Plagiarism
What is Plagiarism?
Plagiarism is using someone else's words or ideas as if they were
your own.
- If you copy something from a book or a Web page or any other
source and put it in your piece of work as if it were something
you had written, this is plagiarism.
- If you take someone else's idea and present it in such a way that
it appears to be your idea, this is also plagiarism.
Why is Plagiarism Wrong?
Plagiarism is both theft and fraud.
- It is stealing someone else's work to make a gain (improving your
marks).
- It is fraudulently presenting someone else's work as yours to
make a gain (improving your marks).
Plagiarism breaks the rules of your university.
Plagiarism is cheating, and is therefore not condoned by universities.
Universities have different ways of dealing with plagiarism (refer
to your Student Handbook for details), such as:
- Having to resubmit that piece of work and having the mark capped
at 'pass' level.
- Scoring zero for that piece of work.
- Having to resubmit that piece of work and having the mark for
that course unit capped at 'pass' level.
- Scoring zero for that course unit.
- Failing and having to re-sit that year.
- Being thrown out of University
How Do I Avoid Plagiarism?
Make sure it is absolutely clear where you have used someone else's
words or ideas.
If you wish to include a quote from someone else, perhaps because
they explain something very well, make sure it is marked as a quote.
For example:
-
According to The
Essay Doctor's Web site, "Plagiarism is using someone else's
words or ideas as if they were your own" (www.theessaydoctor.co.uk).
According to The
Essay Doctor's Web site,
Plagiarism is using someone else's words or ideas as if
they were your own (www.theessaydoctor.co.uk).
(This format, indented and italicised, is particularly useful for
longer quotes, i.e. more than a sentence).
NOT
According to The
Essay Doctor's Web site, plagiarism is using someone else's words
or ideas as if they were your own (www.theessaydoctor.co.uk).
If you wish to include someone else's ideas (or ideas you got from
someone else), make sure that they are properly referenced. For example:
