Introduction
Plagiarism can be defined as the use of someone’s ideas, views, data, etc without the explicit acknowledgment of the original writer or source. In layman’s language, it can be described as stealing another individual’s work and putting it to personal use. This literary theft is seen in the academic scenario as well as the professional scenario.
In tertiary education, plagiarism is a common occurrence that is seen by teachers. It is one of the most common breaches that take place at high schools. The professionals operating the educational setting believe it to be the same as cheating. According to the Regulation 6 of the University’s Regulations Governing Student’s Academic Conduct Concerning Assessment, the plagiarism definition involves two areas i.e. copying and absence of proper assessment (Abukari, 2016). The basic idea underlying plagiarism states that if a student uses the work from another source, he must give necessary recognition to that person. This topic has been selected to understand the seriousness of plagiarism in the educational field so that the practice can be controlled.
Consequences of Plagiarism
In the academic set-up if plagiarism is detected in a student’s work then he might have to face serious consequences. But before understanding the consequences, one needs to be aware of the different kinds of plagiarism that lead to the serious violation of academic honesty. As per Devlin, Direct plagiarism occurs when a ditto transcription of someone else’s work is used by the student without the necessary quotation marks. It is regarded to be unethical and dishonest from the academic perspective (Devlin, 2005).
Self-plagiarism occurs when the student uses his previous work to create a new assignment without the approval of the faculty members. Mosaic plagiarism is the practice where the student borrows phrases from a particular source and uses it without quotation marks or uses synonyms for the original author’s language. Accidental plagiarism takes place when the student misses citing his resources or unintentionally paraphrases the source content by using similar language (Appiah, 2016).
Sometimes the consequences of plagiarism for a student can be extremely serious so he needs to understand the severity of the trouble for adopting such a dishonest practice. The most serious implications for the students might include expulsion from the academic course, academic work might get destroyed, expulsion from the educational institution, and chances of legal action. Such serious consequences of plagiarism could seriously affect the academic career of the student (Baird & Dooey, 2014).
The other consequences of plagiarism are based on the different levels of plagiarism that are found in his academic work. Generally, penalties are charged to the students based on the extent of plagiarism that is found in their work and it varies from institution to institution. The least severe form of penalty is that students receive an informal oral warning from the concerned authority.
According to De Lambert, Ellen & Taylor, if the plagiarism is more severe then they will have to rephrase and use references correctly in all the plagiarized sections. Then the assigned work would be assessed by the teacher for grading purposes. Similarly, the consequence relating to the penalty in tertiary education can range from warnings to different forms of legal actions (De Lambert, Ellen & Taylor, 2016). Thus the students must understand that plagiarism is highly discouraged in the educational setting and the authorities take the offense very seriously. The direct or indirect consequence could morally affect the student and can also pose several challenges in his academic path.
The penalties that students face due to sanction vary in nature since when academic plagiarism is committed and caught the penalties could include scoring zero marks for the assignment, failure in the particular course, and suspension of the students for a particular period, etc. The consequence of plagiarism could be felt at two levels in this educational setting – the student-teacher relationship and the student-institution relationship. Mostly the punishment that a student faces from a teacher is softer (Doss, et al., 2016). In most cases, it is a verbal or written warning for the student, a change in course marks, etc. The consequences faced by the institution might be pretty severe and it might include suspension, social work, expulsion, revocation of title, etc. In even severe cases the consequence could include legal penalties. Different educational institutions adopt different strategies to fight plagiarism (Eret & Ok, 2014). The consequence that the student faces depends on the fact that whether he is a beginner or at an advanced level. Thus the rules and policies of the educational body play a vital role to determine the ultimate consequence for the student due to the practice of plagiarism.
Strategy to minimize plagiarism in tertiary education
Plagiarism is a known issue in the educational scenario that needs to be addressed on an urgent basis so that the desired learning outcome among the students can be achieved. This practice of students defeats the idea of education and academic knowledge. Several perspectives have been taken into consideration to create the best possible strategies that can be adopted to discourage plagiarism in the academic setting (Genči & Antoliková, 2014). Since this practice discourages creativity and new imagination and impacts not only students but also their parents, teachers, source, etc the specific methods that have been included in this section have been formed after taking into account multiple perspectives on the subject.
