The Consequences of Plagiarism

Completing an academic assignment appears to be impossible sometimes. As a student, you know that not all learners have the capacity to perform certain types of academic work. That is why some graduates who have a lack of skills might resort to taking drastic action. They decide to use someone else's work and pretend as if the ideas in their work were their own.

Those who engage themselves in this type of academic dishonesty might not entirely realize the full extent of the consequences of plagiarizing and the effect it might have on their future. Some students cheat without a moment of hesitation and then will sorely have to pay the price and deal with the unpleasant aftereffects.

However, it is not only high school or college students who may decide to plagiarize. Far more people get caught plagiarizing. In fact, anyone who uses another person's material without referencing the source is guilty of plagiarizing. Anyone can be accused of plagiarism, and ignorance is not an excuse.

People do this for many reasons. Some steal because they simply cannot formulate their own ideas or points of view. Others are too idle to work long hours and feel better off cheating to complete their assignments with minimal effort. And some will just copy-paste someone else's entire work to avoid doing any work themselves.

Frequently, students do not understand why they should be referencing their sources and then neglect to cite properly in their works, as it might take too much time. That is the reason they skip this step and don't provide references to the sources they used in their papers.

In this article, we will discuss the possible consequences of plagiarism. We will give you details about why you should avoid plagiarism in school, college, and all other spheres of your life.

But before we dwell on the negative effects of plagiarism, let us straighten out how you can find out if you are breaking copyright laws and how you can avoid unintentional plagiarism accusations.

There are tools called plagiarism checkers that can detect plagiarism in students' papers. Some of these checkers are free, but most of these software tools will either set limitations on the number of characters you can check or ask you to pay a fee. We offer a completely free solution. It has a big-enough limit that can help you through the process of writing your paper - it's EduCat plagiarism checker.

This plagiarism detection software identifies the original content so that you can rid yourself of any copyright infringement to save your academic reputation. You can check your paper or web content by pasting your text in the box or by attaching a file. Either way, this free plagiarism checker can help students in academic institutions like high school, college, or university stay away from accidental plagiarism.

Potential consequences for a person found guilty of plagiarizing

For students

Either intentional or unintentional, college plagiarism is always an issue for academic institutions, and they treat it as a form of academic offense. That is why cases where students are found guilty of plagiarizing, are rarely ignored. Every student can find out how their school treats plagiarism in its policy. A student who is caught plagiarizing will usually end up with an academic record in the student's file, which can prevent them from enrolling in their desired college or university-as educational establishments are reluctant to accept such learners. In many schools, plagiarism can result in dismissal from the university or a reduced grade. Course failure is the inevitable punishment if faculty members find out about such dishonesty.

For researchers and academics

In the academic world, publishing is an essential part of one's academic career. That is why the consequences of research plagiarism are often severe in this regard. For researchers who have written a paper for their degree and have failed to properly cite the original author of any scientific journals they have used, or who have deliberately copied and paraphrased someone's ideas, the accusations of plagiarism can lead to having a ruined reputation and the end of one's academic's career. That is why avoiding plagiarism is one of the most important aspects of being an academician.

For other professionals

Plagiarism goes far beyond the academic sphere. You may find it in arts, politics, law, and other fields of professional activities. A professional business person, writer, politician, or other public figures may destroy their career as a result of plagiarism. It may also assist in limiting any future job prospects. Thus, professionals are doing themselves a disservice if they decide to plagiarize someone else's work or ideas.

Repercussions of plagiarism by type

As plagiarism may affect people in different fields, it will result in a variety of harmful consequences dependent on which field it occurred in, including legal, monetary, economic, or even life. So let's take a closer look at them.

Legal consequences

If someone files a formal complaint about copyright infringement, legal problems are on the horizon. If a person publishes any material considered plagiarized, the author of that main content has the grounds to sue the plagiarist. If the rights of the original author are held up in court, the plagiarist will be required to pay a fine, along with other fees one might incur throughout the entire process. With respect to copyright laws, it is better to avoid plagiarizing someone else's work.

Monetary consequences

Content writers who earn their living by writing, but can't come up with the ideas of their own, might decide to "borrow" ideas from other sources. If they are caught red-handed, they will be forced to give a refund for their services. In the case where the person is found guilty of plagiarism, they have to pay a fine, or monetary restitution, for this type of infringement.

Economical consequences

It may seem like there is no connection between plagiarism and the UK economy, for instance. But if you dig deeper, you will discover that plagiarizing is somewhat of cancer to society. As students cheat throughout the educational process, they do not acquire the necessary skills to succeed in a modern professional world. This results in a lack of talent and qualified workers who would have otherwise had a superior impact on the economy of the country.

Life consequences

It may appear absurd to imply that plagiarism can affect people's lives to such a great extent. However, people react to the accusation of theft of others' work in different ways. Some will not take it too personally and forget about the unpleasant situation right away. Yet, for others, it may result in depression. Sometimes people caught plagiarizing can't bear the legal or monetary problems, so plagiarism can even lead to the loss of human life (actually).

How to avoid plagiarism in your work

As you have already understood, it is a serious issue and should be taken with all due responsibility. You should know that paraphrasing, copy-pasting, and translating the source without giving a correct reference is, literally, a crime. Theft of ideas also constitutes plagiarism as well. So, to avoid any convictions and to escape repercussions, follow these simple steps:

  1. Give reference to a source as soon as you cite it.
  2. Mind the correct citation format you are assigned.
  3. Use plagiarism checkers, like the one by EduCat, to see if there are any similarities to other works.

Of course, coming up with your own ideas and formulating them might be a tall order. Merely copying or paraphrasing thoughts that someone else has already presented is, of course, much easier. But think about it - you might become a thief by stealing others' concepts, approaches, analyses, or ideas.

Our plagiarism checker can detect plagiarized content and will help you to polish your work. We will give you the necessary support to succeed in your creative undertakings. Just paste the text, and our software will scour the Internet for the quest to find duplicate content while highlighting what parts of the text should be given a citation. You will get precise results that will help you create plagiarism-free work.

Also, by registering for free, you can increase your daily check limit by four times (from 5,000 to 20,000!).

We wish you good luck with your paper and hope that you will evade all of the ramifications of plagiarism.