Say “No” to Plagiarism

A crucial skill students must develop at college is the ability to conduct independent research. Having accumulated fundamental knowledge, students should develop themselves into thinking and inquiring individuals capable of forming their own judgment and expressing their original insights, both in term papers and graduation theses.

Unfortunately, with massive information readily available on the Internet, irresponsible students find it so convenient to copy, partially or even completely, the research performed by others. Without making due acknowledgements, they pretend the research is by their own efforts and they secretly congratulate themselves on the good grades they obtain. Worst of all, they seldom have a guilty conscience because such plagiarism is so pervasive.

However, the consequences are more serious than those plagiarists could imagine. For one thing, their personal credibility is ruined. College years are the most formative period in a student’s life and deception could be a serious stain on one’s moral integrity. For another thing, without effective research experiences, one is unlikely to acquire depth of analyses or originality of insights, both of which are indispensible to one’s career development, whether in corporate, government or academic organizations. Ultimately, the plagiarists themselves are to suffer.

To eradicate plagiarism, several measures could be adopted. Students need to heighten their moral standards by realizing that plagiarism is not just an academic issue but a critical moral issue. Teachers need to be more vigilant in detecting and combating plagiarism. Finally, university authorities need to tighten disciplinary codes to leave no plagiarists unpunished. In this way, universities can produce graduates who can be paragons of credibility, capable of playing a leading role in the credibility reconstruction of the entire nation.

                                       对剽窃说 “不”


        在大学学习期间，学生必须培养的一个关键技能, 就是如何去从事独立的研究。在积累了基础知识之后，学生们应该将自己培养成善于思索、勇于探究的个体，能够形成自己的判断，表达自己独特的见解，无论是在学期论文中，还是在毕业论文中。

        不幸的是，由于互联网上海量信息唾手可得，缺乏责任心的学生很快就发现，部分地或全部地去抄袭他人所作的研究，是那么的便捷。他们对资料来源隐而不宣，不作任何应有的鸣谢，却假装那些研究是他们以一己之力所完成的，骗得了好分数便暗自庆幸。最糟糕的是，他们很少受到良心的谴责，因为这股剽窃之风已司空见惯。

         然而，后果之严重是这些剽窃者们所无法想象的。一方面，他们的诚信悉遭摧毁。大学岁月是一个学生一生中最重要的人品形成期；欺骗是对一个人的道德品行的严重玷污。另一方面，不累积有效的研究经历，大学生就无法获得分析问题的深度，或见解上的独具匠心。这两点对于大学生未来的职业发展至关重要，无论他们是在企业、政府部门还是在学术机构工作。最终而言，受损失的还是剽窃者本人。

        欲铲除剽窃行为，可采取的措施有以下几个。学生们应该提高其道德水准；他们应该意识到，剽窃不是一个简单的学术问题，而是一个至关重要的道德问题。其次。教师应该提高警惕，去揭露剽窃并与剽窃行为作斗争。最后，校方应加强学风规范，不让任何剽窃者逃脱惩处。这样，大学所培养出来的毕业生，就能成为诚信的典范，在整个国家的诚信重建中，开风气之先。