Plagiarism allegations often arise when someone accuses a second party of copying their work or misrepresenting it.
It can be frustrating and upsetting when it happens. There are strict penalties for it if it occurs in academic institutions or the media. In educational institutions, it can affect the grades of students who have committed the act.
So, in our post today, we’re going to ask ‘what are the consequences of plagiarism’. we’ll also examine how you can avoid plagiarism in your own writing. Let’s get right to it!
What Are the Different Types of Plagiarism?
There are different types of plagiarism that you should know about. We’ll examine these in a bit more detail below so you can avoid them in the future.
- Directly copying writing: This is when a writer copies another writer’s words and doesn’t acknowledge that they’ve done it. It’s also known as global plagiarism.
- Plagiarism via paraphrasing: Here, the writer might just change a few words or phrases around. They might alter the structure of a piece of writing but still reach the same conclusions. The writer does this without giving credit to the original author.
- Plagiarism via patchwork technique: Phrases or blocks of writing from many different sources are used here. They’re placed together in a coherent order, but again there’s no acknowledgment of the sources or authors.
- Verbatim plagiarism: A writer will copy someone else’s words, without any form of citations or quotation marks.
- Accidental plagiarism: This is a common way to plagiarize which often catches students unaware. It’s when you unintentionally paraphrase or misquote a source. In some instances, you might even completely forget to mention the source.
- Inaccurate citation plagiarism: A writer won’t correctly cite their sources and citations in a piece. This may be down to misunderstanding the conventions of your subject such as getting MLA or APA formatting mixed up.
- Self-plagiarism: The act of reusing your work without any form of citation or acknowledgment. It often involves using part of a writing project or a complete text in its own right.
What Is Plagiarism Detection Software?
Using an online plagiarism checker is a great way to get some reassurance that your work is not plagiarized. This way, you’ll score a winning rather than a failing grade.
These tools work to compare and check your writing project against millions of other essays and articles. It’ll let you know whether or not what you’re submitting is legitimate. Or whether your use of AI to write your work was a bit too much on the heavy side.
If there are any “red flags” with your work you can take steps to correct them. It’s best to do this before you submit it to your professor – or professional colleagues.
With all this in mind, what are the consequences of plagiarizing someone else’s work? Let’s find out below.
Ethical and Legal Consequences of Plagiarism Allegations
As you’d expect, when there are allegations of plagiarism, there are ethical and legal ramifications to consider. Let’s touch on these now.
Implications on Authors
Authors who have had their work plagiarized often feel violated when someone steals their work without acknowledgment.
Think about working really hard on a project or article during your prestigious academic career, and someone claims what you have done as their own. This can be very upsetting.
Ethical Implications Regarding Research
It’s relatively rare to find a complete copy/paste job of an entire essay or research paper. Many plagiarists simply pinch sporadically from past papers or essays. They simply collate information and then create a mosaic of text from different sources.
They then stitch it together loosely, creating issues with future research. Over time the lines between real quoted research from genuine sources and fake knowledge get blurred. Researchers and writers who steal other students’ ideas and work are doing everyone a great disservice.
Legal Battles for Plagiarism Are Expensive
Universities that decide to take a stand on plagiarism need to set up an academic integrity committee. These are costly to instigate in the first instance. Once they begin to undertake investigations into the possibility of plagiarized content, it’ll cost even more money in litigation.
When plagiarism is discovered in university essays and college work it results in more working hours. Academics and professors must work to ensure that this plagiarism trend hasn’t spread too far into the establishment.
Use Smodin’s AI Tools To Avoid Penalties for Plagiarism
So, now you know what are the consequences of plagiarism. With our fantastic range of intuitive AI tools, you can be assured that you will avoid plagiarism in your work. Smodin’s free-to-use software can help you turn AI writing into original work.
From a professional business person to a professional writer, using artificial intelligence to check your work makes all the difference.
Whether you work in an academic institution, or you’re a student writer, you can avoid plagiarism with Smodin. Try out our superior plagiarism checker today and hand in your work worry-free!
Frequently Asked Questions
Will educators know if I’ve used AI tools to plagiarize content?
Yes. Educators are becoming well-versed in spotting the signs of plagiarism in academic work. They too use plagiarism checker tools to assess the content students submit to them. Professors need to know that what they’re reading and checking is legitimate so they can grade it accurately.
Therefore if you’re a student it’s in your best interest to ensure the content you write is your own. Check it thoroughly to make sure any in-text citations are accurate.
How can I use plagiarism detection software in the best way?
The best way to use plagiarism detection software is when you’ve completed your work. You can run it through a checker to make sure it’s 100% accurate. All the citations should be correct and the words should be your own.
How can plagiarism affect my academic reputation?
Committing plagiarism has destroyed academic reputation in a few cases. Quite a few prestigious academic individuals have been deeply affected or even had their careers end by such accusations.
Academic integrity committees can often decide the fate of those who have been caught committing plagiarism.