Valerie Mmanthe Mampshika,[Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and English]
Year in,year out students are compelled to sign a declaration which confirms that they have not plagiarised in their assessments provided by institutions in order for institutions to be able to punish them if they have plagiarised.
Plagiarism is presenting the ideas or work of other individuals (viewed as published or unpublished material) as your own work without their permission,in addition to incorporating the ideas into your own work without acknowledging them fully.
The concept matters,because it is considered as a breach of integrity in association to academics worldwide,also it is a principle of intellectual honesty that all the students should utilise at all times to avoid the idea of failing to accomplish the learning process.
In.this article we will provide a detailed discussion whether plagiarism at university level should be decriminalised or not by using substantiative information.
Students are encouraged to avoid plagiarism,since it is highly expected of them to show understanding when they complete their assessments individually which guarantees them getting high marks,although they need to overlook the ideas of others to inform one collaborative idea,therefore all the work should be cited.
To support this idea,at times students cannot be able to change some words into synonyms,and lecturers should overlook the content,instead of looking at the plagiarism percentage only.
Those who plagiarise can get sued or face a criminal charge/s,and it entirely depends on the nature of plagiarism.Currently the idea of plagiarising rarely becomes a criminal or civil matter especially in classrooms.
Students should be given another chance to re-do the work,instead of lecturers being non-lenient.
In closing,at university level plagiarism should be decriminalised in the first and second year,mainly because students take longer than lecturers have anticipated to familiarise themselves with referencing,and if they get a criminal charge they would not get their degree in the future,therefore an alternate punishment should be created.
#Mzansi_Catch-Up_Mondays with Valerie Mampshika ☺
#Mzansi_Catch Up_Mondays_With Val M
#Plagiarism
#Decriminalization
