抄袭容易，被抓更容易

Copying Is Easy, Getting Caught Is Easier 抄袭容易，被抓更容易

In the digital age, copying someone else's words is easy, but getting caught copying is even easier.

When Melania Trump¹ recently spoke² at the Republican convention, she used some of the same words that Michelle Obama had used at the Democratic convention in 2008.

Within hours, news spread around the world with the claim that Melania Trump had plagiarized⁴ Michelle Obama's speech.

One of Trump’s aides said she unintentionally included sentences from Michelle Obama’s speech. But students and teachers at universities in the U.S. and elsewhere were shocked. They learn from their early years in school that copying another writer's words is wrong.

What is plagiarism⁵?

The word "plagiarism" comes from the Latin word plagiarius. It means "kidnapper⁶, seducer⁷, plunderer⁸, one who kidnaps the child or slave of another,” according to the Online Etymology⁹ Dictionary.

We now use the word "plagiarist¹⁰" to describe someone who steals another person's written work. That person could also be called a "literary thief."

Why is plagiarism a serious problem?

Virginia Unkefer is Manager of Academic Writing Services at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) in Thuwal, Saudi Arabia.

Unkefer says that when students first come to the university, they do not realize how serious the problem is.

"I think they don't realize how serious an offense¹¹ it is. And until they're made aware that that offense is as serious as it is, they don't take it seriously at all."

She teaches new students the Latin root of the word plagiarism to tell them how serious it is.

"It means kidnapping. It's our own worst fear, to have that thing that we created stolen from us, and it's the same as our words. That thing that we created is essential to who we are, and when other people steal our words, it is as serious as if you were to steal someone's child."

Academics are especially aware of the nature of plagiarism, Unkefer says, because their work is essentially¹² the creation of ideas and putting them into words.

"Maybe outside the university, where your currency is not your idea, maybe it seems silly to care about this so much. But inside the university where your ideas are who you are, we absolutely must protect them. That's why plagiarism is such a serious offense."

Consequences of plagiarism

American and Western European universities have strict rules about writing original work. These rules are often called honor codes.

At Stanford University, the definition of plagiarism shows that it includes more than just words.

Stanford's honor code says plagiarism is "the use, without giving reasonable and appropriate credit to or acknowledging the author or source of another person's original work, whether such work is made up of code, formulas, ideas, language, research, strategies, writing or other form(s)."

Harvard University's plagiarism policy tells students to give credit to the sources of ideas or information they get from discussions with professors and fellow students.

Harvard even warns students about copying themselves. That is, they cannot hand in the same work for more than one course without the permission of their instructors¹³.

One of the possible punishments for plagiarism at U.S. universities is dismissal from the school. Students may fail a course or be given a letter of censure¹⁴ that stays on their school record.

Professors or researchers who plagiarize³ may damage or end their careers. At one university where Virginia Unkefer worked, a professor sent in a proposal for funding. The agency that gave out money found there was plagiarism in the proposal. As punishment, the professor could not apply for a grant for five years.

"It's incredibly serious, so I've seen a couple of people - their careers - ruined by it. This is why I don't ever want any student to try to do it, because it just becomes terribly serious further and further in your career."

Why do students copy?

The Honor Council of Georgetown University refers to some students who say they are showing respect by using another writer's words.

The students claim that previous teachers did not require that they cite the work of others when they wrote papers.

These comments show that in some cultures, copying written work may sometimes be accepted. But copying the words of another writer (without saying who wrote them) is not accepted in Western academic writing. Students must learn the rules of the universities they attend.

Unkefer agrees, based on her experience with writers in international universities.

"I think it is a culturally bound concept. The university systems in the United States and in Western Europe very much value originality¹⁵ and authenticity¹⁶, and over the years have developed very stringent¹⁷ polices and attitudes about plagiarism.”

She says it is important, “to get people to understand how much we value originality, and making sure that we attribute sources."

Another cause of plagiarism is the stress students feel at having to produce written work on a deadline. Unkefer was working with a group of students who were caught plagiarizing¹⁸. The assignment was difficult, so they copied work in order to finish it.

"I showed each student the report that we got back from the plagiarism detection software and I showed them what the problem was, and how they could remedy each problem. But once they figured out that, 'oh, you can find my plagiarism?' then they realized they couldn't get away with it."

The students did not get into trouble because it was not the final version of the paper. They rewrote the papers before the final draft. It saved them from possibly being expelled from the university.

Plagiarism is easy to find

Before the digital age we live in, plagiarizing was harder. You had to write out the words you copied. But now anything can be copied and pasted. In the past, teachers would have to work hard to prove that work was copied.

"But nowadays, all you have to do is run a paper though a plagiarism detection software, and you can find it like that..." (snap)

The plagiarism checking software programs used by many students and universities include Turnitin, Grammarly, Duplichecker, and iThenticate.

Unkefer confirms, "Nobody is going to get away with it."

How can students avoid plagiarizing?

The first thing students need to do is cite every source of information used in a piece of writing.

The second step is to use the plagiarism checking software. If they worked on a paper with other students, using the software is one way to make sure the other writers did not plagiarize.

