College and high school students often look for shortcuts to make their work easier. To achieve a good grade, students are sometimes tempted to cheat. One of the most frequent ways of cheating is to buy essays off the Internet. This may result in a good grade. However, plagiarism is irresponsible from a social and an academic standpoint.
First, plagiarism is socially unacceptable. Students are expected by teachers and their classmates to do their own work. If a student plagiarizes, he or she violates that trust. This may damage the relationship between the student and the teacher, as well as the relationship with classmates. I remember once when a student was discovered to have plagiarized his essay. We were mad that our classmate had lied to us. It was an embarrassment for everyone—the institution, the instructor and the student—to discover that he had been cheating all along.
Plagiarism is also wrong because it is against academic policy. Even though buying essays and presenting them as your own may save time initially, this practice is against university rules. In fact, universities have ways to prove if students have plagiarized. Instructors can use software that compares a student essay and material on the Internet. This way, instructors can detect if a particular essay was copied. The consequences are very serious. I remember when one of my classmates started buying essays to prove that he was an excellent student. After the final exam, our instructor found his essay on a website and the student was expelled.
It is true that many students at community colleges have busy schedules and may have trouble completing their assignments on time. Some students may argue that because of their situation, they sometimes have no choice but to buy essays off the Internet. However, buying essays off the Internet should never be the solution. Instead, students might try to negotiate the deadline with their instructor. Furthermore, while writing may be a struggle for some students who feel that their writing is not good enough to receive an A, it is crucial that they do their own work. They may go to a writing center for help. Otherwise, if they plagiarize, they will not develop their own writing and critical thinking skills. As a result, they may not be prepared to pass their final exams. In the end, plagiarizing is harmful to a student’s own academic success.
I believe that university authorities should discourage plagiarism by making students more aware of the problems it causes. Plagiarism damages classroom relationships. It also violates school policies and prevents students from realizing their own potential. If we do not stop plagiarism, many students will lose out on their education.