Plagiarism
The article I reviewed: http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2003/7/11/harvard-takes-back-hornstine-admission-offer/
Plagiarism is a growing concern. With the help of the World Wide Web, e.g. the appearance of websites such as oppapers.com, students are finding it easier to pilfer ideas and words of others. But new technological innovations are also aiding the other side; many websites, such as turnitin.com, are available to check for plagiarism in students’ papers. Even so, plagiarism is still difficult to detect. Thus, when plagiarism is evident, the student in question is punished severely in order to set an example for the hundreds of other plagiarizers that are not caught. In 2003, Harvard revoked its admission offer to Blair Hornstine because of confirmed plagiarism charges. Hornstine wrote for her local paper, the Courier-Post, and had taken a considerable amount of material directly from internet publications to use in her articles- without citing sources. According to the Harvard Crimson, Harvard only accepts students who are honest, mature, and ethical. Hornstine printed a column in her local newspaper about the charges saying that her citation problems “stemmed from lack of training in journalism”. Despite her pleas of innocence, Harvard refused to admit her. I think that Hornstine’s punishment was justified. She believed that copy and pasting was okay, but any ideas or phrases from another source should not be used as one’s own. If Harvard allowed her to join their student body it would undermine the integrity of the university’s education and show other plagiarizers that they can continue plagiarizing without severe punishment. In order to avoid plagiarism I will, of course, always give credit to another’s ideas or words, but it’s not always that simple. Accidental plagiarism is a big concern. In fact, almost all students accused of plagiarism say that it was accidental. Some may be lying, but I believe that most are being
Plagiarism is a growing concern. With the help of the World Wide Web, e.g. the appearance of websites such as oppapers.com, students are finding it easier to pilfer ideas and words of others. But new technological innovations are also aiding the other side; many websites, such as turnitin.com, are available to check for plagiarism in students’ papers. Even so, plagiarism is still difficult to detect. Thus, when plagiarism is evident, the student in question is punished severely in order to set an example for the hundreds of other plagiarizers that are not caught. In 2003, Harvard revoked its admission offer to Blair Hornstine because of confirmed plagiarism charges. Hornstine wrote for her local paper, the Courier-Post, and had taken a considerable amount of material directly from internet publications to use in her articles- without citing sources. According to the Harvard Crimson, Harvard only accepts students who are honest, mature, and ethical. Hornstine printed a column in her local newspaper about the charges saying that her citation problems “stemmed from lack of training in journalism”. Despite her pleas of innocence, Harvard refused to admit her. I think that Hornstine’s punishment was justified. She believed that copy and pasting was okay, but any ideas or phrases from another source should not be used as one’s own. If Harvard allowed her to join their student body it would undermine the integrity of the university’s education and show other plagiarizers that they can continue plagiarizing without severe punishment. In order to avoid plagiarism I will, of course, always give credit to another’s ideas or words, but it’s not always that simple. Accidental plagiarism is a big concern. In fact, almost all students accused of plagiarism say that it was accidental. Some may be lying, but I believe that most are being