How plagiarism can hamper your study abroad dreams and sabotage your career
A quick glance at the Oxford dictionary states that plagiarism is defined as ‘the act of copying another person’s ideas, words or work and pretending they are your own; something that has been copied in this way.
Most students in India would have rarely come across or have been familiar with this word through school and a good portion of college.
A more familiar term for this would be ‘copying’, in this context, but that’s largely associated with exams and a few assignments to submit. Very rarely does a student ever get questioned on this either. While most students may grow up thinking that this act is not necessarily a ‘big deal’ or attach much importance to it, it is indeed one of, if not the most important factors when applying to higher education institutions abroad.
The emphasis placed on authenticity, originality, and expression of one’s own thought and uniqueness is paramount for institutions abroad. The most common way for admissions committees to gauge these factors is during the university/ college application process. The essays, Statement of Purpose (SOP), Personal Statements, Letters of Recommendation (LOR), and other specific documents demonstrate the student’s capabilities, the purpose of pursuing the chosen field of study, and their future orientation in terms of career plans and what they wish to do after receiving their degree.
These factors are best determined by the originality and expression in the aforementioned documents, and the weightage given to these documents is quite high. Of course, other factors such as academic record, standardized test scores, and relevant project/work experience to name a few are important, but all this will be disregarded should the question of plagiarism arise for that student’s application.
The consequences of being caught for plagiarism can range from disqualification of the application to that university or program, permanent ban from applying to that university, being put on an ethics blacklist which several universities will follow and ban the student from applying, and in some instances, it could further reach future employers should that university wish to track the candidate in the future. These are just a few of the repercussions of plagiarism and the severity of it as
an offence.
So what should students bear in mind to avoid plagiarism:
Be Original: Your university application is your opportunity to showcase who you are and why you are a deserving candidate. And ultimately you know yourself better than anyone else and have the ability to present the best version of yourself to the admissions committee.
Sure enough, help can be sought for guidance on what can be included or focussed on but the writing needs to be original in the end.
There are numerous plagiarism checking tools available for the admissions committee to use and hence it’s best to focus on your documents and being authentic.
Improve your writing skills: Many students who struggle to write often look to an alternative, such as plagiarism, to help them complete their college essays or statement of purpose. Instead of focussing on the latter, it is worth spending time on writing or taking a few writing courses to keep sharpening this skill set. In the end, it’s not only going to be useful for the application, but also once you get to campus and have to work on numerous written assignments. Writing is a life skill and something that you should constantly focus on improving.
Be creative: Focus on bringing out the most unique aspects of your profile and incorporate these into your essays. For example, if you are from a humble background and have gone through struggles to get to where you are, make mention of what you did to overcome these challenges and still achieve success.
Such factors make your story unique and also showcase your determination to achieve your goals. This is what admissions committees appreciate and this will enhance your chances of getting accepted into a university
Get advice from seniors but don’t copy: You can definitely take the help of some friends or seniors who may have gone abroad to study and had success. Get the best points from them on what you can focus on or learn from their experiences on how they went about writing their essays or SOPS. However in doing so don’t take the easy way out (and the wrong way), of copying paragraphs from their essays into yours.
Read and stay updated Whether it’s reading the news, books, or articles across a variety of sources, this helps you stay abreast of the latest developments and trends in the world. Reading also helps sharpen your own writing skills by paying attention to the choice of words, grammar, and sentence structures. This plays a big part in one’s development as a writer.
THE NEGATIVE IMPACT OF PLAGIARISM CAN BE FAR-REACHING AND AFFECT ONE’S ABILITY TO GAIN EMPLOYMENT IN THE FUTURE