Referencing, academic integrity and avoiding plagiarism: Avoiding plagiarism

Plagiarism is when you use other people's work and pass it off as your own. 

Here are some examples of plagiarism:

• You include content from others in your assignment without acknowledging the author and source.
• You work with another student to produce the same or similar work, this is called collusion.
• You pass off work created by another as your own (e.g. commissioned essays).
• You use content from a piece of work you have previously submitted in a new assignment, this is called self-plagiarism.

Plagiarism can be intentional or non-intentional- either way it is considered academic misconduct which has serious consequences.

The good news is that it's easy to avoid committing plagiarism and we're here to help!  Here are our top tips for avoiding plagiarism:

• Keep track of the sources you use for your assignments.
  • You may want to use referencing software which can help you keep track and generate citations and reference lists.
• Paraphrase and summarise
  • Read through your source and then rewrite it in your own words.  
• Cite and reference your sources correctly.
  •  Acknowledge when you have used someone else's idea, even if you have written it in your own words.
  • See the pages on referencing for guidance.
• Make use of the support available:
  • Speak to your Academic Liaison Librarian and Academic mentor.  They can advise you on referencing and avoiding plagiarism.

Remember, your lecturers and tutors are here to support you throughout your academic journey so if you are unsure about anything, just ask.

Content from this guide has been developed and adapted from London Metropolitan University StudyHub and LibraryMatters. Illustrations from Storyset.com. Interactive activities created with H5P. With thanks to Sandra Sinfield,Tom Burns and Janet Gordon.