Barely a day passes without watching a news coverage about plagiarism scandal these days. This is not just because people like to see a celebrity publicly blasted and immediately lose his fame, but also because plagiarism became way too common in modern societies. Plagiarism is the practice of using or copying someone's idea or work and pretending that you thought of it or created it. Although some people might regard plagiarism as not more than a misdemeanor, I strongly believe that plagiarism is a very serious crime, which could result in different charges at a time.
First of all, I assert that plagiarizing is definitely an act of theft. Even though intellectual properties cannot be virtually seen or touched, they are private assets of creators. Opponents sometimes argue there are some cases that it is harsh to treat those who plagiarize as a criminal. For instances, it's possible for them to accidentally copy original ideas or works of others and use them without actually knowing that they are committing plagiarism. I acknowledge that creativity of intellectual properties such as academic ideas or music is so ambiguous that other people is liable to fail to notice if someone else already came up with them. However, it cannot be an excuse for committing a crime; accusations of burglary cannot be dropped only because the accused didn't know that stolen goods are already taken by someone else. It is a duty for them to make sure if they themselves are indeed the first to make some achievements before announcing that some ideas or works are truly theirs
Furthermore, plagiarizing usually leads to an act of fraud beyond just stealing itself. The chances are that plagiarizers often take advantage of others' ideas or works to show off their fake accomplishments to the public as well as making a massive amount of money. For example, there have recently several news about socially respected people accused of plagiarizing papers in an attempt to receive doctor's degrees. Those people deserve to be criticized and legally punished since they eventually seems like having forged their identities by making use of others' academic achievements.
Finally, I claim that plagiarizing is not different at all from the serious crime of exploiting workers. People seems to easily acknowledge that both blue-color and white color workers have rights to be fairly paid for their physical labor and spiritual services. Nevertheless, attitudes toward and treatment of those who try to come up with creative ideas and works has yet to be further improved. It is not that their creative achievements suddenly flash across their mind; rather, they should make almost the same efforts consistently to figure out some groundbreaking ideas or works as construction crews do to build s structure. Thus, if someone takes advantage of somebody's creative works without pay, it must be dealt with as the same crime of unfairly exploiting workers.
I contend that plagiarizing is involved with crimes of robbery and identity fraud in addition to illegally forcing somebody to provide unpaid labor. If we do not take steps to stop the current trend in using others' intellectual properties without permission and pay, talented individuals in our societies would eventually become not willing to work hard to think of creative ideas. This could undermine the competitiveness of one country in the international market where creativity is one of the most important factor in terms of both commodities and services. To address the problem, authorities might as well work to promote a social atmosphere where intellectual property is appreciated as much as is physical property.
Here is my final draft of argumentative essay
ReplyDeleteA flood of plagiarism
It is not surprising anymore to watch some media coverage deal with plagiarism scandals these days. This is not just because people like to see a celebrity publicly blasted and immediately lose his fame, but also because plagiarism became way too common in modern societies. Plagiarism is the practice of using or copying someone’s idea or work and pretending that you thought of it or created it. Although some people might regard plagiarism as not more than a misdemeanor, I strongly believe that plagiarism is a very serious crime, which could result in different charges at a time.
First of all, I assert that plagiarism is definitely an act of theft. Even though some brilliant ideas or artistic works like music cannot be virtually seen or touched, they are absolutely private assets of creators. Like both stealing and using others’ physical properties without permission or pay lead to criminal charges, plagiarizers will be accused of copying others’ ideas and works and then properly punished. In addition to stealing others’ possessions, those who plagiarize could be believed to deprive creators of their labor; in other words, plagiarism is not different at all from the serious crime of exploitation. People would spend long time and make a lot of efforts for their creative ideas and works just as employees of Apple Co. do for a new model of iPhone. Thus, if one takes advantage of someone else’s creative achievement without pay, it must be dealt with as the same act of unfairly exploiting workers.
Furthermore, plagiarism usually culminate in an act of fraud beyond just burglary itself. The chances are that plagiarizers often make use of others’ ideas and works to show off their fake capacity to the public. For example, there have been recently several news about socially respected people accused of plagiarizing dissertations in an attempt to receive doctor’s degrees. Whatever their ultimate goals might be, those people seem to desperately need the academic degrees in order to guarantee their fame. Because they were neither qualified and competent to achieve them on their own, they were tempted to use others’ accomplishments. This could be a time-saving strategy to become academically famous and in turn make a massive amount of money out of it, but the behaviors seem likely to lead to charges of forging identities and falsifying credentials with others’ academic achievements.
People against strict plagiarism laws sometimes argue that there are some cases that it is harsh to treat those who plagiarize as criminals. For instances, it’s possible for alleged plagiarizers to accidentally copy original ideas or works of others and use them without actually realizing that they are committing plagiarism. I acknowledge that creativity and originality of some academic ideas or artistic works often seem ambiguous, which make it hard to notice if someone else already came up with them. However, it cannot be an excuse for committing plagiarism; for instances, accusations of burglary cannot be dropped only because the accused didn’t know that stolen goods are already taken by someone else. When people plan to work on something innovative and announce it as yours, it is a duty for them to make sure if they themselves are indeed the first to make the achievements.
I insist that people must be well aware of the seriousness of plagiarism; it is involved with crimes of stealing others’ properties and labor as well as faking identities. It sometimes looks tough to determine who the original creator really is, but we have to take steps to stop the widespread trend of plagiarism. Otherwise, talented individuals would eventually become not willing to work hard to think of creative ideas. This could undermine the competitiveness of one country in the international market that put a great emphasis on creativity of both commodities and services. To prevent the problem, authorities ought to establish stricter law against plagiarism and work to promote a social atmosphere where abstract creativity is appreciated as much as is physical property.
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