There are various reasons why plagiarism is simply not worth it for students.
The first, and most direct reason is that professors will be able to tell. Many professors
work for publication agencies as editors for extra money. It is not difficult to pick out a sentence using terminology known to Ph.Ds in a freshmen western civ. Paper.
You must also cite your sources, it is the equal to answering a mathematical equation without showing your work.
So once you are caught there are a few things which will happen, and more that potentially could happen. What will happen is you will receive an F for the paper. If you have a more strict professor you may be dropped from the class and even brought to the dean for academic warning status leading to expulsion.
If the plagiarism is more serious, say in a publication or thesis project then legal action may be taken. When you steal other peoples words you are stealing intellectual property. The owner of that property "the author or publisher" has the right to sue you. Jail is a stretch, but is a possibility depending on how much the plagiarized material has been produced and the financial losses to the owner of the material.
In short, don't do it. If you receive a bad grade be honest with the professor, they generally like the attention. :- )
The first, and most direct reason is that professors will be able to tell. Many professors
work for publication agencies as editors for extra money. It is not difficult to pick out a sentence using terminology known to Ph.Ds in a freshmen western civ. Paper.
You must also cite your sources, it is the equal to answering a mathematical equation without showing your work.
So once you are caught there are a few things which will happen, and more that potentially could happen. What will happen is you will receive an F for the paper. If you have a more strict professor you may be dropped from the class and even brought to the dean for academic warning status leading to expulsion.
If the plagiarism is more serious, say in a publication or thesis project then legal action may be taken. When you steal other peoples words you are stealing intellectual property. The owner of that property "the author or publisher" has the right to sue you. Jail is a stretch, but is a possibility depending on how much the plagiarized material has been produced and the financial losses to the owner of the material.
In short, don't do it. If you receive a bad grade be honest with the professor, they generally like the attention. :- )
