An original poem need not be officially copyrighted to legally belong to the author; a tangible copy of the work is all that's necessary to prove ownership, according to Hom. Simply rearranging the words or paraphrasing another person's ideas is just as plagiarizing as knowingly submitting the entire poem. Regardless of whether the stolen poem wins the contest, the individual who submits it still commits a punishable act.
Submitting a plagiarized contest entry goes much deeper than the simple need to win. The absence of moral integrity that guides such a decision is equal to stealing a car, money or jewels, according to Kenneth C. Petress' "Education" article "Academic Dishonesty: A Plague on Our Profession." It is not for lack of resources that people claim ownership of other poets' work, but rather the lack of respect for personal property.
A poetry contest is meant for the poet to display original work with the intent of it being judged for a prize. Pressure to win means so much to some people that they would rather risk their reputation than play by the rules. Children who may not fully understand that plagiarism is cheating are sometimes pawns of their parents' overzealous need to see them win; other times, the decision to submit another poet's work is the child's own poor choice, says Deborah Howell in "The Washington Post" article "A Lesson About Copycats."
People may not be aware they are stealing the poetic content they have created, because a common misconception is that someone else's work must be copied verbatim and in whole to be plagiarized. Embarrassment and shame are easily avoided when contestants realize plagiarism constitutes any use without proper attribution, according to Petress. Using someone else's words may also be the result of laziness or a perceived inability to create an original poem, but it does not excuse the behavior.