Alyssa McIlhany

Professor Enns

Foundations of Learning GSU1107

25th March 2017

Assignment 2-1: Plagiarism and Academic Integrity Response Essay

The fact that information is so accessible in our world today is no excuse for claiming

someone elses idea as ones own.

Plagiarism, is explained as follows by Matt Perman and Justin Taylor in their article titled What

Is Plagiarism?: The essence of plagiarism is to give the impression that the ideas or words of

another person are actually your own. This can be done intentionally (in which case it is outright

theft) or unintentionally-but either way it is wrong.

To cite a source, whether in ones writing or in a message given to an audience, is not

difficult, but does require being intentional and responsible to keep track of where information

was taken from. I often will forget where exactly I heard or read something, and this can be

frustrating when I want to use a great thought or idea I remembered but cant place precisely

where I found it.

The steps I plan to take within my involvement in ministry to avoid plagiarism are to (1st)

take well organized notes during lectures or sermons so that the ideas or quotes will be accurate

to what the original speaker or author actually meant, then (2nd) keep a written record of the

different ideas or quotes I find which I would like to use one day, and finally, (3rd) keep the

names and the citing information for finding material sources in a file for future reference when I

want to incorporate an idea into a message or letter.

 A persons words or ideas belong to them. When we use someones words or ideas

without acknowledge who they belong to, passing them off as our own, we are stealing. As

Christians, and especially as leaders in ministry, we need to be so careful to not plagiarize.

Leaders more than anyone need to be diligent to keep the truth safe (Perman &Taylor)

Every decision we make should be traced back to scripture for the reason behind why we

do or do not do something. The authors of the article What Is Plagiarism? did an excellent job of

bringing their audience back to scripture to explain plagiarism as stealing. If we do claim to be

followers of Christ then we must be willing to apply all of his word to our lives. The principle is

not simply about avoiding stealing something from our fellow man, but even more so about

honoring God in the way we conduct ourselves. They also did a good job of giving specific ways

people claim other peoples ideas without giving them credit.

I have realized more and more the importance of not plagiarizing other peoples ideas or

work. I am an artist and I know I would not appreciate if someone used one of my drawings or

paintings as an illustration in their book or sermon without asking me. Just because we are able

to do something, does not mean we should do something and this applies to plagiarism.

Jesus was so wise when he answered the question on what is the greatest commandment

to God. Mark 12:29 -31 says:The most important one, answered Jesus, is this: Hear, O Israel,

the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your

soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: Love your neighbor

as yourself. There is no command greater than these.

This is the filter we must put our every decision through. Are we loving God with our

whole being and loving our neighbor the way we would want someone to love us?

Work Cited
Perman, Matt. & Justin Taylor. What Is Plagiarism? Article. desiringgod.org. 23rd Jan. 2006.

Web. 25th March. 2017.

Ryrie. NIV. New International Version. Ryrie Study Bible. Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers, 1984.

Print.