DEAR EDITOR,
On the subject of plagiarism. It seems to me that plagiarism is more than “unacknowledged borrowing” of the ideas and writings of others: it is stealing those ideas and writings.
I think it may be widely acknowledged that ‘internet-based material is by definition public property’, but it seems mean to try to take the credit for someone else’s hard work, probably involving hours of research.
Years ago, on a course of study with a distance learning institution, we students were warned in writing that plagiarism would be treated as a serious offence and dealt with accordingly. Students must always acknowledge sources.
As I recall, plagiarism was defined as ‘quoting more than six consecutive words’ from other authors’ published work without attributing the sources. Students took this warning very seriously and
there was never a problem. Geralda Dennison