The Most Important Thing to Rememebr When Writing a Research Paper
Plagiarism is the Most Important Thing to Remember when Writing a Research Paper
Abstract Research papers generally cause students a lot of anxiety. There are several things to keep in mind while writing a research paper, but the single most important thing is awareness of plagiarism.
Plagiarism is the Most Important Thing to Remember when Writing a Research Paper Writing a research paper generally causes a lot of headache for students. There are many things that people say to keep in mind, like time management and making good outlines, etc. However, the single most important thing to remember is to not plagiarize. According to the Merriam-Webster online dictionary (2013), to plagiarize is “to steal and pass off (the ideas or words of another), as one’s own: use (another’s production) without crediting the source.” Plagiarism can ruin any research paper, even if it is one that seems to be well-written. There are several reasons that plagiarism should be the number one thing on the mind of someone writing a research paper. First of all, plagiarism is illegal. According to plagiarism.com (n.d.) “The expression of original ideas is considered intellectual property and is protected by copyright laws, just like original inventions.” This means that pretty much any information that can be found on the internet, in books, magazines, etc. is copyrighted, and to use that information without referencing it is illegal. No one wants to get into legal trouble by plagiarizing a paper for a college class.
Second, colleges each have their own policies for plagiarism and most at least result in a failing grade as the smallest penalty. More than likely a college will not have anyone arrested for plagiarizing on a paper, however most colleges have a strict policy on plagiarism. For example, Black River Technical College (2013) has a policy that states that the first offense of plagiarism on an assignment may grant a failing grade for that particular
Abstract Research papers generally cause students a lot of anxiety. There are several things to keep in mind while writing a research paper, but the single most important thing is awareness of plagiarism.
Plagiarism is the Most Important Thing to Remember when Writing a Research Paper Writing a research paper generally causes a lot of headache for students. There are many things that people say to keep in mind, like time management and making good outlines, etc. However, the single most important thing to remember is to not plagiarize. According to the Merriam-Webster online dictionary (2013), to plagiarize is “to steal and pass off (the ideas or words of another), as one’s own: use (another’s production) without crediting the source.” Plagiarism can ruin any research paper, even if it is one that seems to be well-written. There are several reasons that plagiarism should be the number one thing on the mind of someone writing a research paper. First of all, plagiarism is illegal. According to plagiarism.com (n.d.) “The expression of original ideas is considered intellectual property and is protected by copyright laws, just like original inventions.” This means that pretty much any information that can be found on the internet, in books, magazines, etc. is copyrighted, and to use that information without referencing it is illegal. No one wants to get into legal trouble by plagiarizing a paper for a college class.
Second, colleges each have their own policies for plagiarism and most at least result in a failing grade as the smallest penalty. More than likely a college will not have anyone arrested for plagiarizing on a paper, however most colleges have a strict policy on plagiarism. For example, Black River Technical College (2013) has a policy that states that the first offense of plagiarism on an assignment may grant a failing grade for that particular
References: Black River Technical College. (2012). Student handbook general information. In 2012-2013 BRTC course catalog. Retrieved from http://www.blackrivertech.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/BRTC-2012-2013-Course-Catalog-vs-2.pdf Hacker, D., & Sommers, N. (2011). Citing sources; avoiding plagiarism. In A Writer 's Reference (7th ed., pp. 448-451). Boston & New York: Bedford/St. Martin 's Plagiarize. (2013). In Merriam.Webster.com. Retrieved from http://merriam-webster.com/dictionary/plagiarize Plagiarism.com (n.d.) What is plagiarism? Retrieved from http://plagiarism.org/plagiarism-101/what-is-plagiarism The Pennsylvania State University. (2012). Common excuses for plagiarism. In Plagiarism tutorial for students. Retrieved from http://tlt.psu.edu/plagiarism/student-teacher/common-excuses/