Will There Ever be an end to Plagiarism

Plagiarism, although the term may not be common for most of us (users of English as a second language) the act is very rampant that it had become a common practice for those of us who struggle with the use of English in writing. I have seen this practice all the time and somehow it had become an “acceptable” behavior and viewed as a “quick-fix” to a requirement dilemma. Over the years, English had become the most challenging “trend” in Asia and people young and old, students or professionals have struggled to meet the challenge and most us failed in situations where we chose the low road and yielded to the “copy and paste” phenomena. Is this acceptable? Perhaps it is… if we think that it is the only solution to the problem. Is there a solution? Well, maybe if we stop thinking that “we just have to go through these and get it over with” then maybe we realize we need to make an effort to avoid blunders and stealing literature.

Often, I find myself challenged to the fact that I too get the urged to choose convenience and hang on to that thought that the literary world is so vast I can just get away with copied “bits and pieces” and get the writing requirement done. However, we can only come to a sad realization that there is no pride in a copied material.

Nowadays, there are different solutions to combat the rampant practice of plagiarism. Through the availability of the internet, online check for plagiarism has become the tool that helps prevent writers from copying published thoughts and ideas. However, the question lies whether these tools are accurate since several techniques and processes have also come out to cheat and manipulate data. Is there really a way to solve plagiarism? Well, maybe if we, (users of English as a second language) stop trying too hard and instead use our native language to express our thoughts in writing. But even then, not using English will never prevent us from copying others no matter what language we use.

Therefore, as students we need to be aware of the standard practices and guidelines in academic writing to avoid “literature immorality.” And yes, as long as there is a need to write and published, plagiarism will continue to be the greatest nemesis literature have of all time.