Discussion on Plagiarism - Essay Example

Comment on Plagiarism: It is unfortunate when accusations of plagiarism surface against anybody, but it is particularly sad that such should be levelled against a member of the press – albeit the “alternative” online version. Words put into phrases composed into statements and then into articles are a writer’s offspring – writers are craftsmen of words, who go through a process of conception, incubation, and birthing, the stray thoughts gathered into complete ideas and formed into words.

When others therefore appropriate without permission or sanction these carefully composed statements, it is in every sense an act of theft. Written works are property over which the original writer has every right of exercising his dominion. That being said, there are times when it is difficult to tell which words are proprietary to an author and which are not. There are many idioms, sayings, and common utterances that, because they are used often and in casual manner, it becomes nearly impossible to tell where the phrase or statement began.

Sometimes a witty catchphrase just takes off so fast that its origins are obscured before they could be acknowledged. Sometimes, without intending to, we echo others’ thoughts because they had struck a chord with our own. In the case of Ben Domenech, however, there can be no appeal. Although he argued by way of excuse that he was only 17 at the time he admittedly appropriated another’s work, there can be no doubt that even at that age the idea of “copying” as “cheating” would have been well ingrained into his mind and conscience.

After all, children in their first grade know that it is wrong to cheat, and that copying a classmate’s homework or answers in a test and passing it on as one’s own is cheating. Children 7 years of age know this is wrong, which is why they go to great lengths to conceal it; what more youths of 17? Domenech cannot hide behind his age, just one year short of adulthood; this is not, after all, a deep moral dilemma. It’s simply cheating. Concerning Rebecca’s comment, she is spot on in underscoring Domenech’s past as a writer for the school paper.

As a school journalist, it is almost certain that he had been given some form of formal instruction before he was accepted into the writing staff. After all, the school would have been aware that writings in the official school organ reflected upon its reputation and integrity, and its writers therefore would be put in the precarious position of being the school’s mouthpiece. Domenech could therefore not be excused for lack of cognizance or training. The fact that one writes as a “blogger” should not be an excuse either.

Some people are of the misguided opinion that since blogs appear transient and superficial in comparison to articles that see print. The misconception could be attributed to the ease with which a blog (or any statement, for that matter) may be sent out through the internet, in comparison with the deliberate prior stages of reading, editing and rewriting of an article for print publication. It could also be because print is taken seriously because of its permanence and tangibility in paper, unlike blogs which could be so easily discarded; and when pulled off its website, blogs may even be denied by its author as having ever been written.

Writing for the electronic media has become so easy that the accountability of the author for what is written is often taken for granted. Such should not be the case. Writers should be “really careful in their writings,” as Rebecca writes, because what are written, though they may be withdrawn from their electronic bulletin boards, may not be withdrawn from the memory of the readers who have perused them. Harm is done when the words are written and remembered. The written word – no matter the medium – must always therefore be taken seriously by the writer.

As the saying goes, the pen – or in this case, the Enter key – is mightier than the sword.