This plagiarism vs inspiration comparison unveils exciting details that should capture anyone’s attention. Plagiarism involves copying other people’s work and taking full credit. It is one of the terms that strikes fear in the hearts of bloggers, students, and authors.
The punishment for plagiarism is quite serious. It can lead one to jail or destroy a person’s reputation. It involves stealing someone’s intellectual property, which the owner worked hard to produce.
On the other hand, inspiration can lead to the creation of unique ideas and copies. So, it is different from plagiarism.
Here is what you need to know about inspiration and plagiarism.
What Is Plagiarism?
Plagiarism refers to copying other people’s work without giving them credit or seeking their permission. You think full credit and assume ownership of other people’s work.
It is possible to plagiarize text, images, music, and other forms of content.
Plagiarism is an unethical practice and can have dire consequences. Students who plagiarize could be expelled. One can even end up in jail for plagiarism.
Quoting from sources isn’t plagiarism. You won’t face any legal issues when you cite the original author in your work.
Plagiarism is cheating. You’re appropriating other people’s thoughts and ideas and passing them off as yours.
The owner of the book, music, article, image, or content spent days, stayed awake for several nights and denied himself some pleasure in creating the material. Someone who hasn’t made any contribution claims ownership of the content.
Put yourself in the owners’ shoes. How will you feel if someone copies your work verbatim and passes it off as theirs? Won’t you find a way to make the person pay?
There is no honor in plagiarism. It also stifles creativity and promotes laziness among creatives.
Think about it this way: if everyone decides to plagiarize, would we ever get unique content to consume? Will creatives feel motivated to produce unique content, knowing people are waiting to copy and claim ownership? I don’t think so.
So, there is nothing good about plagiarism, but do you think people who engage in such an act deserve the punishment they get? Is plagiarism enough reason for people to take legal action or be expelled from school?
Plagiarism is stealing, and those who engage in it deserve punishment. However, sending people to jail might be too harsh. Asking them to pay a fine or face other forms of punishment will be more ideal.
What Is Inspiration
Inspiration is something entirely different. It implies your call for change or when someone tends to generate new ideas.
You can get inspiration from various sources. I have written about 100 things to inspire me. You can look at the content and find out what inspires you.
Content created from inspiration is 100 percent unique. That’s one thing that makes inspiration crucial. It gives you creative insight.
You can be inspired via word, event, and an individual or through your dream. You can get inspiration from various sources. Just identify what inspires you and put it into action.
Inspiration is a powerful driving force. It pushes you to take the next step, even when everything is against you taking that step. It keeps you focused on the prize. Failure becomes nothing when you are inspired.
Let’s take the story of Thomas Edison. Edison spent an extended period working on the electric bulb. He was inspired by inventing an electric light bulb to replace the gas lighting, which would put some money in his coffers.
For Edison, money and being the one to invent such a groundbreaking product inspired him to work hard, perspire, and shun failure. He failed thousands of times trying to create the electric bulb.
When asked about failing thousands of times before inventing the electric light bulb, he claimed he didn’t fail but found a thousand ways the light bulb wouldn’t work.
Does being inspired mean you won’t have to gather information to nurture the idea into reality?
Being inspired doesn’t mean you shouldn’t get ideas from other people’s work. You can get ideas and gather facts to finish your investigation.
But note that this collection of concepts has to be supported by evidence. And you must demonstrate it via research.
So, a creative individual can get inspiration from another person’s work. You can write a book influenced by someone else’s work. Creative individuals read their colleague’s work to create theirs.
Most inventors didn’t start their inventions. Someone started the invention but couldn’t finish it due to death or other issues. Another person comes in and completes the project. That’s how most of the inventions you see were made.
So, feel free to draw inspiration from other people’s work, but don’t copy them verbatim. You can read their text to get inspiration to write your book.
Plagiarism Vs Inspiration: The Difference
We defined plagiarism and inspiration. Now, let’s highlight the difference between both terms using examples.
Assume you were writing a book and suddenly stumbled upon another material with information that suits your book. You then copied and pasted the info you lifted from that book into your writing.
This is plagiarism. In most cases, it could involve copying an entire book and claiming credit for the book when you aren’t the original owner.
Plagiarism is different from inspiration. An author may stumble on information that suits the book they are writing. But, instead of copying and pasting the information on the book, the author reads and conducts extensive research to come up with fresh and even more superior ideas.
You can read a book and be inspired by it to create your book. It is not plagiarism as long as you don’t copy or use information from the book you read in your book.
How To Inspiration From Other People’s Work Without Plagiarizing
Most of the books you’ll find today were books whose authors got inspiration from other materials without copying. How do they do it? Here are a few tips on getting inspiration from other authors’ work without copying them.
