When I opened the results for the article we were to submit, I was not surprised to see that every word was highlighted in red, or that it was reported to be 100% plagiarized. “Turn It In” reported that the article was a 100% match to an article from16 NOV 08 that was posted on http://swtuopproxy.museglobal.com.
If I were a faculty member I think I would draw on my own past experience on how to deal with this situation. I know how easy it is to get caught up in the negative aspects of life and how hard it is to manage time effectively to allow yourself enough time to get things done right. Even though this is obviously a blatant case of plagiarism, I think I might try to talk to the student first. Based on what the student tells me, and if I believe it, I might only issue a failing grade for the assignment and deliver a stern warning. I might tell the student that if anything even close to what this assignment was gets turned in again, I will issue a failing grade for the class and report both incidents to the academic ethics committee.
Plagiarism is dishonest because it portrays someone else’s thoughts and feelings as your own. You are stealing someone’s imagination or intellectual property when you commit plagiarism. You disrespect the author, your fellow students, your teachers, and your university when you steal someone’s work and display it as your own. Other types of academic dishonesty could be anything from asking other students what their ideas are and using them directly as your own, lying to teachers and students about your work, lying about tardy work, etc.