The Serious Sentence for Plagiarism

All throughout our school days, we hear that plagiarism is cheating and can merit extreme legal consequences. However, some people discount these warnings and tend to assume that plagiarism isn’t all that serious. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Plagiarism is a serious crime that is punishable by law and can land you in jail.

By definition, plagiarism is a very close imitation or exact copy of someone else’s writings. It is also using another author’s language, thoughts, or ideas to convey a meaning. Essentially, plagiarism is anything that is not a writer’s original work. When a quote from another author is citied appropriately, it does not constitute as plagiarism. However, copying something for the intent of passing if off as your own creation is plagiarism and will be treated as such.

Much plagiarized work is copyrighted, which means that it cannot be imitated by order of the courts. Individuals who violate this order can be expelled form whatever school they are attending or fired from a job where they were copyrighting materials. As well, they can have a hard time finding employment in the future because of their bad reputation. Normally, when someone violates copyright laws he or she will have to pay a hefty fine to the original author. This will come in the form of a copyright or plagiarism lawsuit. In certain cases, plagiarism can bring on criminal prosecutions like fines, jail time, or community service.

All that to say, it isn’t worth it to copy someone’s work without citation and try to pass it off as your own. You will end up with serious punishments for your choice. There are times that someone may be accused of plagiarism when he or she unintentionally used the same words as another author. If you are in this situation, and are prosecuted on a criminal level, then you will want an attorney to come to your aid and convince the courts that you are innocent.