if there is one thing that i got out of all my English classes up until now, it is to not plagiarize. it is like the equivalence to not looking at another's exam when taking one. "do not copy someone else's work, do not copy someone else's work, do not copy someone else's work." the message has been ingrained. i have yet to take a class that involved any writing where i did not hear "do not copy someone else's work," but it's a good thing teachers are doing their job.

i have been accused of plagiarizing once. it turns out that one student that i had helped out had taken a passage out of my paper and plugged it into their paper. fortunately i did not get into any trouble. it is difficult because plagiarizing does come in different forms, and one could be plagiarizing and not be aware of it. unfortunately most or almost everyone has probably done some form of plagiarizing already, and some will even more in the future.

ownership is a very important aspect of authorship. without proper ownership, plagiarizing and property rights would be chaotic.