*click, click, click.*
Students, take your seats; class is, once again, in session. In today's lesson, we'll be discussing how plagiarism can bite you in the @$%. Whatever work you do, make sure it's your own. If it's not, give credit where credit is due. Case in point: The state of Texas.
A general rule of thumb: if your state decides to let prison inmates design vehicle inspection stickers, check their work before it's issued to over 4.5 million vehicles. Had Texas done so, they may have caught their stylish, new logo--a silhouetted cowboy--as it was scanned from a 1998 copy of Texas Parks and Wildlife Magazine.
Plagiarism is usually covered in class syllabi, so it's probably not new to any of you. It exists in many forms; the most obvious is copying someone else's work word-for-word. Such was used by 48 University of Virginia students in 2002--they were expelled after a 20-month investigation. The consequences, to say the least, are serious.
The act is surely frowned upon in high school, it's detested in college, and it's borderline criminal in the professional world. Take, for example, Opal Mehta and Helene Hegemann--teen writers who landed book deals and praise for "their" astounding work. (Opal contracted a two-book deal for $500,000 and optioned a movie.) Accusations of plagiarism, however, destroyed Opal's deal and tarnished Helene's reputation.
Where plagiarism is concerned--and, more particularly, where money is involved--people will call you out. Sites even exist for professors (plagiarismchecker.com) to check their students' work. Long story short: don't plagiarize, and when in doubt, cite your sources. In some cases, a silhouetted cowboy's lawful owner may recognize his work on the back of 4.5 million cars and decide to sue. Yeah, good lookin' out, Texas.
--Chris
Photo taken from this photostream and used with permission of a Creative Commons license.
Post new comment