Beware the pitfalls of plagiarism in college

IT might sound a bit harsh, but in May 2016 research showed over 800 students attending Irish colleges - over a three year period - were caught cheating. Third-level college presents students to a whole new method of study which can take time to absorb. However, the number of reasons why it’s wrong to cheat are as numerous as they are obvious.

Plagiarism equates to intellectual theft and you are only leaving one person down: you. It’s not worth it and no matter how stressed or browbeaten you feel, long-term you simply won’t be fooling anyone but yourself. If this is your first year heading to college, then here’s more news for you - plagiarism is observed closely by college staff and treated as a Class A crime on campus.

Lecturers aren’t stupid and it’s easy to decipher between the combination of your written and presented work. Style, capability and competency are entirely in your hands, so why cheat? If you’re handing in typed essays that read like something Charles Dickens just wrote, then you better be sure to write like Charles Dickens in a written exam as the gulf in styles will be obvious.

But even if you’re an honest, hardworking student, colleges will still warn against the dangers of accidental plagiarism. This occurs when you’ve read and studied a particular concept, theory or idea and use it without citing it. This can be an innocent enough mistake but you’ll still have some explaining to do afterwards. The best advice here is use a colour marker to shade ideas that are not yours so when it comes to revision you’ll be able to differentiate between your ideas and someone else’s.

Remember, the whole point of reading the ideas of others is to help you hatch some of your own. Think of ideas as crossroads that lead you in various directions. It’s the surest way to get there without getting into trouble.