Copy, paste, then you're done!
We tend to get lazy when it comes to our assignments, reports, project, and other requirements in school. But are you even aware that the simple copy + paste routine is against the law? Why? Because you're doing the act of plagiarism.
Plagiarism means you're "copying" or "stealing" someone else's ideas without the permission of the author. The words "copying" and "stealing" can lead to a serious offense though because you disregard the protection or copyright of the ideas of the author. There are many ways on how the plagiarism is committed but I will give three ways only:
1. Turning someone else's work as your own
It's their work, not yours. You can't just simply going to copy paste everything what the author has written on a specific topic and tell the readers that it's your fresh idea. The author can file a case on you once the author reads your "work"
2. Changing words but copying the sentence structure of a source without giving credit.
This is what students often to do. If they can't copy + paste everything, why not change some of the words and presto! New and fresh idea! But if the author reads your work, he/she may be doubtful and may investigate between your work and the author's. Then again, the author can file a case on you once the author reads you work.
3. Failing to put quotation in quotation marks
We all know know the quotation marks is just a symbol but we should be aware that it's not just a "symbol." The reason why there is quotation mark it's because we are acknowledging the person who said that famous phrase. Failure to give importance of the quotation can lead to plagiarism.
We don't want to go to jail early, so it's best for us to give credit and show the source of the ideas. We should be aware that plagiarism happens almost every second of the day. Let's avoid plagiarism.
Resource: http://www.plagiarism.org/plagiarism-101/what-is-plagiarism/
