Plagiarism Plea

Please don't plagiarize!

Did you know that copying text from the Internet and posting it somewhere new without saying where you got it is a form of cheating? It is also called stealing. You also steal when you take an image that you find on the Internet and use it without permission. This kind of cheating and stealing is also known as plagiarism. Plagiarism is illegal and you can get in a lot of trouble for it. You can also get other people in trouble. For example, if you steal an article or image and post it in your blog without permission, you are probably breaking the terms and conditions of the host site. A host site is a site like EnglishClub.com that offers members a space of their own. Websites with stolen material lose their reputation quickly.

Oftentimes plagiarism is unintentional. People think they are being nice by sharing an interesting story or image with others. However, by pasting it on your blog or a discussion board without any citation, you are essentially pretending that it is yours. This is dishonest. It is also unfair to the creator. Many people do not understand the basic rules of fair use, especially when it comes to the Internet. Please take some time to read through these pages. We hope they will help you understand why it is important to give credit where credit is due.