Intended learning outcomes

By the end of this module, you should be able to:

Explain what plagiarism is

Identify what citations involve

Show an understanding of the reasons for and importance of citing

sources

Determine the types of information that require citations

State the possible consequences of plagiarism at PolyU

Plagiarism is taking someone elses work (including, but not limited to,
words and ideas), intentionally or unintentionally, without indicating where it comes
from, and presenting it as if it is your own idea or words.

You are encouraged and expected to use other peoples work to support and
strengthen your arguments, but you must cite the sources that you have used.
In other words, you need to show clearly where the ideas and information come
from.
Certainly not
Well, effective and proper use of source information will get you a better grade
because it will
Show your wide reading and understanding of the relevant literature
Strengthen your argument by making reference to other peoples ideas
Demonstrate your original thinking through building on and critiquing other
peoples ideas.
You are expected and encouraged to use other peoples ideas in your own work
to support and strengthen your arguments.

This means that you should:

use sources properly

cite the sources you use accordingly

organise and present them in your own way to support your views.

And that's how you will make your work impressive and professional. So keep
going and keep learning.
A citation contains details to tell your reader where the words or ideas have been
taken from (e.g. a book, a journal or a website).
By citing the sources, you distinguish the sources ideas and words clearly from
your own, and direct the reader to the source for further information.
An obvious reason to cite your sources is to avoid plagiarism in your work, as
plagiarism is a serious offence against academic integrity. There are three other
good reasons for you to cite properly, as follows.

Your citations show the research you have done and how well you have
used your sources in your work. They actually enable you to present your
work according to academic conventions, and get you a better grade, if
you do everything correctly.

Your citations also allow others to trace the source materials you have
consulted, if they are interested in arguments or information you have
referred to.

Your citations give credit to people for their contributions to the academic
world and the field. You should reward their hard work with a citation. This
costs you just a few seconds of writing, but is valuable to the author.

A proper citation for a source consists of two parts:

reference to the source within the main text of our work, i.e. in-text
reference

listing the sources at the end of our work, i.e. in the References,
Bibliography, or Works Cited section

The following examples show how we indicate in our writing that an idea we have
used is from other peoples work in the main body of the text and the reference
list at the end of the text.
As you can see from the examples above, information and materials that are not
our own but are obtained from someone or somewhere need to be cited when we
use them in our work. These include texts, ideas, statistics, data, and audio or
visual materials, etc. The following may be some exceptions:

our own personal experience

certain facts or knowledge that are widely known in a community (common

knowledge)

Common knowledge refers to facts or general knowledge that is known by most if

not all people within a particular field of study or discipline, or in a community. For
example, Hong Kong is a special administrative region of the Peoples Republic
of China this is a fact which is known among Hong Kong people. Another
example is: the sun rises in the east this is a fact that almost everyone knows.
Using common knowledge in our work normally does not require citations. But
sometimes, it can be tricky to decide whether a piece of information is common
knowledge or not. For example:
It depends
We are normally not required to cite in our work the source of well know
laws/formulae/equations when we apply them in solving a problem in an
assignment.
A case to consider:
In an assignment on an engineering problem we may have to apply Newtons
laws of motion to solve the problem. As the laws are well known in the disciplines
of engineering and physics, there is no need to cite the source of these laws.
But if we are asked to write a paper to explain the development of newtons laws
of motion, we will need to include information about the origin and development
of the laws, and hence acknowledge the source of the information.
Plagiarism comes in many forms and is not the only form of dishonest writing
practice. Below are some common forms of plagiarism.
Copy-and-paste plagiarism

This is the commonest form of plagiarism and is the easiest to find out. It refers
to copying everything word for word from a source and using it in ones work
without any citations.
Another common form of this type of plagiarism is changing a few words in the
copied text. For example, substituting a few words with synonyms in a paragraph
copied from a journal article.

Patchwriting
Patchwriting* is when one takes chunks of information (e.g. words or ideas)
from different source materials (e.g. books, journals), combine them without
acknowledging the original sources, and adds a few words of ones own here and
there to make it look as if they were ones own ideas and words.

Self-plagiarism
As the term suggests, one plagiarises ones own work. An example is when
someone reuses part of a previously submitted work in a new subject or a new
assignment.
PolyU takes plagiarism as a serious form of academic misconduct. Depending on
the extent and seriousness of the offence, the University will take disciplinary
actions against plagiarism as appropriate. In any case, students cannot use
ignorance (e.g., not knowing that a certain behaviour constitutes plagiarism, or
how to cite properly) as an excuse.
Here are some real plagiarism cases committed by students at PolyU and the
corresponding disciplinary actions taken by the University.

Always cite the source of any information taken from others' works, which
includes but is not limited to texts, ideas, designs and images.

Ignorance is not an excuse and you will not be able to get away with it.

Keep your work plagiarism-free! Disciplinary actions will be taken if

plagiarism is found.

Learn and familiarise yourself with the rules and conventions of proper
citations.

Intended learning outcomes

By the end of this module, you should be able to:

Identify common reasons for students to plagiarise

Suggest possible ways to avoid plagiarism

Start taking actions to avoid plagiarism in your own work

However, plagiarism is not acceptable for any of these reasons, and the price to
pay is high. Fortunately, for each of the above problems mentioned, there is at
least one way to address it. Let's look at them one by one in the following
section.

Here is a student forum on the internet for students to discuss their problems and
seek help regarding their studies.

As a student advisor for this forum, your ask is to give appropriate advice to
those who have posted their problems.

You will not be able to use I dont know how as an excuse. So learn the citation
rules and conventions. You will also learn about them in one of your university
English classes. You can always consult a citation manual, or information on the
website of polyu English language centre. You may also ask your subject teacher
for help.
Dont ever try to copy your classmates work. With electronic detection these
days, it is very easy for your teachers to detect this. Your best choice is to do
your own work within the time constraint. Given the shortage of time, you may
have to give up camping with your friends over the weekend.

To avoid this problem in future, you need better time management. Dont leave
Your work till the last minute. Plan ahead, start early and try to stick to the
schedule . Poly U student affairs office has some time management workshops
for students that you may find useful for your study.

Plagiarism, even if its unintentional, is still a serious academic offence. Here are
some tips to avoid unintentional plagiarism:
When you read source materials, keep notes on where the ideas or works come
from.
Properly include the citations and source data in your work as soon as you start
writing the assignment if you insert them after it is done, there is a high chance
that you will leave out a few citations, either in-text or in your reference list.
There is software that can help you keep track of the sources you use as your
research and develop your work. You can find more information on this from our
library.
If there are circumstances illness that make you unable to submit your work on
time, explain to your tutor or lecturer your situation, give them a medical

certificate from your doctor, if available , and ask for an extension- I believe that
they would understand. But be honest dont make up some fake situations as an
excuse because this is a form of academic dishonesty.
Although lending your work for others to copy is not plagiarism, it is still a form of
academic dishonesty that you should avoid.
Sometimes, students are under peer pressure to lend their work for others to
copy, thinking that it is a way of getting acceptance in a group and if they dont,
they will be though badly of. It is certainly not a favour that you are doing them
because if they get caught, there will be serious consequences for your all. You
can, however, give them some pointers or suggestions on how to do it.
Tell your friend if she needs more time to work on her assignment, she should
seek advice from her tutor or lecturer.

Dont even think about it. Changing a few works of what you copied is still
plagiarism. Besides, it can be detected easily especially with the help of the
internet and plagiarism detection software. Incoherent or unusual writing style in
the same piece of work often suggests plagiarism too. So dont be a fool and
think that you will not be easily caught.
If you have concerns about your language proficiency, you should make use of
every opportunity at PolyU to improve it. PolyU English language centre provides
resources and services that can help you write better e.g. the writing assistance
programme.
To help with your English, put your text into the English language centre online
common error detector at . this free programme will help you to improve your text
by checking it for many common errors made by Hong Kong students in their
academic writing. Then revise your text according to the advice given by the
programme.

