There are many definitions of plagiarism, but let me suggest a definition that better captures the the usage of the term in academia: We may suggest that plagiarism is the attempt to pass off an unoriginal material as if it were original. This definition scores over many dictionary definitions and includes concepts as diverse as:

submitting another person's work as one's own--whether in totality or in part, submitting a work of one's own hand in multiple forums (e.g., two different classes or two different journals), and borrowing another person's ideas or words without proper credit given.
Essentially, plagiarism involves deceit. In a plagiarism event, a reader is led to believe that what he or she is reading is a fresh and novel work originating with the stated author. However, this is not the case.

Often plagiarism happens--especially with students--because of misunderstanding of what constitutes plagiarism or mere sloppiness. In this case the deceit is unintentional. But probably more often, the "author" on some level intends to deceive his or her audience or is at the very least indifference to the deception. In such a case, it is hard to see any moral difference between plagiarism and lying.

Many sites on the internet offer free papers under the guise that they are there to help students and other thinkers develop there ideas. Perhaps the articles and essays they offer, it is suggested, make for good research. But this is fascicle. It is widely understood that these sites exist for students to easily find essays that can be submitted under their own names with little or no