Intro and Ch. 1

After reading the introduction and the first chapter of Susan Blum's My Word!, my view of plagiarism has become even more unclear. It seems that the penalties and charges for plagiarism are vague except for the occasional person who gets a gruesome verdict to make an example and to intimidate the other students. I do find it interesting that plagiarism can actually improve a work although it is highly looked down upon. Where is the line actually drawn on what is right and wrong?