As per Glendinning, The teaching method adopted by the institution must give sufficient liberty to the students to take responsibility for their learning process. Good learning at an educational level would allow them to have a shared responsibility among the faculty members or tutors and the students (Glendinning, 2014). Participation from both sides would play a significant role to enhance the learning experience for the student. At this stage, the parents can play a key role so that the students can identify this opportunity and expand their knowledge and skills.
At the tertiary education level, a large number of students might not be aware of the exact meaning of plagiarism. So the teachers can adopt several ways to educate them on this practice. The methods could include reading and re-reading the guidelines closely for the student before giving an assignment, encouraging students to attend orientations or preparation sessions that support a healthy learning process, motivating the students to be creative and share new ideas in the class, etc. (Gómez-Espinosa, Francisco & Moreno-Ger, 2016).
Parents can help their high school children to manage their time effectively. Since students are required to finish multiple assignments around the same time, the parents can help their kids to play way ahead of time so that they can allocate sufficient time to each subject. This involvement would strengthen their learning process and encourage them to do their assignments themselves instead of using external resources. The ultimate objective of discouraging plagiarism is to strengthen the learning outcome for the students and providing recognition to the source creator. Parents can play a major role in this strategy to minimize the plagiarism practice by their children (Heckler & Forde, 2015).
The teachers can spend some extra time with the students so that they can understand the exact requirements that need to be fulfilled to complete an assignment. The involvement of a teacher at an early stage can motivate the student to put added effort into the subject. Similarly, the students should have the chance to approach their teachers outside the class so that their doubts on any academic matter can be resolved.
In case the teachers notice that the students are facing challenges to complete the assignment on time, they can give them an extension to complete the academic assignment. This measure could play a key role that could encourage the student to do his research on the subject and finish the assignment (Karolak & Guta, 2015). If the student is forced to finish a particular assigned task within a fixed deadline, he might resort to plagiarism due to the time constraint. Thus in serious and exceptional cases, only the teacher needs to have a liberal attitude toward the student to minimize the practice of plagiarism.
All the strategies that have been highlighted in this section have been made to minimize plagiarism in tertiary education so that ultimately students can benefit from the learning process. To tackle the issue several parties including students, teachers, and parents need to participate actively so that the practice can be reduced and ultimately eliminated from the academic system (Lannelongue, Matías-Pereda & González-Benito, 2016).
Benefits
According to McGrail & McGrail, the activity that has been carried out on plagiarism covers various aspects relating to the issue including the elements that constitute plagiarism, types of plagiarism, consequences faced by the offender, and methods that can be adopted to minimize plagiarism in the tertiary education environment. Plagiarism is an issue that is on the rise in recent times due to easy access to the internet (McGrail & McGrail, 2015). So there is an urgent need to take effective measures to control its practice in the academic scenario since it hampers the learning process of the students and restricts their creative ability.
The areas that have been covered here could add value to several parties including the academic teachers, tutors, students, and parents. The basic definition of plagiarism that has been covered would help the students to understand what exactly the practice indicates. Similarly, they would also gain insight into why it is discouraged by teachers and academic institutions. The consequences that have been covered ranging from informal warnings to legal action would help them to understand the gravity of the plagiarism situation. Thus this background information would discourage them to follow the plagiarism practice for their academic purpose (Naidoo, et al., 2015).
The strategies that have been covered here would allow the teachers and other academic staff to play an active role in the student learning process. Their positive involvement would ultimately help the students to have a stronger learning and they would be encouraged to use their creative thinking ability while doing the assigned projects and tasks (Ocholla & Ocholla, 2016). The benefit of the teachers would not just restrict to them but it would pass on to the students and the entire educational institution. Thus the suggested strategy shows the vital role that educational professionals could play in the academic life of the student to discourage plagiarism.
