Week 4: Stealing Unconsciously.

Getting information is not a crime, but copying the whole information to make it as your own is and can be called "stealing" or "PLAGIARISM".

                        People nowadays are all subject to a crime called, "plagiarism". Yes, it is a crime, we may not be aware but by merely copying one's work is already considered a crime. First and foremost, what is plagiarism? Plagiarism is "the unauthorized use or close imitation of the language and thoughts of another author and the representation of themes one's own original work, as by not crediting the author"—as said in dictionary.com (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/plagiarism). Just like, for instance, I quoted the definition of plagiarism itself, and I didn't give credit to the author or by merely mentioning my reference, that can already be called plagiarism and that is considered a crime already—but I did, so I'm safe! :)

                        "Why is it so important to produce anything on your own?" Most of the students have this in mind. Even I thought of this before I knew how profitable originality is. Students usually think that they're not intelligent enough to produce their own composition, but being intelligent is not a requirement to compose anything, by doing it over and over again you unconsciously become used to it and able enough to compose anything confidently. Everything that's originally yours is something to be proud of, unlike when you copy and use it as your own. You're just degrading and keeping yourself to improve more.
                        There's always room for improvement—which is the primary effect of plagiarism to people nowadays. No one improves from just copying someone's work, for his/her skills and knowledge is not working. There's nothing wrong about making mistakes, just as long as you know to yourself that you did your best. For mistakes contribute to one's improvement. By committing a mistake, you learn from it, you know what to avoid and what to do for the next time. Instead of copying from others, just get the idea or be inspired, then create your own composition, record your own thoughts or opinions and that will be the best. It doesn't have to be perfect instantly, you can always practice and improve yourself little by little, and then you'll notice that it's better to present something that is originally yours.

                        

It may be easier to just copy & paste other's work—time-saving, less effort, and absolutely perfect outcome—than to create  on your own and be embarrassed by your errors, but it's better to produce what's originally yours out of your efforts than to produce someone else's work and to realize that you are STEALING UNCONSCIOUSLY.

References:

~Dictionary.reference.com

~Plagiarism Photo