Even if they are conscious of academic ethics, students continue to break plagiarism standards. This is attributable to a shortage of time management skills or a failing to devote the necessary time and effort for research-based work; some students may be too lethargic to perform research and think they have had no option but to plagiarize. Students may argue that the course, the assignment, academic documentation standards, and the repercussions of cheating are unimportant.

The following are the most often reported reasons students choose to plagiarize or cheat (“Reasons Students Plagiarize or Cheat | Academic Integrity | RIT”, n.d.):

  • A desire to do well in academics
  • The fear of failure
  • Laziness or ineffective time management
  • Lack of enthusiasm in the project
  • They believe they will not get detected. They are unsure as to what constitutes plagiarism or about existing institution standards.

Further the reason that why students break the rule of plagiarism and commit cheating is that many students are not taught about that what plagiarism is and how they can avoid plagiarism. Further, lack of knowledge about how to find the right resource and how to cite these resources is another important reason that results in cheating and plagiarism among the students. (Bailey, 2016)

References:

Bailey, J. (2016). Why Do Students Not Understand Plagiarism? – Plagiarism Today. Plagiarism Today. Retrieved from https://www.plagiarismtoday.com/2016/09/01/why-dont-students-understand-plagiarism/.

Reasons Students Plagiarize or Cheat | Academic Integrity | RIT. Rit.edu. Retrieved from https://www.rit.edu/twc/academicintegrity/reasons-students-plagiarize-or-cheat.