In an academic context, plagiarism refers to an unacceptable and unskillful behavior commonly practiced in colleges and universities. Plagiarizers are emphasized as guilty and can be excluded from studying for one semester, one year and eight teen months until excluding from studying at all, so it is extreme serous behavior. One definition of plagiarism is the usage of other author’s language, ideas, opinions, thought, or expressions and then representation of them as one’s own work illegally (Liddell, 2003, pp. 43-52). Plagiarism is a Latin word (plagiaries) meaning to steal. It is considered as cheating and stealing of other’s ideas as non-academic and unprofessional ways of writing. This essay argues that international students are more likely to plagiarize than local students. The essay would highlight the major reasons as to why the international students plagiarize more than the local students do. It covers the general concept of plagiarism in relation to an academic context.
The international students plagiarize more because international students lack English language as second language hence become difficult for them to write their original works. This simply means that international students face the challenges of paraphrasing information of another article to write their original work. The various forms of plagiarism are more rampant and common with international students in that majority do commit the academic suicide of plagiarism without their consent.
International students are susceptible to various forms plagiarism due to their poor experience with English include; complete plagiarism is one of the forms, which is the presentation of full academic or literal work of a person without recognition of the first person. For instance, this occurs when a plagiarizer presents a duplicate literal work maybe an article or a blog without making recognition of the first or original writer or blogger. This is common with international students in the sense that they lack skills and experience to paraphrase or may be sited such piece of work due to their little knowledge with English.
International students falls victims of plagiarism which is categories as a form of academic fraud, theft and words along with ideas kidnapping. The commonly area or field affected by plagiarism is academic research but it does not mean that the students are only confined to it. A scientist can be a victim of plagiarism if a person presents an idea or research that was previously presented by a different scientist as his or her original. It is therefore ethical to acknowledge the author or the person whose idea or work is being used to expound on a certain research.
The main point that qualifies an article to be categorized a plagiarized work is the fact that international students uses someone’s idea thus an idea being appropriated. It clearly outlines that the research can be written in a different language but share the same idea of another author hence qualifies it to be a plagiarized work (Watkins, 2008). For instance, an academic paper may be written as original from another reference borrowing the same idea but fails to acknowledge the author of that book.
Plagiarism on the other hand deprives the author their rightfully credit on the piece of work or idea. Plagiarism is also evident in the real life situation in the community for instance a musician may use elements of another artist’s music while recording his songs and would result in a penalty of compensating for the misconduct (Stoerger, 2002). Plagiarism can also arise where a medical researcher or biochemist comes up with a documentary or a medical journal that contains information similar to those in the national scientific reports.
International students are prone of plagiarism of text due to the fact that involves copying and pasting a certain text from an existing article without enclosing that word to show credit to the concern author. It is logical to acknowledge the author of the source hence making the rest of the original work. Plagiarism of text has been on the rise in universities and colleges despite the fact that the stakeholder is aware of the necessary steps to undertake so as to avoid plagiarism. It contributed by an inappropriate method of paraphrasing (Bray, 2007). This means that the criterion of changing a few words or rearranging the sentence structure would be plagiarism. It is recommended that the general idea should be elaborated using a very different approach to avoid any form inappropriate paraphrasing. It is therefore important to consider the originality of one’s work in order to abide by the academic set rules.
International students are more likely to fall victim of Near complete plagiarism due to the tendency of presenting portions of another person’s academic text as his or her own. An article with diverse ideas plagiarized near complete in the sense that the plagiarizer can pick an idea from the first paragraph the supplements with his or her own information and then maybe duplicates another idea from the body of the article then makes some additional information without making quotations from the original article (Stern, 2007). It is different from complete plagiarism in that the text stolen involves portions of the same work selected from different parts of the original work and maybe being supplemented by some portions of the original writings of the academic thief.
Patchwork plagiarism is another form of illegal use of personal literal work that international students are likely to present more than the local students. It is different from other forms in that it involves patching of together of phrases and ideas from a variety of sources and presenting them as ones original work (Asselin, 2013). A plagiarizer can commit this academic offense by collecting information from different writings of the same idea and use them to complete his or her literal work without recognizing the originality of such ideas.
International students are caught with Lazy plagiarism, which is an intended offense, where out of shoddy research the students acclimatize the imaginative work of another researcher. This slapdash adaptation of original work another writer is usually committed accidental in that the writer appropriates the academic language of the original writer without recognizing him or her as the owner of the original idea (Asselin, 2013). Every literal work serves a purpose in the community or society of its setting. An academician can commit another type of plagiarism referred to as self-plagiarism. This is based on the use of adapted academic work for purposes different from its original intention. For instance, a poem originally intended to be orally performed can be self-plagiarized by adapting it as a story presented for reading.
International students’ plagiarism performance is absolute in its occurrence in that if committed it remains academically offensive and cannot be erased. The best way to curb plagiarism is avoiding plagiarism by exhibiting academic rationality and mind independence. Academic honesty is one of the key aspects of avoiding unintentional plagiarism. Primarily adequate citation of academic works including assignments that contain ideas, opinions, and theories of other scholars is critical in not only recognizing others but also appreciating the role they played in advancing the study on the subject of concern. This will involve clear distinction of one’s own ideas from those of others (Menager, 2009). Another strategy that scholars should employ in avoiding plagiarism is avoiding quotation marks in their which arises from a direct quotation of others work. This is achievable by paraphrasing or rephrasing original work of others, hence ensuring that presented opinions and ideas are intact.
In conclusion, it stands out that the international students are the most likely plagiarize more than the local students do. This is evident in different instances where it is committed in various forms depending on the size of the stolen work. International students fall victims of plagiarism because of their anxiety to pass at ease, they are lazy and due to their little experience with English as native language. It is recommendable for every student both local and international to avoid shortcuts, thus academically recognizing the work of other scholars. Therefore, it is good to ensure credibility in writing and avoiding the human tendency of shortcut in presenting ideas and opinions. International students should take a stand in learning how unoriginal work can be paraphrased and be presented. International students fall victims of plagiarism on grounds that they have little experience with English and referencing skills.
References
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