Plagiarism

It is a serious academic offence and will lead to work being disregarded or action being taken by the University.

Plagiarism can be deliberate or inadvertent and even if you reference an author but your words are considered ‘too close’ to the original work you can be accused of plagiarism. So, it is very important that you take steps to avoid plagiarism.

To be more specific...
Plagiarism means:

• Writing about someone else’s ideas as if they were your own
• Writing about someone else’s ideas without giving a reference
• Using someone else’s words exactly without indicating that it is a direct quote and referencing it
• Using more or less the same words as another writer even if you acknowledge their work
• Copying another student’s work
• Submitting work written for you by another person
• Downloading chunks of text from the internet and putting them together to form an essay.

Some rules...
When using quotes remember to:

• Copy the words and punctuation exactly
• If you have to omit some words from the quote use three dots in parenthesis (...) to indicate this
• Always use quotation marks
• Always include a reference for the quote with the page number of where it came from.

Learn the rules of correct referencing – see References web page and Cite them right booklet, produced by the Library.

Avoiding plagiarism
Get into the habit of taking down full references when making notes so you know where the ideas have come from.

Don’t copy word for word when making notes. Try reading a paragraph at a time and then summarising the main points using your own words.

If you want to use a quote, copy it in a different colour so that you can identify it easily. This will also make it obvious how much you have copied. Reference sources as you are writing your assignment so that it becomes second nature.

Useful References

Cottrell, S. (2008) The study skills handbook (Palgrave study guides). 3rd edn.  London, Palgrave Macmillan. 

Creme, P. & Lea, M (2008) Writing at University: a guide for students. 3rd edn. Maidenhead: McGraw-Hill Open University Press.

Fry, R. (1997) Improve your writing (how to study). London, Kogan Page. pp.58-59.

Marshall, F & Rowland, F. (2006) A guide to learning independently. 4th edn. New South Wales: Pearson/Longman.