Plagiarism

If the writer does not acknowledge another person’s or other people’s materials used in his/her writing he/she commits an academic sin called Plagiarism. The academic world can strip off your qualifications if it’s discovered you committed plagiarism in course of trying to earn them.

Colleges and Universities take their offence so seriously that the offender can fair the course in which the offence was committed or be expelled from the institution.

Practical tips for avoiding plagiarism

·       1)Avoid copying materials by electronic means.

-You may only do this if you are prepared to quote the resource. If you use the materials in your work and fail to add an appropriate citation, this would be regarded as cheating.

·       2)When making notes, always write down your sources.

-Always use quotation marks when taking such notes verbalism from text and other materials to indicate that what you have this at a later time written down is a direct copy of the words used, as you may forget. You do not need to quote directly in the final version of your work, but if you paraphrase you should still cite the source.

·       3)Try not to paraphrase another person’s work too closely.

-Taking key phrases and rearranging them, or merely substitution some words with synonyms is still regarded as plagiarism.

·       4)Follow the academic custom of quoting sources.

-You should do this even if you prefer to use your own wording rather than a direct copy of this original. Also reference is compulsory.

·       5)Avoid overuse of quotations.

-Plagiarism still occurs if a considerable percentage of your assignment is comprised of quotations. In general, quotations should be used sparingly.

·       6)Double- check on your original ideas.

-If you have what you think is a novel idea, do not simply accept that your brain wave is unique. It’s common for people to forget original source of an idea, which may resurface in their mind after many years and perhaps in a different context this may have happened to you.

-Think carefully about possible sources that you may have forgotten about; ask others (such as your tutor or supervision) whether they have come across the idea before; and consult relevant texts, encyclopedias or the web.