Plagiarism And The Labor Of Laziness

For writing an essay, people use various types of information and sources as a reference to support their points to arguments. People are inspired by ideas from other authors; however, when their thoughts or words are used without appropriate citations, it is plagiarism. According to Merriam Webster learner’s dictionary, plagiarism is defined as “the act of using another person’s words or ideas without giving credit to that person.” (“Merriam Webster learner’s dictionary”). It is a dishonest act, and even more, it can be an intellectual misappropriation. Plagiarism is generally classified into “Sources not cited” and “sources cited” (“Types of Plagiarism”). In the “Sources not cited” type, there are two sub-categories: “The Potluck Paper” and “The Labor of Laziness” (“Types of Plagiarism”).

Regarding the process, the definitions of both types are similar. “The Potluck Paper” is collecting a lot of information and combining it in order to be seen as if it is a complete essay (“Types of Plagiarism”). In other words, when a writer writes an essay, the significant portion of the essay is composed of the same sentences form other different sources. “The Labor of Laziness” is assembling sentences from different sources and then paraphrasing most sentences in order to put them into a seemingly well-organized essay. In conclusion, both types have a similarity in which a plagiarist gathers sentences and blend them into paper. Furthermore, both types do not have a citation. Citations function when writers demonstrate that they appropriately use other authors’ ideas and words. In addition, it also helps readers to access to original sources when they are interested in the related