7/11/2013

How to Avoid Plagiarism

Presented by Ke Xing
School of Engineering
University of South Australia

Acknowledgement
This presentation is developed based on:
Academic Integrity at UniSA (by Language and
Learning Advisors at Learning and Teaching Unit,
UniSA)
Academic Integrity Workshop (by Professor
Andrew Downing, School of Engineering, UniSA)

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Academic integrity
The values that form the basis of all academic
work are
Honesty
Trust
Fairness
Respect
Responsibility
(Centre for Academic Integrity 1999)

As students, you are expected to abide by these

values

Academic misconduct
Misconduct occurs when you violate the values of
academic integrity. Types of misconduct include
Plagiarising (i.e. presenting other peoples work,
words and ideas as your own)
Submitting the same assignment more than once (i.e.
for different courses)
Breaching exam procedures (i.e. any form of cheating)
Presenting data that's been copied, falsified or
obtained improperly

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submitting work that involved significant assistance

from another person when assistance was not
allowed
providing assistance to another student where
assistance is not allowed
altering or misrepresenting academic records
(including fabricating medical certificates)
any other actions that contradict the principles of
academic integrity.
(Assessment Policies and Procedures Manual
2013, 9.2.1)

Consequences of misconduct
If you are deemed to have committed academic
misconduct, whether intentionally or not,
consequences can include

compulsory resubmission of assignment

zero grade for the assignment
failure of course
suspension or expulsion

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Plagiarism
This short video gives a very good overview
on how to avoid plagiarism:

(Source: Bainbridge College 2010, Plagiarism: how to avoid it,

video, YouTube, 25 January, viewed 1 December 2012,
<http://youtu.be/2q0NlWcTq1Y>.)

Example
(adapted from presentation by Helen Johnston, UniSA)

When I review a students report and read

the following paragraphs.

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What is wrong?
It does not seem the students own work!
A significant part of the paragraph is copied [with
some minor editing] from another persons work.

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What if the student write like this?

Still exactly the same, with only minor changes

It is UNACCEPTABLE even if
the material were included in quotation marks,
the author identified, and
the full reference is provided
Excessive
copying
with no
significant
value added
by the
student.

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How to use the materials found

Paraphrase the original material
Interpret the information; reflect on the original
findings, and discuss their applicability in the new
context
Augment with your own contributions: analysis,
argument, findings and conclusions.

How can a student paraphrase the previous

finding in their own words?
A starting point can be:

While these are the students own words,

this still does not include a contribution by the student, either
by way of reflection, or by adding their own perspective.

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The students contribution (context, analysis,

deduction, synthesis, reflection, conclusion
etc) must now be added to the top and
bottom, to yield an acceptable use of the
material.

Such as:

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Paraphrasing
Read the quote below

Which of the following student essay extracts

might be considered misconduct?

Films are now, potentially, mediated intensely by extra

materials including commentary tracks, reminiscences, and
technical and critical remarks.
Films are now, potentially, mediated intensely by extra
materials including commentary tracks, reminiscences, and
technical and critical remarks (Parker & Parker 2004, p. 14).

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Films are now, potentially, mediated intensely by extra

materials including commentary tracks, reminiscences, and
technical and critical remarks.
Films are now, potentially, mediated intensely by extra
materials including commentary tracks, reminiscences, and
technical and critical remarks (Parker & Parker 2004, p. 14).

According to Parker and Parker (2004, p. 14), films today are

intensely mediated by supplementary materials like
commentaries and scholarly remarks.
Commentaries, scholarly remarks and other extra materials
increasingly shape and mediate the film-viewing experience
(Parker & Parker 2004, p. 14).

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Scholarly Writing
A good paragraph has a structure that contains
Students own sentences to set the topic
Paraphrase with citation
Students own sentences to make the point

The students ideas can be in the first and last

sentences
A paraphrase can have more than one citation

Example

More than just repeat what is read

Have observed and understood the readings
Know how to agree and how to differ
Have made own argument and used the readings to
support

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