Plagiarism

  

In June, I took the Research and Writing English course for a brief and concise five weeks. The class quickly flew by without any intentions on stopping or pausing; it was crazy! Thankfully, God truly helped me write my research paper with ease and I came out of the class with an A.    HALLELUJAH!!!

     Throughout the various lessons, the lengthy power points, and the touchup reminders of where commas go, the topic of plagiarism really attached itself to my mind. Plagiarism was my teacher’s take home point no matter what the discussion was about. She made sure that we had this term recognized from head to toe, engraved in our hearts, and tattooed in our minds. You could not escape her reminders of “PLAGIARISM.” It sounds intense and it should because of the different things at stake.

   The basic definition of plagiarism is to practice taking someone else's work or ideas and passing them off as one's own. When writing a research paper, specifically, you are demanded that you cite the information that you are using from another source or sources. Since this information does not belong to you and you know for a fact that you found it elsewhere, citing should naturally become a routine habit like breathing or blinking for you, the writer. The purpose of citing has three main points:

1. To acknowledge the original author of the source and their findings.

2. To give credibility and vigor to your paper.

3. TO AVOID PLAGIARISM AND SUFFERING CONSEQUENCES!

   If you were to actually plagiarize, your paper would automatically receive a zero and you would possibly face the alternative to retake the course. Sad? Extremely! If you do not cite a particular source correctly, it is plagiarism. If you do not place quotations where they are supposed to go, it is plagiarism. If you forget to mention that you used an author’s idea or thought, it is plagiarism. But there is an easy solution to avoid this path and juke around this obstacle: Just Correctly Cite!

   Now, the good part. God has gifted the entire world with something special. Whether it is just one gift or many gifts, God has gifted everyone in a genuine and unique way. Artistically speaking, there are many dancers, orators, artists, musicians, actors, poets, vocalists, and performers that have been greatly gifted by God with amazing talents. God purposefully placed the gift of preaching, teaching, encouraging, giving, evangelizing, and outreaching on some people that He did not for others. Some of us even have the ability of being people friendly or easygoing around any audience or in any atmosphere. God has undeniably blessed us all with a lot of that something special. But as Christians, do we plagiarize God’s gifting in our lives and attest them as being our own doings?

   Personally, I know God has gifted me to dance out of my mind along with other awesome gifts. Initially, after a performance or some type of a freestyle dance session, people would shower me with compliments. Although I was not cocky when accepting them with open arms and remained humble as possible when they came my way, I did not acknowledge God with my mouth or heart and let my audience know that it was only because of God . PLAGIARISM! At first, this was my mentality. Now, nevertheless, my heart, my mouth, or both make sure to redirect the worship, praise, compliments, and acknowledgment to the One gave me the gifts to, the One that really deserves it all. All that I am doing is practicing, strengthening, and perfecting the goodness God has already instilled within to look more like Him.

   Begin to consider all that God has done for you and all that He has allowed you to accomplish. It was never by your strength or might but by the power of God. Your intelligence, your charisma, your energy, your sensibility, and your breaths of life are because of the Creator. You maybe naturally gifted in sports and as a Christian, you have every right to let your teammates know that God has blessed the special skills and abilities to move so well or to react so swiftly. We must know that is in “Him that we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28). It was God’s breath of life that was deposited into the nostrils of man and allowed him to open his mouth to speak. It was God’s intricate thoughts and way, not ours, that allowed man to be able to think so comprehensively (Isaiah 55:8). It was God perfect craftsmanship that designed our bodies to function as a seamless whole. Although every opportunity may not grant you the permission to verbally tell someone that it is by His might, remind yourself that it was God; we can only do all things through Him that strengthens us (Philippians 4:13).

   Therefore, if you profess to be a Christian and claim that Christ is the Author and Finisher of your faith, acknowledge the Source that makes you exist. Our gifts are not to be prostituted for our fame and glory, for monetary riches that will soon pass away, or for the world’s insatiable vain desires. God did not bless anyone with gifts for their own welfare and benefit but rather that it would revert back to Him, the Giver, and uplift Him more. Since we are made in His image, our gifts should be an amplified enhancement of who God is. Cite the Source where you received your resources from. By acknowledging Him, we put more credibility into our lives and avoid plagiarism.