Student plagiarists cheat their educations
by Chris Wolfe, reporter

    Thanks to the miracles of the Internet, we have seemingly endless information at our fingertips. This information can be used as source material for a term paper/research project, personal enlightenment or cheating.

   A recent television program featured several high school students who had copied published articles from Web sites and turned them in for a biology project.

   I am surprised to hear that someone would risk so much to get out of doing work. The Internet article might not pertain specifically to the subject, or it could sound too advanced for the course or the student writer.

   While researching Internet plagiarism, I discovered two kinds of intentional plagiarism: 1) copying and pasting information in articles and claiming it as one’s own and 2) buying an essay from the so-called “paper mills.”

   Neither method of cheating is flawless. In many cases, the style and quality of the writing change drastically throughout the body of the essay or from the writer’s personal (and recognizable) style.

   The online paper mills, however, are simply appalling. Using these services, students can buy ready-made essays on virtually any topic, including admissions applications.

   If the stock essays don’t meet a student’s needs, however, he or she can submit an order form for a custom-made essay. The services charge from $9-$20 per page with a minimum of three to five pages.

   These sites don’t even feign ignorance of the purchased material’s true purpose. The application form contains several options regarding the speed needed for writing and delivering the essay. Only the deniability clause on the order form keeps the sites from legal recourse. In every case, these statements say that the essay in question is to be used as a model or a source for the student’s own writing.

   I wonder if the people who operate and use these sites, or participate in any kind of plagiarism, know or care what little respect they are showing to their fellow students and instructors.

   Punishment for plagiarism is harsh because plagiarists are, by turning in higher-quality essays, depriving honest students of a grade they deserve.

   At some schools, including Texas Christian University, a student caught plagiarizing is given a permanent F, meaning the class cannot be retaken for a better grade. Some punishments include the dismissal of the plagiarist.

   I agree with both policies. But in addition to doling out a permanent F and dismissing the cheater from school, the college should notify the individual whose work was used so legal action could be taken.

   Plagiarism defeats the purpose of education—learning.