It was a typical morning at University, with students brushing their shoulders with the hallway walls, chatting with friends, and preparing for another day of classes, or maybe bunking them... amidst all the chaos, a peculiar situation unfolded in Mr. Bhatti's class.
Zubia, a bright and ambitious girl in the first year, had spent the entire weekend jotting down, fixing, reading and trying to understand her notes and researching papers on the Iran's Revolution. She was determined to ace her essay and crafted a wonderful paper after hours of work.
As she sat at her desk, busting away keys on her laptop, she began to sense a feeling of unease. Didn't I see similar phrases and arguments in another student's notes? And wasn't that section about the Ayatollah suspiciously similar to what I had read online? As she was pondering upon the situation, looking worried, just then, Mr. Bhatti approached Zubia's desk, with a concerning face.
"Zubia, I couldn't help but notice that your essay seems... awfully familiar," he said gently. "Can you tell me where you got those particular phrases and sentences from?"
Zubia's heart sank as she grappled the situation: she had inadvertently plagiarized parts of a Wikipedia article and another student's paper freely available online.
Mr. Bhatti explained the sensitivity of the situation and led her to the school counselor's office, while discussing the gravity of the error Zubia has made in her judgement.
Plagiarism is not just an academic offense but also a personal one. It can be felt if you have been plagiarized – it shows a lack of respect for others' work and something that kills one's own instincts.
The counselor explained to Zubia how would need to complete extra credit assignments and participate in a workshop on proper citation techniques. But more importantly, she had to reflect on why she'd taken this shortcut in the first place.
Zubia's desire to get a good grade had clouded her judgment, leading her to sacrifice her integrity for temporary gain and some part of her dignity in-front of her class.
As she left the counselor's office, she vowed to be more mindful of her actions and to prioritize originality above all else. She felt a weight lift off her shoulders. She understood that true success lay not in chasing succuss by taking short-cuts, but in forging her own path, and creating her own voice.
