Avoiding Plagiarism

What is Plagiarism?

Plagiarism is using the words or ideas of others and presenting them as your own. Plagiarism is a type of intellectual theft. It can take many forms, from deliberate cheating to accidentally copying from a source without acknowledgement.

Whenever you use the words or ideas of another person in your work, you must acknowledge where they came from. You can avoid plagiarism by following the suggestions outlined in this guide.

One of the contradictions of academic writing is that while you are expected to read, research and refer to experts and authorities, you are also expected to produce 'original' work. However, it is important to recognise that all scholarship involves understanding, researching, and expanding on the work of others to some degree.

Most of the academic work undergraduate students do at university will be based on the words, information and ideas of other writers. In this case, an original contribution might consist mainly of selecting, ordering, summarising and interpreting what others have said. So, it is important to learn how to reference properly - that is, how to specify clearly and exactly what your debts are and how to acknowledge them. Then your own contribution can be clearly identified and appreciated.

Common Forms of Plagiarism

Downloading an assignment from an online source and submitting it as your own work.

Buying, stealing or borrowing an assignment and submitting it as your own work.

Copying a section of a book or an article and submitting it as your own work.
Quoting from a source 'word for word', without using quotation marks is plagiarism.

Copying, cutting and pasting text from an electronic source and submitting it as your own work.

Using the words of someone else and presenting them as your own.

Using significant ideas from someone else and presenting them as your own.
Putting someone else's ideas into your own words and not acknowledging the source of the ideas is plagiarism.

Copying the written expressions of someone else without proper acknowledgement.
Lifting sentences or paragraphs from someone else, even with proper acknowledgement, gives the impression that the idea or information comes from the source cited, but that the phrasing, the choice of words to express it, is your own contribution.

Relying too much on other people's material
Avoid repeated use of long quotations. Too many direct quotations (even with quotation marks and with proper acknowledgement) result in your sources speaking for you, meaning your own contribution is minimal. Use your own words more and rely less on quotations.  

Plagiarism & the Internet

The internet can be a great source of information and an effective research tool. However, just because electronic information is easily available does not mean it is 'free'.

Remember that the information you find online should be referenced, just like any other source. Online sources should be used with care, fully acknowledged and evaluated in the same way you would any print-based source of information.

Warning!

There are an increasing number of websites that feature university assignments that students can access and download. Downloading an assignment from one of these sites and submitting it as your own is plagiarism and carries heavy penalties, including exclusion from the university.

If you are ever tempted to download a paper, please remember that academics are experts in the words and ideas of their discipline and are thoroughly familiar with the latest research - this is why they are teaching! They are also aware of these 'cheat' sites and have developed strategies to identify internet plagiarists. Remember, if you found the paper, so can your lecturer or tutor!

Resist the temptation to 'cut and paste' text directly from an electronic resource into your assignment. You should rewrite any information in your own words. When using the internet, cite the source of anything that you borrow, including material from web pages, email, and newsgroups. These materials are the words and ideas of people who deserve to be given credit. For referencing purposes, always make a note of the 'address' or URL of web pages and the date you accessed the material. If possible, print out the web pages.