E-plagiarism has gained popularity with the advent of information technology in the recent years as Internet is thought to be a need of the informative society. Some educationists are of the view that Internet material provides ability to think critically on different issues.
But at the same time it is not reliable to wholly depend on the Internet due to its adverse impact on one's creative thinking. "I personally observe the positive reaction by the teachers who prefer printed net copied (plagiarised) material over the text submitted after researching and consulting half a dozen books" a student remarked.
While Internet plagiarised material prove as blessing when students instead of buying expensive books get study material through visiting different websites. During study ,visiting internet websites save one's time and provide diversified and latest knowledge regarding the issues.
"The critical approach developed by comparative study from internet and books broaden the vision to apply the analytical approach in creative writings", said Tahir Khurshid Sheikh, a renowned Columnist and senior lecturer in National University of Modern Languages (NUML).
"Internet also helps in providing background knowledge regarding multifarious issues of life. In research, one has to collect all background knowledge from the sources including books, Internet, newspapers and journals to develop a hypothesis and infer the desired results", he remarked.
He also pointed out the need to use this material as a source to acquire basic knowledge and not to copy and paste the text written by others.
"If some one is copying the material exactly from books or web sites the source should be mentioned," he suggested. Those young writers who are affected by plagiarism could get rid of this by concentrating on their reading habits and noticing the composition as well as what writer felt and implemented on his written piece of work by using selective words.
If there is someone who still would not be able to write good so it is better to opt for another field as every one is not a writer.
"Educators must continue to socialise students of all ages about the importance of maintaining high ethical standards", a renowned scholar remarked. It is fact that plagiarism is an undesired phenomenon leading the youth to intellectual bankruptcy and deteriorating the education standard but at times sources like Internet help enhancing one's knowledge in a better way.
The trend of plagiarism must be discouraged as far as copying is concerned, otherwise there is no harm if anybody searches web sites for knowledge gaining and vision broadening.
It is important for students and educators alike to be aware of the negative effects of e-plagiarism, in order to maintain academic integrity. The qualities of being honest and having strong moral principles are important virtues that scholars need to inculcate. The popularity of e-plagiarism has made it clear that it is a need for the information society of today to draw up constructive and creative solutions to solve this problem, thus, encouraging the student community as well as the public to instil and learn the skills of writing effectively.