Wow! Plagiarism is fun AND easy! Thanks Scot Barnet! Sorry, I just really feel that there should be some kind of infomercial advocating plagiarism with an easy to use "How To" guide. I do not really think that the emotional and ethical impact of this project was as intense as would be expected if one were to actually undertake the process of plagiarising a paper. The element of stress that would come with literally stealing the written work of others was completely absent from the experience due to the fact that we were asked to plagiarize. Overall, the project was fairly relaxing. I was able to machine out a four page paper in a fraction of the time which it would normally take to fabricate a legitimate paper. Furthermore, I had to do very little critical thinking, and even less in terms of active involvement. The majority of the work involved was simply passively copying work that someone else had done before me. This raises another point: I truly believe that plagiarism such as this is nothing short of blatant theft. For me, the offense is particularly heinous because it does not merely involve material property, but taking credit for the work and creativity of someone else.
I think that the key to being a successful plagiarist is all in the sources. Selecting sources that are fairly obscure and have a style and voice similar to one's own are particularly important aspects of creating a forgery. Internet sites seem far too obvious and easy to find. Also, genuine, cited information should be embedded at various points in the work. I was actually somewhat surprised at how easy it was to plagiarize a full paper. I suppose that I will find out soon enough how effective my plagiarising process was. Given the ease of producing a plagiarized work, I may be inclined to plagiarize more often (insert sarcastic tone).
