Reflective Writing 9: Plagiarism in Writing

Plagiarism is a writing issue that occurs when an author duplicates another person's writing without making any changes or acknowledging the source of the original author. It has become a common issue in almost every form of writing, including academic writing. For ESL students, three reasons for the plagiarism discovery are found: (1) having a desire to write with shortcuts, despite knowing that plagiarism is wrong; (2) having disparities in cultural practices, believing that plagiarism is well acceptable; and (3) having a lack of language skills. These three reasons have an impact on general cases of plagiarism found in student writing.

Virginia LoCastro and Mayumi Masuko conducted a study entitled “Plagiarism and Academic Writing of Learners of English” to investigate the plagiarism problem that occurs to assist EFL students in enhancing their academic writing skills. They gathered information from three sources: (1) senior theses, written both in English and Japanese; (2) students’ summary-reaction papers; and (3) students’ responses to questionnaires and interviews during office visits.

According to the information obtained, around 70% of plagiarism was discovered in senior theses written in Japanese. As for the English papers, 30 summary-reaction papers have been collected, and 16 were heavily plagiarized from the original sources. Based on the interviews, students plagiarize because they do not understand the assignment and are afraid of getting a poor grade. Furthermore, questionnaire responses from 37 students indicate that non-native students (1) have a lack of ability to paraphrase ideas and (2) have a lack of awareness of plagiarism. The responses also revealed that teachers also contribute to this issue because (3) they do not give students sufficient time to write and (4) they do not inform the students regarding the negative view of plagiarism.

In conclusion, students still faced challenges in writing, particularly in the academic writing context. One of those challenges is plagiarism. Many factors contribute students to plagiarizing when they write: cultural disparities, language proficiency, sufficient time to write, and the role of teachers. To overcome this challenge, students should practice more writing. They should also read various academic publications and try to summarize them using their own words. Furthermore, teachers also have a vital role in informing what plagiarism is. It is hoped that teachers’ contribution to the students writing process would improve students' writing skills.

References

LoCastro, V., Masuko, M. (2002). Plagiarism and academic writing of learners of English. Journal of Linguistics, 28.