Copying others work certainly is not the way to learn.

In your case, there are other ways to finish your assignment. For example,
consult your instructor to clarify the assignment requirements or other things that
are unclear to you. You may also ask your classmate for advice or help but
dont copy!

Remember, if it takes just a few clicks away for a student to copy and paste
materials from the internet, it also takes just a few clicks for the teacher to find
out where they are copied from on the internet.
Doing an assignment can help you develop a deeper understanding of the
subject. Copying and pasting does not.

Learn and properly use citation rules and conventions.

Make notes of where the words or ideas are from when you take notes of
what you read or see, and reference your sources as you work.

Use bibliographic management software.

Refer to citation style manuals available online or from the library.

Plan ahead and start your work early. Don't leave your work till the last
minute.

Seek advice from your instructor if you don't know how to do your
assignment, or can't finish your work on time under certain circumstances
(e.g. illness).

Learn how to be a better writer. Seek help from PolyU's English Language
Centre if needed.

Resist the temptation of "copy-and-paste" from the Internet!

Distinguish between proper and improper ways to reference other people's

work
Apply in-text referencing skills in:

quoting

paraphrasing

summarising

Recognise the rules for end-of-text referencing of different types of source

materials
Differentiate among the most commonly used citation styles
How can I refer to other peoples work
As explained in Module 2, there are good reasons for you to use other people's
work in your own work but the important thing is to acknowledge it obviously
and properly.
In this module, we will explain how to reference or cite other people's work
properly, in a manner that is acceptable to the academic community.
To properly acknowledge other people's work, we must reference the sources in
two different parts of our text:

in the text where it is used (in-text referencing or in-text citation), and

at the end of our work, in a distinct section called "References",

"Bibliography" or "Works Cited" (end-of-text referencing)

Now that you know we have to acknowledge the use of other people's work in
our own, let's look at how we can do it.

There are three ways for us to reference other people's work within our own text:

Quoting: using exactly the same words as in the source, with a citation

Paraphrasing: using your own words to explain the ideas from the source,
with a citation

Summarising: explaining the main ideas from the source, but using less
words, with a citation

For all three methods we have to provide a citation: some basic information
about the source; e.g. the author's family name, year of publication and page
numbers.
Different disciplines (e.g. engineering or psychology) use different citation styles.
In the examples that follow, we will use a common style called the "APA Style" to
illustrate in-text referencing. Other commonly used citation styles are explained
later.
The following pages look at what "quoting", "paraphrasing" and "summarising"
involve, and how to do them properly.

Quoting
the first way to use other people's work in our text is to quote their words directly.
When we quote, we copy the text word for word and enclose it in quotation marks
(" "). The work quoted could be of different lengths: a word with a particular
meaning used by the author, a phrase, a sentence or a paragraph. Note that the
source needs to be clearly indicated.

You should use a quotation if:

all of the authors words are important

the quotation will not make your text too long

you haven't used many quotations already

you analyse the quote in the following text

you disagree with the quote in the following text

the quote is a definition

Below is an excerpt from a source. Judge whether Quote 1 and Quote 2 are
properly done based on the rules for direct quotation mentioned before.

Paraphrase
Another way of using other people's work is to paraphrase their words and ideas
that is, to express them in our own words or style.
You should paraphrase for 2 reasons:

the authors' words will be difficult for your reader to understand

for your assignments, your reader is your teacher and your teacher wants
to know if you understand the author correctly.

You should, however, note that:

you cannot avoid plagiarizing by just changing a few words with synonyms
while retaining the structure or style of the sentences: you must still give a
citation

even if you have significantly changed the wording and style of the original
work, you still have to acknowledge the source of information or ideas, or
else it is plagiarism.

Summarising
The third way of using other people's work in our writing is to summarise it.
A summary is a short description of the main ideas of a text. Note that:

you still need to cite the source of the summarised text

you should write the summary in your own words and style.

