I’m obliged to write this quick one to address one serious and recurrent issue. And that is plagiarism. Now before we continue let me paraphrase the meaning according to the oxford dictionary.
Plagiarism is presenting another person’s work as your own. Whether published or unpublished, with or without their consent, by including it in your work without full attribution.
Now the law may give this definition several limbs and extrapolations depending on the circumstance but this is the basic definition.
Even if you reference a passage copied verbatim you must use quotation marks.
Nothing hurts an owner more than the stealing of their intellectual work likewise nothing ruins the thief more than this. That is why we have emphasised in CAPS that this site has ZERO tolerance for PLAGIARISM.
It is cheating. It is stealing and it is evil.
Apparently, one of the reasons writers plagiarise in essay competitions is to win. But we have repeatedly said from day one that this particular journey is to make us better writers, readers and thinkers via togetherness and consistency. Some obviously missed that memo. This is a long trip in which we have only taken a few steps. Believe me when I say this “We will produce award-winning writers on this platform”. So why not be patient and try to keep doing what you do weekly? Why take the short-cut? My late dad told me that he cannot count the number of Onitsha traders that became millionaires merely by turning up in their shops daily. And most started as apprentices. The slow and steady philosophy of progress is eternally organic.
In the past I cautioned plagiarists. Last week I banned one but going forward we will name and shame. Desist from PLAGIARISM, please!
