Why shouldn't I plagiarize?

Aside from the moral tenet "stealing and lying is wrong," there are a number of reasons for choosing to create your own work and credit the references you use.

By properly citing your sources, you:

• add to your own credibility,
• aid the reader in learning more about your topic by enabling them to locate the resources you used,
• show respect for your fellow scholars, and
• avoid potential legal and disciplinary sanctions.

In writing your own ideas and point of view, you have the opportunity to:

• make a personal contribution to the body of knowledge available throughout the world,
• express and argue your own opinion, and
• become a scholar in the truest sense.

So what do students think about these arguments? Check out this article from East Tennessee State University to see what one student has to say.