What is Plagiarism?
Plagiarism is using someone else’s work, ideas or writing and presenting them as your own without acknowledging the source. For example, copying and pasting a section of text from a website, journal or book into your assignment and passing it off as your own is plagiarising someone else’s work.
You may have heard of plagiarism in the news, such as musical artists being sued for allegedly copying parts of their melody from someone else's song (‘Blurred Lines’ Copyright Suit Against Robin Thicke, Pharrell Ends in $5M Judgment) or when artists are accused of stealing other people's artwork (Damien Hirst faces eight new claims of plagiarism). The image accompanying this text shows how even politicians can be accused of plagiarism.
Plagiarism is treated very seriously by the College. If you plagiarise any part of your college work, it is likely to be detected by plagiarism checking software, and there may be serious disciplinary action taken under the Malpractice and Maladministration Policy.
How do I avoid plagiarism?
Reading widely and drawing knowledge from various sources of information is an important part of learning, and you'll be expected to show this in assignments. The key to distinguishing your own work from the work of others is by referencing.
By referencing, you demonstrate what information sources you have used and how widely you have researched. These are important aspects when writing assignments and essays. View our referencing guides for help in correctly formatting your references, and if you need some one-to-one support, you can make an appointment with your Library Information Adviser who can help you learn how to references as well as provide referencing feedback on your assignments.
Canvas Courses for 'How to Reference and Avoid Plagiarism'
Sharpen your referencing skills and learn more about plagiarism by completeing the following short courses on Canvas: