Avoiding Plagiarism

Avoiding Plagiarism

The best way to avoid plagiarising is to know what it is and how to avoid doing it. Many students plagiarise unintentionally as a result of not knowing how to acknowledge or incorporate sources of information, or from careless note-taking or ‘cutting and pasting’ of electronic sources.

You can also “self-plagiarise” by reusing sections of previous assignments you have completed. While you may use the same concepts or even text resources, each assignment should be written as new.

 

Learn to How to Acknowledge Your Sources of Information

  • The Golden Rule: Make sure your assignments are referenced correctly.
  • Referencing allows you to acknowledge the contribution of other writers in your work. Whenever you use words, ideas or information from other sources in your assignments, you must cite and reference those sources.

The one exception: Common Knowledge

  • You do not need to reference common knowledge - but sometimes it is difficult to sort out what is common knowledge. This resource from Harvard College provides a helpful outline.

 

Plan Your Work

  • Plan ahead and begin writing your assignments well before they are due. Leaving work until the last minute doesn’t give you enough time to read, digest, form your own ideas and write information in your own words.
  • When students rush to meet a tight deadline, they are more likely to plagiarise unintentionally or succumb to the temptation to ‘cut and paste’ information directly from electronic resources.

 

Learn How to Incorporate the Work of Others

  • In addition to knowing the rules for referencing your sources, and knowing what to reference, you also need to understand how to effectively integrate material in your writing.
  • Knowing how to quote correctly from a source, and how to paraphrase and summarise the words and ideas of others can help you avoid plagiarism. 

Acknowledge ALL Your Sources

  • Books are not the only sources that require acknowledgement. ANY words, visuals, ideas or information taken from ANY source requires a reference.
  • Reference when you are using words or ideas from:
    • books and journal articles
    • newspapers and magazines
    • pamphlets or brochures
    • films, documentaries, television programs or advertisements
    • web pages or computer-based resources
    • letters or emails
    • personal interviews
    • diagrams, illustrations, charts or pictures.

(image from https://saspellingbee.files.wordpress.com/2013/03/plagarise-1.jpg)