EAP Randwick Tafe Term 1 2012

Writing Class Teacher: Kerry Heubel Student: Ana Cardoso-Ovsianniko

Assignment: Argument Essay of 750 words

Topic: Plagiarism in essay writing is a form of cheating. Do you agree?

Essay Outline Student: Ana Cardoso-Ovsianniko An Argument Essay Topic: Plagiarism in essay writing is a form of cheating. Do you agree? Thesis Statement: Nowadays, in the academic world, some students are submitting papers with ideas and words copied from other authors without any reference to the original source. Universities consider this cheating and as a result students who plagiarise attract a penalty. Students who plagiarise do so for different reasons; they sometimes have to do assignments in subjects they are not really passionate about, others do not manage their time well enough to complete assignments, whilst some students simply are too stressed with academic achievements pressures. Introduction (100 words):General introduction about plagiarism and at the bottom end the Thesis Statement. Paragraph 1 (150 words): Students sometimes get bored in some compulsory courses during their education path and do not see interest in digging deeper in subjects. Even though is not the most passionate subject students should know how to acknowledge other author and to cite other writers work Taking the shortest route to the goal/ such cheating from customized essays websites Not really interested to give their best in the given subject

Paragraph 2 (150 words): Time management is another reason for plagiarism dishonesty in assignments Over Burden by other class assignments Distraction by TV, computer, Video Games Disorganisation/ Some students are truggling to survive

Paragraph 3 (150 words): Students are over stressed with academics achievement pressure; therefore they will try to cheat in assignments in order to obtain the best results. Students sometimes are under pressure to give always their best in any subject/ education They are always looking for their best grade Family pressure Future career pressure

Conclusion

Student: Ana Cardoso-Ovsianniko Topic: Plagiarism in essay writing is a form of cheating. Do you agree?

The production of new ideas in the academic community is fundamental. However, it is important to give credit to the original source when information is accessed. Nowadays, in the academic world, some students are submitting papers with ideas and words copied from other authors without any reference to the original source. Universities consider this cheating and as a result students who plagiarise attract a penalty. Students who plagiarise do so for different reasons; they sometimes have to do assignments in subjects they are not really passionate about, others do not manage their time well enough to complete assignments, whilst some students simply are too stressed with academic achievements pressures.

Sometimes, some students in university lack of interest in the subject content and compulsory courses; therefore they put minimum effort to accomplish it. Even though, the assignment is not their most passionate subject, they should be aware of techniques to acknowledge other writers ideas and cite them properly in order to avoid plagiarism. However,
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students who are not interest in producing a well researched paper will frequently look for fraudulent routes. For instance, the trend at the moment is the rise of outsourcing essays online. In other words, some students are seeking a customized essay in websites which provide the essay completed for them. Nevertheless, students who are passing these essays off as their own are acting dishonestly and will be severely penalized. Universities consider this as academic fraud. According to the Harvard plagiarism policy, students who submit false or misleading material will be entitled to disciplinary penalty and in some case they can be even withdrawn from university (Harvard Plagiarism Policy).

Time management is another reason for plagiarism dishonesty in assignments. Nowadays, students often do not allow enough time to research written subjects; therefore the quality of their work is compromised. According to The University of New South Wales on their webpage about Plagiarism and Integrity, suggest that often plagiarism happens when students rush to finish off their assignment at the last moment, thus they appropriate other authors material and pass it off as their own. The UNSW guidelines suggest that students should plan their paper in advance, and not leave assignments to be done at last moment, by doing so students will have enough time to read and formulate their
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own thoughts. For instance, if students plan their time toward the essay deadline and have a well planned outline probably the chance to avoid plagiarism will be greater. Another point for time management is the distraction that arises from technology and entertainment nowadays. More and more, students spend too much time on the internet, playing video-games or watching TV. Thus, their time management is compromised, and consequently leading to poor academic work results.

