Plagiarism

Original work and citations are a unique feature about academic writing in Western higher education.  For many cultures, it is normal to copy someone else’s work as it can be considered honoring to that person.  Other cultures are also much more collective where students work together on assignments.  Obviously in America plagiarism is not acceptable.

Faculty may experience new international students plagiarizing on writing assignments.  While they should know better, it may be possible that they have never been taught how to cite sources properly and even what plagiarism is.  In this circumstance, we ask for a little bit of grace and for the professor to educate the student in this area.  For students who have been studying in America for awhile, there really shouldn’t be an excuse.  At the end of the day, international students should be held to the same standards as domestic students.