Plagiarism :: Cheating Education Essays

Plagiarism Plagiarism is not only in violation of the law, but also in violation of the ethics that we, as Americans, should possess. This is one case in which laws agree with ethics. To plagiarize means to steal and pass off the ideas and words of another as oneà °s own. It is important to recognize that this definition includes the use of anotherà °s production without crediting the source. When a person makes an effort to present an idea that has been taken from an existing source as new and original, he or she is committing an act of plagiarism. Many may not realize the extreme prevalence of plagiarism in our society. The Center for Academic Integrity conducted a survey in which they found that approximately 80% of college students admit to cheating at least once. A similar study was conducted by the Psychological Record. This study found that 36% of undergraduate students have admitted to plagiarizing written materials. A national survey was conducted and published in Education Week. It yielded the following conclusions that 54% of students admitted to plagiarizing from the Internet and 74% of students admitted that they engaged in serious cheating in the past school year. These statistics prove that this is a growing problem that needs to be solved before it becomes an even larger issue. Many teachers tend to ignore students who are cheating. According to a study conducted by Ronald M. Aaron and Robert T. Georgia, 257 chief student affairs officers across the country feel the colleges and universities do not handle this issue adequately.(Plagiarism.org 1)It can be seen that many faculty members are not willing to devote their time and effort to this growing issue. Gallup Organization has said that the two most pressing issues that are facing society today are education and a decline of ethics.(Plagiarism.org 1) How can one fix an issue that seems to be extremely demanding, when one refuses to put in time and effort? Many students feel that in order to receive a good grade they need to plagiarize, however the Writing Center from Hamilton College provides the public with alternate routes to achieve an A.