To Copy or Not to Copy...

     Plagiarism is turning up more and more in colleges across the country. It seems as though the issue at hand is that many students do not know that they are plagiarizing. They believe that getting information from the Internet makes it fair game and it does not need to be credited. Students also do not think it is necessary to credit work that is taken from a webpage with no listed author. It is these common misconceptions that are creating the major rise in plagiarism, but another culprit lurks. Students are becoming more and more lazy when it comes to writing papers. Many have openly admitted to copy and pasting because they just do not care. They are plagiarizing papers and turning them in simply to receive a grade.

     After reading Plagiarism Lines Blur for Students in Digital Age, I agree with the ideas stated. Many students go through high school without learning when or how to properly credit a source. Some think they can throw ideas together here and there from articles and call them their own. This is not the case. There is need for clarification amongst undergraduate students about when to cite work from Internet sources, newspaper articles, books, and even live performances because some truly do not know how to do so. The other problem with plagiarism today is laziness. A number of students struggle with plagiarism because they simply do not care to avoid it. They want to take the easy way out of writing papers by copying and pasting whatever looks good to them from other work, thinking they can get away with it. Plagiarism is a real problem in all colleges and it is not something that is taken lightly.