| Using the ‘net to research your homework is
fine, yeah? However, as soon as you start stealing someone
else’s words you’re on a slippery slope. Repeat after
us: cop and paste are not your best friends…
It’s Sunday night and
you have a massive project on Shakespeare due in first
thing tomorrow. The only problem is: you’re half way
through your O.C box set and Marissa’s latest strop
means there’s no turning back now. Do you a) turn off
the telly and get stuck in-you have just enough time,
2) continue watching and make a half-assed attempt at
the project-a D for sure-but at least it’ll be done,
or c) finish your O.C, a thon, watch the special features,
and then, at 11:20pm type “Shakespeare” into Google
and start copying and pasting like there’s no tomorrow.
If you’re most likely
to go for option C, you’re not alone. More and more
teens are turning to the internet to help them get the
job done. Sure it’s brilliant tool, it’s essentially
an online encyclopaedia, with information on everything
from Napoleon to Nestle, but reading is one thing, PLAGIARISING
is another completely. Before you cop something verbatim,
stop and think about what you’re doing. Is this your
only option? What could happen if you get caught?
“Plagiarism is taking
someone else’s ideas and writings and passing them off
as your own”.
:: Thinking
Of Cheating? ::
You’ll SO get
Caught – And Here’s Why ..
If you’re School/Uni
work is normally fairly average and you suddenly turn
in an essay about World War 1 with a 5,000 word count
and more facts that you could shake a stick at, your
teacher WILL smell rat. And she doesn’t have to search
through a million websites to find paper you robbed
either. All she has to do is them in quotation marks
and type them into Google. If you’ve lifted them word
for word, hey presto, the search will bring up your
whole essay. Busted. And if you think you’re too clever
to get caught, that isn’t the case. Loads of schools
and Universities now have special plagiarism software
to weed out cheats. It searches through a massive database
of articles and essays to make sure that everything
you put your name to is in fact your own work.
:: How To Avoid
It ::
Think about what you’re
saying before you put pen to paper. It’ll take a few
minutes more but the information will also stick between
your ears for longer – and you won’t get in trouble
either.
:: Give Due
Credit ::
If you repeat someone
else’s work word for word, you must use quotation marks
and add a foot note to cite where you found it. That
way you won’t run the risk of plagiarising and it’ll
also make your essay/project look all professional and
stuff!
:: 10 Realistic Reasons NOT to Cheat .. ::
1. You are HIGHLY likely
to be caught. As well as being in serious trouble. Oh
The Shame!!
2. Let’s face it; your
rents would throw a mentaler. And you could probably
kiss your weekend’s goodbye for a while too.
3. Its bad karma and
it might come back to bite you on the ass.
4. Your teachers would
find it really hard to trust you and you couldn’t blame
them for giving you a hard time over it.
5. The guilt! Stealing
someone else’s words (and hard work) will leave you
all empty inside.
6. You’ll never know
how well you MIGHT have done on your own.
7. Once a cheater,
always a cheater – watch out, it can become an addiction.
8. Does a leopard ever
change its spots? You’ll have a hard time convincing
people you can do well on your own.
9. There are always
other options. So you get a C instead of an A? At least
you earned it and your conscience is clear..
10. It might sound
like a chunk of cheddar, but you’re your own person,
and do you really want to let that person down?
Article provided by Hira
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