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Plagiarism
Summary of this module
Key information
What is plagiarism?
'Plagiarism is when you pretend that you have written or created a piece of work that someone else originated. It is cheating, it is dishonest, and it could jeopardise your HSC exam results.'
(Board of Studies, HSC Assessments and Submitted Works, Advice to Students
, 2006)
Plagiarism is dishonest. It is a legal, moral and scholarly requirement that you must acknowledge the ideas of others when you use them to build your own insights and understanding.
Plagiarism detection methods are getting more and more sophisticated.
As an HSC student, you are seeking an academic qualification of high standing. Part of gaining this is learning academic conventions which demonstrate the depth of your research and your intention not to plagiarise.
Issues
Why does plagiarism matter?
- Because it is cheating. It is unethical and dishonest.
- Because you are not developing important skills and knowledge.
- Because authors own their words and ideas.
- Because there are penalties.
Why does plagiarism happen?
- Sometimes plagiarism is outright and intentional cheating.
- Sometimes it is a result of ignorance of bibliographic and citation skills.
How is plagiarism detected?
- Sometimes it's very obvious. Different writing 'styles' in an assessment task are a sure sign of plagiarism.
- If a reference list and citations do not appear, markers may suspect plagiarism.
- Teachers check the reference list with the references sourced in the body of your work.
- Teachers are usually experts in their subject matter. They will probably be aware of the sources you use.
- Plagiarism is obvious when two assignments submitted are either identical or very similar to each other.
- Teachers check students' work using plagiarism detection software, such as Turnitin. This is particularly useful in checking for cases of collusion between students.
What are the implications for plagiarism of accessing information from the internet?
- The same scholarship principles apply no matter what the source of the information that has been used. The only difference is that the form of acknowledgement for web based sources is different.
- Students might plagiarise because they are less rigorous in their application of scholarship principles and practices.
Strategies/handy hints
What strategies can be employed to avoid plagiarism?
- Be honest and ethical. Acknowledge sources appropriately.
- Learn to manage your time better so that you leave enough time for all your assessments.
- Learn to paraphrase correctly.
- Use the Information Process to plan and organise your research.
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