Opinions about plagiarism

With reference to the two articles: "Tokyo University to crack down on
plagiarism in theses" and "Schools stress to pupils: No copying".

Plagiarism is the act of using and passing off (the ideas or writings of another) as one's own. (Source: thefreedictionary.com)

Shock is expressed when writings thought to be the best in the cohort are found to be plagiarized. Students who do not rely on their abilities to complete their work deserve to be punished. Teachers could inculcate the good habit into young children, primary school being a good starting point. Therefore, policies should be enforced to restrict plagiarism even in primary schools. This is in reference to the article "Schools stress to pupils: No copying".

Plagiarism is similar to the breaching of Intellectual Property (IP), where people own someone else's work illegally. Both crimes belittle the effort the creator has contributed to work, and discourage others contributing too. This is still excluding staff that worked with the creator. An example is an author, staff being editor, publisher and others. In society, many forms of copying occur. Learning institutions have the responsibility of educating their students that copying is morally unacceptable and illegal.

Policies enforced in learning institutions are strict, thus reminding students not to plagiarize. One point though, is whether teachers have taught all the aspects of plagiarism yet. Some learning institutions advise students not to plagiarize, giving plagiarism a generic definition of "copying wholesale". This is not enough, tips could be given to help students avoid plagiarism too. Therefore, learning institutions may consider enhancing their 'holistic' education with more on teaching plagiarism.

Peer checking could detect plagiarism, other than relying on teachers' intuition and detection software. Some classmates know each other well, and their opinions can be used to supplement teachers' intuition.

Although plagiarism is well-justified to be avoided, there can be unavoidable similarities between works. This could be taken into consideration, even in cases where similarities can be detected. Moreover, in a society where teachers teach tens of students, students may pick up some writing traits from teachers. Although each person may think differently, similar teaching materials decrease variability in thinking. This causes content to become increasingly similar. Thus teachers should rely less on detection software, and more on judgment, to avoid detecting "fake plagiarism".

Plagiarism is a serious issue, deserving of being debated in learning institutions. Currently, it is brought up only when students do projects, theses, among others. Students have work hard to minimize plagiarism, for respect of original creators.

Reduction of plagiarism could result in a more vibrant literacy society, with new creative ideas.

[Added on 6 June 3.33pm- done by Kwee Peng]