Plagiarism occurs when someone presents a piece of work as if it were their own. More precisely, it has been defined as:
'use or close imitation of the language and thoughts of another author and the representation of them as one's own original work' (1)
As described above, many pieces of academic work include material from other people. What is important is that this material can be clearly distinguished from your own work. The assessment of plagiarism is therefore closely linked to the practice of referencing that is used. Poor referencing can lead a reader to think that the text is the student’s work when in fact it is copied or based on a reference.
There are many possible ways in which a text can be written which might vary from blatant plagiarism to poor referencing.
(1) Definition from http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/plagiarism
See the boxes below for more information on the University policy on plagiarism and tips of how to avoid it.
The University has a detailed policy on academic misconduct as part of the Assessment handbook - see the link below. This is an extract of the section covering assessed coursework:
[Extract from the March 2024 statement]
Universities classify plagiarism as ‘academic misconduct’. Where attempts have been made to avoid plagiarism but this has been inadequate, the term used is ‘poor academic practice’. In addition, Universities provides formal procedures for determining whether a penalty should be applied and the level of that penalty.
Take a look at the table of penalties applied for plagiarism towards the end of the Assessment handbook (link below). These are clearly serious actions and in most cases the actual offence is minor and only limited action would be taken – usually near the bottom of the table. All suspected cases of plagiarism (whether ‘academic misconduct’ or ‘poor academic practice’) are referred to the School Director of Teaching & Learning (SDTL) to ensure that a consistent and fair policy is adopted.
As can be seen from the table, more serious cases are referred upwards to the SCAM Committee (Standing Committee on Academic Misconduct). Where the matter is considered ‘poor academic practice’, then the School applies an agreed set of common penalties. Where it is considered that plagiarism has occurred, with a classification of ‘Academic Misconduct’, then the detailed University guidance is followed which could result in a mark of zero for the submission or, for more serious cases, one of the more severe penalties indicated in the table.
We do appreciate that students are here to learn both the scientific basis of their degree and how to act in a professional manner when presenting work. Penalties are therefore graded to impose only a minor penalty when the ‘plagiarism’ is considered more a failure to understand how to prepare the submission rather than a deliberate attempt to obtain marks using other people’s work.
We also recognise that students need to learn about plagiarism and to get appropriate feedback when work is considered to contain unacceptable material. However you should also note that we do record cases when one of the above penalties (including a ‘Borderline Poor Academic Practice’ warning) has been applied and this will be taken into account in assessing any future submissions suspected of plagiarism.
Here are a few tips but if this is a matter where you are still confused or uncertain please talk to the course director or one of your module teaching staff.
1. Make notes in your own words
It is best to read a book or article page by page or section by section and then to write notes on it in your own words, unless you come across a particularly important passage or a phrase where the author seems to put a point in a very effective way, in which cases you may want to copy out the exact wording into your notes. You might also want to copy out sections of a primary source in case you wish to refer to it in an essay or dissertation. But make sure that you clearly indicate to yourself, such as by using inverted commas or a different coloured pen, where you have copied out passages or expressions from any source. Always note the details of the source including page number where the material you have copied occurs in case you wish to cite it as a quotation.
2. Always acknowledge your sources
If you use material from a book or article, whether you quote or paraphrase, you must always acknowledge the source. If quoting a phrase, sentence or longer passage, then it should appear as a quotation between inverted commas. Paraphrase instead of using quotes where possible. All sources used must have an in-text citation and a full reference at the end.
3. Use sources appropriately
You should never take material from a book or article and merely change the wording a little, passing it off as your own work. Adding a reference at the end of a paragraph (particularly when this is repeated for several paragraphs) is an indication that the student has not really analysed the material fully.
Never put together an assignment in a kind of cut-and-paste fashion by stringing together phrases or sentences from a series of works.
Do not use lengthy quotations from other sources, and never write essays which are no more than a series of quotations strung together, even if they are acknowledged. This is just bad style and does not show your analysis.
4. Make sure it is your own work
Finally remember the last part of the definition for plagiarism given earlier: ‘ .. the representation of them as one's own original work.’ When submitting coursework you are required to sign a declaration that it is your own work. Only sign and submit the work if this is true!
See Section 6.1 Academic writing for further guidance on using evidence in your work
This guide and video from the University's Study Advice Team gives guidance on avoiding accidental plagiarism through poor academic practice.
Turnitin is an originality checker. It checks your text against a vast database of published materials and previously submitted assignments. This video from the University's Study Advice Team explains how it works and how you can use it to develop your academic writing to avoid plagiarism and poor academic practice.