The stress and pressure related to academic assignments can be sometimes very difficult for some students to deal with. Family pressure, competitiveness among students and uncertainty about future career are the main reasons some students cheat in assignments. Many students are obsessed to obtain the best grades, and the impact of results for their future rsum creates enormous pressure on them. These students feel that there is a great expectation from their family to gain good academic results as well. Pope and Simon (The Adolescent Learner , pages 33-37, Help for Stressed Students) says that some students refer to themselves as robo-students, they can stay the entire day at the school, and they are tired and live with a constantly stressful situation. Pope and Simon say that these students lack of sleep and poor eating habits, an indications signs of anxiety and depression, they

compare themselves with their peers and realize that a B grade, once considered good, may now be a liability ( Pope and Simon p.2). Maramark and Maline (Academic Dishonesty Among College Students, Issues of Education page 6) state that stress and competition among students are the major factors related to education dishonesty. Competition to get the best graduate school, scholarship and job markets issues are driving students to cheat, as a result, some students will cheat in order to get the best result in written assignments. However, cheating and plagiarism are serious offences in the academic world and can lead to severe consequences. Moreover, the pressure for academic achievement may compromise the quality of a students assignment, and it will likely penalize students in their education process.

Everything considered, fraud in academic assignments is an important issue, and it seriously affects the whole academic community. Therefore, it is urgent to look for strategies to prevent plagiarism and foster discussion around the subject. It is difficult to make students interested in subject content in which they are not motivated, however if strict rules can be applied in written papers and assignments being constantly checked by scholars, chances to avoid plagiarisms in academia will be greater. Allowing more time to read and research the subjects and deal
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with stress would help students to focus on the quality of their academic writing as well. In other words, the quality of written assignment and acknowledgement of other authors ideas will improve students gain a better understanding of universities regulations and integrity as part of the academic world.

Bibliography: Elliott, B 2004, Version 1.1, May 2004, viewed 05 March 2012, <http://www.bobbyelliott.com/Plagiarism.htm>. Deffrennes, G 2010, Pourquoi le plagiat gangrene-t-il luniversit? Le Monde, 11th November 2010, p. 14, viewed 05/03/2012 <http://responsable.unige.ch/Documents/contre%20enquete%20plagiat %2011-11-2010.pdf >. The process and types of writing 2011, Study Guides and Strategies, viewed 05 March 2012, <http://www.studygs.net/writingindex.htm>. Gardner, N 2010, Indian websites do your homework for two dollars, News.com.au, Technology, 14 november 2010, viewed 05/03/2012, <http://www.news.com.au/technology/indian-websites-do-your-homework-for2/story-e6frfro0-1225953223266>. Newton, J 1995, Learning from our students, Department of Political, Science, York University, June 1996, viewed 05 March 2012, <http://facstaff.elon.edu/Sullivan/cheatpap.htm>. Maurel-Indart, H 2011, le Plagiat, 26 March 2012, viewed 05 March 2012, <http://www.leplagiat.net/>. Heyward, E 1998, Plagiarism and anti-plagiarism, Westchester Community College, last modified 2011, viewed 05 March 2012, <http://www.sunywcc.edu/dep/english/plag/articles.htm>. Donavan, A 2009, Can ethics classes cure cheating? HBR Blog Network, April 14 2009, viewed 05 March 2012, <http://blogs.hbr.org/how-to-fix-business-schools/2009/04/can-ethics-classescure-cheati.html>. Bergadaa, M 2011, Le Plagiat nest pas encore suffisamment pris au srieux 23 november 2011, viewed 05 March 2012, <http://cursus.edu/dossiers-articles/articles/17495/michele-bergadaa-plagiatest-pas-encore/>. University of Pretoria Policies 2003, South Africa, revised 17 May 2004, viewed 05 March 2012, <http://upetd.up.ac.za/authors/create/plagiarism/policies.htm>.

Harvard guide to using source 2012, Harvard plagiarism policy, viewed 11 March 2012, <http://isites.harvard.edu/icb/icb.do?
keyword=k70847&pageid=icb.page355322>.

UNSW 2005-2010, Plagiarism and integrity, viewed 11 March 2012, <http://www.lc.unsw.edu.au/plagiarism/how_2.html>. Pope, D & Simon, D 2005, The adolescent learner- Help for stressed students vol. 62, number 7, Pages 33-37, viewed 11 March 2012, <http://stress.lexingtonma.org/PDF/Pope-Article.pdf>. Maramark, S & Mindi, B 1993, Academic dishonesty among college students, issue in education, August 1993, viewed 11 March 2012, <http://eric.ed.gov/PDFS/ED360903.pdf>.