The Indiana University Bloomington's School of Education explains that, "Plagiarism is defined as presenting someone else's work, including the work of other students, as one's own." When you use someone's work, ideas, or statistics, you must acknowledge it by stating from whom and where the information was taken.
When you plagiarize, you use the thoughts of others, rather than thinking for yourself. In effect, you are cheating yourself because you're denying yourself an opportunity to learn something new, as well as a chance to sharpen your research and writing skills. You are also missing out on a critique of your own ideas.
When you plagiarize, you may make your peers look bad, inflating the grade curve even though you may not understand the subject.
Teachers and school administrators have to be wary of plagiarism in their classrooms to ensure that students are getting the best education. They have a responsibility to provide a fair and equal grading system, and as such must be cognizant of each student's abilities and aware of any suspect work. They also have to take the time to verify facts in papers that signal plagiarism.
In the last decade, especially since the digital age, plagiarism is becoming more and more accepted among students. They see it as a way to save time and get information, according to Orange: A Student Journal of Technical Communication. Teachers and administrators see it as a lazy way out, and it is still very much considered cheating.
Online detection services can now be used to catch cheaters who try to plagiarize information on the Internet.