Which type are you?

by Rupa Patel

definition
division/classification

"Fools make researches and wise men exploit them." Merriam-Webster's dictionary defines the word plagiarize as to pass off as one's own the ideas or words of another. Every student knows that plagiarism is dishonest and wrong. Why do so many students do it? Students themselves may not believe that they are plagiarizing. Many students plagiarize because of the diverse types of plagiarism which are often unknown to students. The three major types of plagiarism are shameless, haphazard and self-plagiarism. Self-plagiarism is a relatively new concept that has not gained much attention in the student world.

Shameless plagiarists are the ones who go through their entire academic career passing off other people's work as their own. In a majority of cases, these people do not get caught. Recently, a first year student at the San Diego State University admitted to her friends that she was turning in her uncle's essays for every assignment. She felt that she was not doing harm to anyone because her uncle would specifically write the essays for her. All this student had to do was retype the essays with her name on the top of the paper. According to this student, she is not plagiarizing because her uncle has given his expressed permission by consenting to the use of his essays. She has almost completed her first year at the school without even one teacher suspecting academic dishonesty. Although her friends and family members are appalled at her and her uncle's lack of scruples, no one has alerted the school or her teachers.

Up north at Chico State University, a young man confessed to his friends that he sends his rough-draft essays to his mother for "proof-reading." His mother essentially would re-write his essay leaving the basic idea intact. After re-configuring his paragraphs, she erases his sentences and replaces them with her own. Her son, completely happy with the re-writes, feels that he is not partaking in any form of plagiarism because she has always done this for him. His mother does not feel that her son is plagiarizing because she approves her son using the "proof-read" essays even though the essays are not his original work.

Throughout Carondelet High School, students can be found, for a price, who are willing to write other students' essays. The "brains," as they are labeled at the school, do not feel that those who turn in the essays are plagiarizing. Essays are tailor-made for the students who pay the "brains." Therefore, according to the "brains," submitting those essays is not a form of plagiarism. The "brains" feel that payment for their services of writing the papers can be easily compared to the President's speech writers. The speech writer creates the perfect speech for the President, who in turn reads it to the country as his own words. The speech writers are paid for their services. In the loosest sense of the word, plagiarism is the passing off of one's work or ideas as your own. A "brain" remarked, "If the President is not a plagiarist then neither are the students who pay for my work!"

Shameless plagiarists place all their faith in their source for the papers. They rely and completely depend on the person who wrote the paper. Shameless plagiarists do not feel guilt because they actually believe that they are not doing anything wrong. They feel that they are simply using the available resources to create a paper that is academically qualified for the topic. Shameless plagiarists also know and trust the person who is writing the paper and are thereby able to feel confident in the essay that is presented to a teacher.

Haphazard plagiarists share some similarities with shameless plagiarists. In some cases both purchase their papers. However, it is the haphazard plagiarists that acquire their papers online, not the shameless plagiarists. The term haphazard plagiarists groups together people who "cut and paste" work from the web, improperly cite or those who rely on papers purchased from schoolsucks.com or CheatersAlwaysWin, which are web-based companies. The name haphazard is given to plagiarists when they depend on the papers from an unreliable source. In the Nov. 22, 1999 issue of US News and World Report's article The Great Term-Paper Buying Caper, "…paying top dollar for a paper is no guarantee that it's going to get an A." Students are willing to place their academic credibility on a paper that may state incorrect information or, may be turned in by another student who also purchased the paper online. Designed by John Barrie, plagiarism.org is used to search the Internet for "passages that match portions of student essays." This program, however, has its flaws. It is unable to detect plagiarized paragraphs that have been slightly rewritten.

The Christian Science Monitor's March 6, 2001 issue titled, Your work, or the Web's? reports that according to Don McCabe, founder of the Center for Academic Integrity and a researcher at Rutgers University in New Jersey, "…much more than 1 in 10 college students…" admit to cutting-and-pasting off the Internet. These students, according to the article, used Internet information that may contain weak writing, may be one-sided, or may poorly document the information. Haphazard plagiarists do not take the time to do the work themselves. The bottom line is that haphazard plagiarists are too lazy to spend time in the library researching or reading magazine articles.

How many times has a generic essay assignment been tossed onto your list of homework assignments? Why not turn in a paper you wrote for another class about the same subject? It is wrong and in some schools it is grounds for punishment or academic repercussion. The last group of plagiarists is known as the self-plagiarists. However absurd it may sound, turning in a paper you wrote for another class without gaining permission from the both the past and current teacher is called self-plagiarism. Michael Spears used this term to state that students must "do something original and put forth some effort…"

Students around Diablo Valley College were amazed to find out that self-plagiarism is an existing term. One student remarked, "What do you mean? I don't have the rights to my own paper?" Another student replied, "It makes some sense, I guess. But are they really going to fail someone for turning in their own work?" A recent graduate of John F. Kennedy University said, "Good thing this wasn't around when I was in school or else I would not have received my degree!" This may be the most difficult category to swallow regarding plagiarism. However irrational it may sound, it is important to be aware of any chances for potential or actual plagiarism.

With some intentional and unintentional occurrences, plagiarism seems to take place daily. Fourteen year old Hillary Caltagirone, from Arlington High School in New York explained to David Oliver Reline from the New York Times Upfront that, "You have to do whatever your have to do to get ahead. I'm going to go to college. I'm going to get a good job. If that means I have to copy a couple answers or go on the Internet and get some old essays, then that's what I'm going to do." Shameless plagiarists, haphazard plagiarists and self-plagiarists need to be aware. Teachers are becoming armed with better software in detecting plagiarism. The key is to stop the temptation mid-track or before you even get started. Remember to always cite your source. Stay away from web-sites where you can purchase or download free essays. Michael Spears says that collusion, "using another student's work and claiming it as your own, even with permission, is academically unethical and is treated as plagiarism." Permission from the original author does not mean consent in the classroom. The Internet is a dangerous research weapon and some students may inadvertently fall into plagiarizing by losing track of sources. Other students must learn not to procrastinate or rely on the Internet for papers. Students must also be made aware of the term self-plagiarism or else students run the risk of being found guilty of plagiarism. Students may think they know what plagiarism is but a lot more are guilty of at least one of the three forms plagiarism.

References

A Modern Utopia by HG Wells taken from The Economist (US), Feb. 3, 2001 p6 The Spinster and the Prophet.
Merriam-Webster Dictionary p 530.
Michael Spears (www.ehhs.cmich.edu/~mspears/plagiarism.html)
New York Times Upfront, Jan 1, 2001, v133 i9 p10 "Truth or Consequences."
Personal Interview with San Diego State student 4/2/01
Personal Interview with mother of Chico State student 4/3/01
Personal Interview with Carondelet student 4/5/01
The Christian Science Monitor March 6, 2001 p17 "Your work, or the Web's?"
US News & World Report, Nov. 22, 1999 v 127 i20 p 63 "The great term-paper buying caper."