study was conducted and there was an average of 60% of graduate and undergraduate students who copied and pasted online information to include in their academic writing. Thus, academic institutions have incorporated certain criteria to be required for students, such as obtaining peer reviewed journal articles and using software applications such as Turnitin to reduce …show more content…
To avoid plagiarism in my work, I have incorporate a writing ritual of my own that allows my work to follow the standards set by the academic institution I am affiliated with. It was very enlightening and interesting to see that the ritual that I created includes ethical methods of avoiding plagiarism mentioned in the Bakhtiyari (2014). My writing ritual to avoid plagiarism includes the following:
1- Finding multiple sources on my topic
a. When I begin my research, I like to find at least 5 additional sources than what my assignment requires. For example, if the assignment is requiring 10 peer reviewed journal articles, I tend to find at least 15 articles. Bakhtiyari (2014) calls this developing a conceptual structure in the mind.I like to get a well-rounded overview of my topic with key points that I need to back up my thoughts.
2- Begin writing a few days after reading sources
a. I tend to begin writing my paper at least 2-3 weeks in advance, because I need time to read and then process the readings to then begin writing the assignment
3- Using the