Three Forms Of Plagiarism In The United States

Plagiarism Plagiarism is the intentional use of an author’s piece of work, information or words without paying attribute to the owner (The writing center. Plagiarism, 2014), it can also be described as the reproduction of already researched and existing work (plagiarism.org. plagiarism, 2014). It involves both stealing and cheating. In reference to the United States copyright laws, a person’s original idea or research is termed as intellectual property and therefore the defaulters of this law face the fear of being prosecuted.

According to the article “research guides”, plagiarism may occur in any of the following forms; copying of someone’s idea without paying attribute, lying about the source of information in ones work, changing the

word by word without citing the source. This transcription results to an intellectual theft and thus plagiarism. Self-plagiarism is yet another form, it happens when a student submits his previous work or mixes his previous work with the present work without seeking permission from the lecturer involved, and it can also be submission of the same piece of work twice (Bowdon University. Types of plagiarism, 2015). The third form of plagiarism is Mosaic plagiarism (patch writing), it involves the use of phrases from sources without the use of quotation marks. The student uses the synonyms of author’s words and claims that they are his. This kind of paraphrasing lacks honesty and is punishable just like any other plagiarism offence (Bowdon university. types of plagiarism, 2015). Accidental plagiarism is the last form of plagiarism, it occurs when a student unknowingly misquotes a source or writes using an author’s idea thinking he/she has used his words and therefore fails to cite the source of his information, this lack of intent by students should however, not be excuse to evade the punishments of plagiarism (Bowdon university. types of plagiarism,

In case one is unable to paraphrase an entire paragraph with his /her words without referring to the source, then he/she is unfit to use the source. Students should also avoid citation errors by citing their sources carefully, finally students should take notes properly i.e. as they take notes they should consider quoting sources at the same time (Bowdon university. types of plagiarism, 2015). Of importance to note is that plagiarism is considered as an offence therefore, anyone caught plagiarizing can be punished by; suspension from his/her course, may be fired from his/her job if employed or even