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You can find dozens of definitions of the word "plagiarism” in dictionaries of all kinds, but in fact that is just stealing other people’s thoughts. On the other hand plagiarism is not a usual phenomenon. In this essay I will try to find answers to some questions connected with plagiarizing. It is not difficult to understand this phenomenon itself, but what are the reasons for it? Why do people plagiarize? Let’s find it out together.

I tend to think that people have been plagiarizing since the beginning of the era of writing. What makes a human being plagiarize? It depends on the goal that a person wants to achieve using somebody else’s thoughts, ideas, theories. It is said that there are as many opinions as there are people on our planet - many men, many minds. I think the same can be said about those who plagiarize. They plagiarize because they try to achieve their own aims.

I would like to speak about some main goals people want to achieve plagiarizing. The first is money. Money makes people do different things, sometimes crazy or illegal ones. Plagiarism is one of them, I think. Imagine that your friend or a person whom you know has created some technology or device in the sphere of computers. This very device is unique. And its, so to say, coefficient of efficiency is rather high. I think there is no need to be a genius to understand that this device helps his creator to earn very much money. And if you are dishonest, you will not lose your chance to steal the information about this device, its prototype or something else that can help you to get an exclusive chance (or right) to produce and sell this device.

One more aim of plagiarizing is fame. I think this goal is closer to the gist of plagiarism itself. I mean that the main sphere of life where people steal other's thoughts is the world of literature. If there were a rating of the things that are plagiarized more than others, I think manuscript copies would get the first place. In a senseless race to achieve world fame many writers can easily steal other's thoughts, ideas for books, or even written works themselves. I think not only do such people disrespect themselves, but the literature as a form of art as well. Because taking something that has been already created by another author and trying to present it as the result of your own effort is like buying bread and telling others you have baked it yourself.

Now we can explain why people plagiarize. But that is not the end. Do all these plagiarists have problems with their level of education? Can’t they create something using their own thoughts and experience? These simple questions reveal some more motives for plagiarizing. Some plagiarists really don’t have abilities to create anything without any outside help. It means that their tincture of mind does not allow them to make an invention or, for example, to write a great scenario. That is why the only way for them is to plagiarize.

But I really believe that one of the main problems is our laziness. Idling can be called a real malice of Humanity. Laziness makes people invent something new, but the same laziness makes some of them plagiarize instead of bending their brains. But even in this case we can say that laziness makes them create plans of how to steal some thought or idea.

As for me, I am quite convinced that to plagiarize means to acknowledge that you are absolutely unable to create something yourself. I remember when I was a child I used to plagiarize when I had to write some written work or composition. I searched through the Internet in order to find some works of other people and to use them myself. But I have never plagiarized these works to the last word. I took some thoughts, ideas, or main points of the narration. Then when I was studying in the last two school grades, I realized that it was much easier and better for me not to find other’s works and plagiarize them, but just write everything using only my own brains. And now studying at the University I very seldom use other people’s thoughts or ideas in my works. I use other people's ideas and words when I understand that my thoughts and insight are similar to them. But I do not think that in this case it is possible to speak about plagiarism.

In any case plagiarizing is a bad thing. Nobody excepts that the author of an idea or hypothesis can develop it and achieve the highest goals in this sphere. That’s the main point. To plagiarize an idea is the same thing as to steal a baby from his real parents, those who have given him birth. You can bring up this baby, give him proper education, teach him everything you know, share with him your life experience. But this child will never be yours. And you will always remember the moment when you stole him.

In any case plagiarism as it has been mentioned above is stealing other people’s thoughts and ideas. This is dishonest. The fact that you do not just borrow something but sayl it is yours makes the situation worse. People must be honest. If they can’t create or invent anything themselves, they must not steal other human beings’ ideas and thoughts. They should understand that in this world there are people who create and those who help them to develop what they have just created. This thesis is connected with every sphere in which plagiarism takes place as a usual process.

Unfortunately, the phenomenon of plagiarism will exist as long as people are ignoble, dishonest, envious and jealous. Plagiarizing as a form of cheating is in the nature of people. I may be mistaken but the majority of human beings’ would better steal something rather than try to create it themselves. The phenomenon of plagiarism is just one more proof of it.