1: Gather as many materials as possible:
Let me use myself as an example. When seeking inspiration, I usually gather numerous sources related to the topic I want to write about.
The good thing about having many sources is that you’ll have multiple ideas. This will enable you to create a fresh and superior idea without plagiarizing.
Gaining inspiration and knowledge on a topic from multiple materials will enable you to produce a superior copy. So, ensure you have multiple materials on the topic you’re writing about and study them thoroughly to gain more knowledge.
2: Rate the quality of the source you’re using:
Not every book or source is worth your time. Some will disrupt your thought process and misinform you.
Check the author and watch out for avoidable errors. If the writer makes multiple mistakes, then the work is subpar.
Rate every source before relying on them. Consider only sources or books from reputable authors or writers.
3: Dissect each material thoroughly:
Read each material word-for-word. Don’t skim through any material unless you assess if it is worth it.
Additionally, when you read, take some time to process and expand the idea in your head. This way, you’ll create the appropriate condition for inspiration to strike you.
4: Consuming the content before writing:
Before you start writing, you must finish reading and processing the information in your sources or materials. The essence is to avoid words from the book finding their way into your head while brainstorming.
When it does, most people assume it’s their ideas until they run their finished content in a plagiarism checker, only to discover that they plagiarized.
5: Don’t degrade the source of the information:
You may have far superior information on a subject because you have read about it from various sources and have a broad idea.
That you got your information from other sources is another reason to stay humble. Don’t criticize other’s work on your page. Remember that if it weren’t for the sources you came across, you probably wouldn’t have had the information you stumbled on.
How Can You Identify Plagiarism in Someone’s Work?
Firstly, understand that inspiration is not grammar errors you can detect by reading an article or book word-for-word. You must know the original content word-for-word and identify the lifted part of the content to have any clue.
Interestingly, there are several tools you can use to check for plagiarism, whether in academic papers, articles, or books. Writers can use these tools to check their content before publishing. Students can also do the same before submitting their work.
Examples of plagiarism checkers are Turnitin Checker and Copyscape. These are paid plagiarism-checking tools, but you can use free ones out there.
It is essential to check every article for plagiarism before publishing them. Don’t give people room to accuse you of copying and ruin your years of hard work.
Reasons To Avoid Plagiarism
Plagiarism is a serious issue in the world today. So, if you’re a writer or creator, you must learn to avoid plagiarism. There are reasons to avoid plagiarism. And we must state them clearly to ensure people understand the consequences they may face when plagiarizing.
1: Legal consequences:
Before you plagiarize, think of the legal repercussions of your actions. It is assumed every professional writer understands that there are copyright laws, and ignorance of the law is not an excuse in the law court.
You cannot copy people’s work without citing them. Plagiarism, in some cases, can be treated as a criminal offense. And the criminals might go to jail.
Plagiarism is also a serious ethical issue and doesn’t end well for the plagiarist when the actual owner of the material decides to act.
2: Can damage a student’s reputation:
Many schools take issues of plagiarism seriously. Remember, schools are established to develop the character and knowledge of students. Plagiarism projects the offender as a criminal.
Many schools have academic integrity committees that keep an eye on students. These committees police students and punish anyone who plagiarizes.
The punishment for students who plagiarize ranges from suspension to expulsion. When expelled, many schools may refuse to offer admission to the said student because of the past academic record.
3: Can ruin professional reputation:
Plagiarism has the power to ruin people’s professional reputations. A business person, politician, or government official who plagiarizes may suffer severely if the original owner of the material used decides to act.
In most cases, the person could be asked to step down if they hold a reputable position. For business people, it could lead to loss of trust and damage their professional reputation.
4: Monetary repercussions:
Plagiarists face different punishments. And one of them is a monetary fine. The original author may decide to sue the plagiarist and demand hefty compensation, which eventually gets approved by judges.
A journalist working for a magazine or newspaper may be penalized and asked to pay a fine for plagiarizing. Students who plagiarize may also suffer the same thing.
Conclusion
We have come to the end of this plagiarism vs. inspiration comparison. You can see the difference between both terms.
Plagiarism involves copying other people’s work and passing them off as yours without citing them. Plagiarism is an ethical issue treated as a criminal offense in some quarters.
Inspiration is a mental stimulation, and unlike plagiarism, it can lead to the creation of unique ideas and products. You can get inspiration from different sources, such as books, movies, role models, mentors, relatives, nature, art, and more. The punishment for plagiarism can be severe. Often, offenders are thrown in jail or asked to pay hefty fines.
