Plagiarism
Put simply, plagiarism is cheating! It is pretending that words or thoughts are your own, when really you have accessed them from somewhere else without acknowledgement, be it a book, article, webpage, another person or some other source. It is easy to avoid plagiarism. You are encouraged to gather material from a number of different sources - this is called research. You may quote or acknowledge the ideas and conclusions you have gathered but you must let the lecturer know where the material came from - this is called referencing.
Correct referencing ensures that your assignment will be free from plagiarism. Just remember that extensive paraphrasing or quoting, even when acknowledged, is not advised.
Deliberate plagiarism is a serious offence and the penalties are severe. You may lose marks or be awarded a fail for that assignment or assessment task, or in extreme cases you may be excluded from the course altogether. Please refer to the Academic Integrity Policy for more details.
Plagiarism includes but is not limited to:
- Copying another student’s work
- Lending an assignment to other students
- Copying or quoting from another source without acknowledging that source
- Paraphrasing another person’s work closely and not acknowledging the source
- Incorrectly ascribing authorship in group projects
- Submitting the same assignment, or portions of an assignment, for other course assignments
- Colluding with another student or students to complete an assessment task that you have been instructed to complete on your own
Cover Page
Students are required to attach a cover page to all online and physical assignment submissions, declaring the work as their own. The cover page will include the following declaration, which the student must tick:
I certify that this assignment is my own work and is free from plagiarism. I understand that the assignment may be checked for plagiarism by electronic or other means and may be transferred and stored in a database for the purposes of data-matching to help detect plagiarism. The assignment has not previously been submitted for assessment in any other unit or institution. I have read and understood Avondale's Academic Integrity Policy.
I certify that this assignment is my own work and is free from plagiarism. I understand that the assignment may be checked for plagiarism by electronic or other means and may be transferred and stored in a database for the purposes of data-matching to help detect plagiarism. The assignment has not previously been submitted for assessment in any other unit or institution. I have read and understood Avondale's Academic Integrity Policy.
Five easy tips to avoid plagiarism
1. Complete the AIM course as soon as possible
2. Always record the details of each source you use, even when paraphrasing, following the appropriate referencing style for your assignment
3. Write down direct quotes as they appear in the text, using the appropriate in-text citation/ footnote style
4. Develop your paraphrasing skills. Explore the resources in the Avondale tutor's libguide
5. Remember if it is not your idea, always give credit!
Further Help
Why is it still plagiarism when I paraphrase and use my own words?
4 tips to easily avoid plagiarism