Online college students, like traditional learners, must submit certain requirements in order to complete the course. Besides tests, assignments, and projects, they also need to write papers as required by their professors. And believe it or not, it’s the one thing that causes a struggle to many students.
Writing a college paper can take weeks of research. It’s tedious work, which is why many students are tempted to cheat. And if you think that you can get away with it easily, you are wrong.
In distance learning, cheating happens even if a student had no intentions of doing it. By copying someone else’s work and submitting it as your own, you commit plagiarism, a very serious violation of academic honesty. So to avoid committing such an offense, let’s learn more about plagiarism.
Direct plagiarism
Direct plagiarism occurs when you intentionally use every word of a transcript. No matter if it’s just a small section or an entire chapter, copying someone’s work without proper attribution is a serious offense. It’s unethical and can be a valid ground for your dismissal.
Self-plagiarism
Self-plagiarism happens when you deliberately submit the same work you’re completed in the past. Yes, it may be your own research and your own words, but it doesn’t mean you can use it more than once without asking permission from your instructors. If you wish to incorporate a part of your high school paper into your college thesis, make sure to seek approval from your previous mentors first.
Accidental plagiarism
Borrowing a known author’s quote is completely acceptable as long as you give credits and cite sources; otherwise, it is still considered plagiarism, although accidental. Proper attribution for borrowed words, sentences, and ideas is extremely important work. Not having the intention to plagiarize someone else’s work is not an excuse so make sure you do your part right.
Mosaic plagiarism
Also referred to as patchwriting, mosaic plagiarism happens when you obtain a phrase or a sentence from a published work without quoting it. The same applies when you use synonyms for certain words but fail to change the structure of the sentence.