What if your writing does not pass the test of the checker? It is possible you did not go through the process of putting what you heard or read into your own words.

Process writing means working on a draft and having someone read it and give feedback. That guides another draft. A good writer makes several drafts and gets more than one person to read an important paper. Unkefer admits that it takes more time than students like to spend on writing.

"It's a slow, slow process. There's no quick way to do it. Writing takes time. … There's no shortcut¹⁹ to good writing. It just takes a lot of time.”

Words in This Story

plagiarize - v. to use the words or ideas of another person as if they were your own words or ideas

unintentional - adj. not done in a way that is planned or intended

detect - v. to discover or notice the presence of (something that is hidden or hard to see, hear, taste, etc.)

currency - n. something that is used as money

attribute - v. to say that words or ideas were created by someone else

censure - n. official strong criticism

cite - v. to quote; to write or say the words of a book, or author

stringent - adj. very strict or severe

shortcut - n. a quicker or easier way to do something

1 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

2 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

3 plagiarize   

v.剽窃，抄袭（别人学说、著作）

参考例句：

• Never plagiarize your paper.课程论文千万不要抄袭。
• It's not a viable option to plagiarize someone else's work.剽窃他人作品的行为是不可取的。

4 plagiarized   

v.剽窃，抄袭( plagiarize的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The poem employs as its first lines a verse plagiarized from a billboard. 这首诗开头的几行抄袭了一个广告牌上的一节诗。 来自辞典例句
• Whole passages of the work are plagiarized. 那作品整段整段都是剽窃的。 来自辞典例句

5 plagiarism   

n.剽窃，抄袭

参考例句：

• Teachers in America fight to control cheating and plagiarism.美国老师们努力对付欺骗和剽窃的问题。
• Now he's in real trouble.He's accused of plagiarism.现在他是真遇到麻烦了。他被指控剽窃。

6 kidnapper   

n.绑架者，拐骗者

参考例句：

• The kidnapper was shot dead then and there by the armed policeman.绑架者被武装警察当时当地击毙。
• The kidnapper strangled the child with a piece of string.绑票的人用一根绳子把这孩子勒死了。

7 seducer   

n.诱惑者,骗子,玩弄女性的人

参考例句：

• Shvitzer - Yiddish: someone who sweats a lot, especially a nervous seducer. 依地语：一个汗如雨下的人，尤指一个紧张的玩弄女人者。
• The dream of flight is the dream a seductive seducer. 飞翔的梦就是引诱者的引诱之梦。

8 plunderer   

掠夺者

参考例句：

• And the saint replied, "I too am a thief and a plunderer." 圣人：“我也是个贼人，是个强盗。”
• And the brigand said, "But I a thief and a plunderer." 盗贼：“可我是个贼人，是个强盗。”

9 etymology   

n.语源；字源学

参考例句：

• The hippies' etymology is contentious.关于嬉皮士的语源是有争议的。
• The origin of OK became the Holy Grail of etymology.OK的出典成了词源学梦寐以求的圣杯。

10 plagiarist   

n.剽窃者，文抄公

参考例句：

• Plagiarist is always suspicious of is steal from. 剽窃者老是怀疑自己的东西会被偷走。 来自互联网

11 offense   

n.犯规，违法行为；冒犯，得罪

参考例句：

• I hope you will not take any offense at my words. 对我讲的话请别见怪。
• His words gave great offense to everybody present.他的发言冲犯了在场的所有人。

12 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

13 instructors   

指导者，教师( instructor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The instructors were slacking on the job. 教员们对工作松松垮垮。
• He was invited to sit on the rostrum as a representative of extramural instructors. 他以校外辅导员身份，被邀请到主席台上。

14 censure   

v./n.责备；非难；责难

参考例句：

• You must not censure him until you know the whole story.在弄清全部事实真相前不要谴责他。
• His dishonest behaviour came under severe censure.他的不诚实行为受到了严厉指责。

15 originality   

n.创造力，独创性；新颖

参考例句：

• The name of the game in pop music is originality.流行音乐的本质是独创性。
• He displayed an originality amounting almost to genius.他显示出近乎天才的创造性。

16 authenticity   

n.真实性

参考例句：

• There has been some debate over the authenticity of his will. 对于他的遗嘱的真实性一直有争论。
• The museum is seeking an expert opinion on the authenticity of the painting. 博物馆在请专家鉴定那幅画的真伪。

17 stringent   

adj.严厉的；令人信服的；银根紧的

参考例句：

• Financiers are calling for a relaxation of these stringent measures.金融家呼吁对这些严厉的措施予以放宽。
• Some of the conditions in the contract are too stringent.合同中有几项条件太苛刻。

18 plagiarizing   

v.剽窃，抄袭( plagiarize的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He was accused of plagiarizing his colleague's results. 他被指控剽窃同事的成果。
• Moderates are plagiarizing his ideas in hopes of wooing voters. 温和派为讨好选民在盗用他的观点。 来自辞典例句

19 shortcut   

n.近路，捷径

参考例句：

• He was always looking for a shortcut to fame and fortune.他总是在找成名发财的捷径。
• If you take the shortcut,it will be two li closer.走抄道去要近2里路。