Whenever you write your work, be it a term paper, thesis or essay the last thing you want is to be plagiarized. To begin with, it disqualifies you from even continuing with your education in the concerned institution or completing it. This is because many final papers that require long bodies of work are done at the end of a college education.
Literature is considered to be any written works of lasting artistic merit. This can also be reflected in books and published journals, as well as any other printed material of authority. Literature is taken as a form of human expression and by extension an art. Therefore, it may not apply to all things technical, scholarly or journalistic that is published because it may not come across as an art form. Plagiarism in literature is taken very seriously and very personally by the ones who claim plagiarism for their content. To counter the offense taken, it is an act reprimanded by the law as it is illegal.