Plagiarism

          Plagiarism is a dirty word in academia.  Appropriating other people’s writing and passing it off as your own is considered to be a major offence.  It is considered academic stealing.  The difference between going to a parking lot and prying off someone else’s hubcaps stealing intellectual property is the same.  Some feel that anything can be taken from the Internet and incorporated into papers and other documents.  Internet sources have to be documented, too.  Those websites you visited could also be accessed by your professors. To safeguard yourself from charges of plagiarism, simply document your sources.  Otherwise, the consequences are pretty serious.  Some universities and colleges will haul you before a disciplinary board; others will fail you in the course; still others will give you a failing grade for the writing, which contains plagiarized material.  The advice is a resounding: Do not the do it.  It is not worth it.