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Mellah Nyamuba
When a piece of work has been written by someone, that work is original.
It is an individual’s creation.
Such an act of creativity deserves to be appreciated, even if it might show some deficiencies here and there.
The important thing is that it is original.
On the other hand, plagiarism destroys the desire to write new work.
Take the example of an artist who after composing a piece of drama discovers that his piece of art has been stolen and someone has claimed ownership of it.
The person might stop composing or crafting more stories fearing that his work will be high-jacked.
Plagiarism gives credit to the wrong person.
A person who copies or reproduces other people’s work without acknowledging that the work does not belong to him or her is just too lazy to think.
Such a person is not better than a thief who builds an empire of wealth from others’ sweat.
If we have no kind words for thieves we should feel the same of a plagiariser.
There is certainly nothing wrong in getting inspiration and ideas from other people.
As a society, we are meant to learn on each other’s shoulders.
Nevertheless, leaning on someone’s shoulder is not the same as asking to be lifted completely.
A plagiariser is like a tick that has no blood of its own but sucks from other animals.
If plagiarism is that evil then stop it.
Mellah Nyamuba is a student at Muparutsa Secondary School in Mutasa
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