The parents would also enjoy certain benefits by following the strategies that have been highlighted to minimize the instances of plagiarism in the tertiary education scenario. Since plagiarism can have very irrelevant consequences as well as serious consequences for the students, the parents need to be aware of the method followed by the student while doing his assignment (Stöckelová & Virtová, 2015). They could build a sense of honesty and integrity within their kids so that they would try to explore their creative thinking instead of copying someone else’s work in their assignment. They could strengthen the morale of their kids and encourage them to explore their innovative side so that they would have no requirement to use others’ views or ideas in their academic assignments (Traniello & Bakker, 2016).
The areas that have been covered would also be beneficial for educational organizations to check the originality of the assignments that are submitted by the students. They could use the most effective software to detect plagiarism so that original academic work can be encouraged by the institution (Sutherland-Smith, 2014). Various aspects relating to the issue of plagiarism have been covered so that all the parties can encourage their inner creativity while working on some task instead of copying another’s original work.
Conclusion
The plagiarism problem is on the rise in tertiary education and there is an urgent need to control the same so that the academic creativity of the students can be encouraged. Since the students could face serious consequences once their plagiarism is detected, the teachers must make them understand the severe implications that this form of cheating can have on their academic performance. The presented topic throws light on the direct and indirect consequences of plagiarism on students. The presented issues have been assessed so that necessary intervention measures can be introduced in the educational setting. Multiple perspectives have been taken into consideration to minimize the instances of plagiarism so that creative learning behavior can be encouraged among students.
The various arguments and investigations that have been included in the work highlight the severe consequences that could be faced by students. Since this practice blocks their innovative behavior a few measures have been included which could play a vital role to minimize plagiarism in the tertiary education setting. The unique strategies that have been covered could be effectively used in the academic setting to encourage the creativity of students and discourage the practice of plagiarism.
Questions and Answers on Plagiarism
- Suggest some effective measures to tackle plagiarism in the education field.
Writing is a practice that can be daunting for students but plagiarism is a practice that should not be adopted by them. Some of the effective measures that can be introduced to tackle the issue of plagiarism in the education field include giving unique and creative assessment topics that require self-thinking, conducting a brief oral presentation on the assigned topic of the submission of the report, clarifying the difference between plagiarisms and paraphrasing, and forming a strict schedule that encourages paper-based writing. These steps can assist students to improve their learning process since they will put their creative minds to use.
- How does plagiarism discourage creative thinking?
Plagiarism has a strong impact on the creative aspects of the students. Since plagiarism gives students the leeway to put in minimum effort in an assignment many of them prefer to copy other’s work instead of using their creative thinking. This academic dishonesty is not fair for the students that use fair methods to do their assignments and it demotivates them to put an effort in academic activity. The people who have created the original work do not get the credit due to plagiarism and might limit expressing their views and ideas in the future.
- What are the consequences of plagiarism?
There are various kinds of consequences that the offender might face due to the plagiarism of others’ work. Such consequences could be personal, ethical, legal, or professional. Once an individual is accused of plagiarism the authenticity of his work would be lost. In the academic scenario, a student might get suspended or expelled if plagiarism is caught in his work. This unethical and illegal activity would put a strain on his academic record since it would reflect an ethical offense, and there would be the possibility for him to get debarred from entering the educational institution. Thus once a student is scarred by a plagiarism allegation, his career would be negatively affected.
- What preventive steps can be taken by faculty to control plagiarism?
The teachers and faculties play an integral role to curb plagiarism which is quite common in the academic scenario. The rise in the internet has given increased plagiarism instances and at the same time, it has brought to notice new strategies that can be taken to detect and control the problem. Teachers must discuss personal integrity and familiarize students with class policy concerning plagiarism. The parents must be involved in the process so that they can encourage students to avoid such illegal acts in their studies.
- Is the new plagiarism detection software effective?
New plagiarism detection software like Turnitin, Copyscape, etc has come into existence due to the rise in plagiarism. In many cases, such tools are criticized due to their ineffectiveness in accurately detecting plagiarism. There have been instances when Turnitin has labeled the clumsy writing of students as plagiarism. According to new revelation, the software even allows numerous students to get away with it. Thus the quality of the present plagiarism detection software can be enhanced so that academic creativity can be encouraged.
References
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