You should summarise if:

not all of the authors words are necessary; e.g. if the author gives
examples or explanations that you don't need to put in your text

if paraphrasing or quoting will make your text too long.

What are some commonly used citation styles?

Whether you quote, paraphrase or summarise others' work, you need to follow
the citation conventions.
There are different citation styles, and which one to use varies from discipline to
discipline. For example:

Disciplines

Humanities, Social Sciences, Health

Sciences

Citation Styles

American Psychological Association (APA) style

Harvard style

Modern Language Association (MLA) style

Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers

(IEEE) style

Vancouver style

Engineering, Science-related
disciplines

Check with your instructor which citation style you should follow in your
assignment.
Note that in each citation style, there are variations in how we cite different types
of sources as well (e.g. books, journal articles and websites).
Now, lets look at how sources are presented in-text in different citation styles.
How are sources presented in different in-text citation styles?
In-text references are usually indicated in brackets close to the information cited.
They can be embedded as part of the sentence as well.
In the in-text reference, you should provide the following information:

Name(s) of author(s)

Year of publication

Page number(s) (if applicable)

Below are two examples of how an in-text reference is done in APA and Harvard
styles.

How are sources presented in different in-text citation styles?

In-text references in IEEE or Vancouver styles are simpler. The sources are
indicated by numbers in brackets or in superscript, and are listed in the reference
list at the end of the text in the sequence they appear in-text.

How can I do an end-of-text reference?

As we said before, to properly acknowledge other peoples work, we must
reference the sources both in-text and at the end of the text doing just either
one is not enough!
To do the end-of-text references, we need more information than just the name(s)
of the author(s), year of publication and page number(s). Look at the additional
information in the example below:

How should I cite different types of sources in end-of-text reference lists?

As explained in the previous sections, there are different citation styles and which
one to use varies from discipline to discipline. The rules for citing different
sources or materials (e.g. books, e-books, journal articles, websites) are also
different.
What follows is a brief explanation on how to cite books, journal articles and
websites under different citation styles. However, the examples provided here are
by no means exhaustive. If you cannot find the citation method for the source
material that you have on hand here, do a search online or go to the library and
look it up in the relevant publication manual.
If you are submitting an article or a paper to a journal, you should consult its
publication guidelines. Usually, this information will be available on the journal
website.
Citing books in the reference list

Citing journal articles in the end-of-text reference list

Citing websites in the reference list

Here are some links to referencing that you might find useful
A booklet on plagiarism and how to avoid it for PolyU students:

http://edc.polyu.edu.hk/PSP/Plagiarism_Booklet.pdf

The English Language Centre (ELC) provides referencing guides to using APA,
Harvard, IEEE and Vancouver styles:

http://elc.polyu.edu.hk/referencing/

PolyUs Centre for Independent Language Learning (CILL) provides resources

on using sources and referencing:

http://www.elc.polyu.edu.hk/CILL/reference.aspx

The Reference Machine:

http://elc.polyu.edu.hk/CILL/referenceMachine.aspx

How to decide whether to quote, paraphrase or summarise:

http://www2.elc.polyu.edu.hk/cill/refchoice.htm

The Library's Online Information Literacy Programme offers information on how

to search for, use and manage sources:

http://inf.lib.polyu.edu.hk/Literacy/reg.asp

Websites on citation styles:

APA: http://www.apastyle.org/

MLA: http://www.mla.org/style

IEEE: http://www.ieee.org/documents/ieeecitationref.pdf

Try the following exercises to test if you have fully understood how to properly
reference other peoples work in your own work using a citation style that is
commonly used in your discipline.

Try to include the underlined sentence in an essay assignment. Insert the

quotation into the sentence beginning with According to in the yellow box and
submit your answer.

Suggested Quotation

Try paraphrasing the following excerpt.

Suggested paraphrase

Try summarising the following excerpt.

Suggested Summary