Systematic plagiarism is deliberate and repeated, while accidental plagiarism is unintentional. Plagiarism harms the original author’s credit and can cast suspicion on the work. Institutions have strict policies and repeated plagiarism can result in expulsion or career-ending consequences.
Systematic plagiarism is plagiarism that is repeated consistently and usually deliberately. This is in contrast to a single incidence of ordinary plagiarism, or accidental plagiarism, where a writer simply does not realize that he or she has committed plagiarism. Systematic plagiarism is a problem for some academic institutions, as well as for newspapers; in the early 21st century, several newspapers, including prominent publications such as the Washington Post, were rocked by plagiarism scandals involving previously respected journalists.
Plagiarism involves passing off someone’s ideas as your own. This can involve using someone’s words directly without proper citation, or it can involve more abstract theft of ideas without proper credit. There are several reasons why plagiarism is considered harmful. From the original author’s perspective, plagiarism takes credit away from his or her accomplishments and can have a financial impact as well. For people who value plagiarized work, plagiarism makes the whole piece suspicious, because it suggests that the author didn’t take the time to do thoughtful research and come up with independent ideas.
Many people plagiarize by accident at some point during their careers, and allowances are typically made for this; it’s easy to accidentally bring up someone’s words when working late on an academic paper or preparing a news story in a hurry, for example. If someone is accused of plagiarism in a professional or academic setting, they may be given the opportunity to self-defense, to explain how plagiarism occurs. If the plagiarism is repeated, however, plagiarism may be suspected and may be accused of systematic plagiarism.
Sometimes, a case of systematic plagiarism isn’t discovered until much later. Long-term plagiarism, when done stealthily, can be difficult to detect, and when it is revealed, it can cost someone their career. In the case of newspapers, systematic plagiarism not only ends the career of the journalist involved; it also casts vilification on the newspaper’s management, as they are held accountable for not discovering the plagiarism sooner.
Academic institutions, journals, and other professional circles that require written work to be submitted usually have very strict plagiarism policies. As a general rule, plagiarism policies mandate that several warnings be given before serious disciplinary action is taken, and plagiarists may be required to take a remedial class so they understand how to use sources correctly. If a writer turns out to be a systematic plagiarist, expulsion is likely, along with a black mark on the plagiarist’s academic or professional record.
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