POLICY ON PLAGIARISM – GUIDANCE FOR LEARNERS
WHAT IS PLAGIARISM? Plagiarism simply described, is the use of other peoples’ words, ideas or discoveries without acknowledgement. Plagiarism is widely acknowledged as unacceptable: “Plagiarism is the verbatim (word for word) use of another’s work as if it is the learner’s own work. If learners take the writing of a published author and present it as their own, it constitutes plagiarism. Sometimes this is done unintentionally, because of poor research habits; sometimes it is quite deliberate. In either case, plagiarism is unacceptable” (Faculty of Education, University of Sydney, Australia) This means that whether you have researched from the internet, or sourced relevant journals, or worked with other learners on the planning of an essay or report, you must make sure that the final version of your thoughts is rearranged into words that are definitely your own.
WHAT HAPPENS IF I PLAGIARISE/ COPY? If, when your work is assessed, and plagiarism is clear (word for word, or with one or two words/the formats changed), the work you have completed will be voided for assessment. It will not be accepted. An alternative opportunity for re-assessment will be given to you, according to the course team’s assessment policies and guidelines. Any work that appears to have been copied without acknowledgement, either from published sources or fellow learners, will also not be accepted but will be referred to the Assessment Panel for investigation. As a result of the investigation, various courses of action may be possible, including: – you are required to resubmit evidence for the assessment – you are required to submit new evidence for the assessment – you are required to submit new evidence for the assessment, but your grading outcome may be affected, and you may be placed on a stage of the disciplinary process (check your course handbook for details of the process)
WHAT HAPPENS IF I DON’T AGREE WITH THE ASSESSMENT? If you disagree with an assessment, and you are unable to reach agreement after discussion with the assessor, you can follow the College Appeals Procedure, where your reasons for appeal must be submitted clearly in writing.
WHAT CAN I DO TO AVOID PLAGIARISM? Plagiarism is very easy to avoid. The standard method is to acknowledge all of your sources of information. This can be done by: – re-write material that you are using from any source in your own words – reference the source of any thoughts and ideas that you have re-written so that you are acknowledging where you found these ideas, theories, illustrations and diagrams – put anything taken word for word in quotation marks and state where you took this material from – only use a quote as an example or illustration of a point made or concept expressed in your text – keep it short and to the point – list all sources (books, magazines, internet) at the end of your essay or project. Write them up using the Harvard or similar format – seek advice from your course team, personal tutor, or the learning centre staff on how to reference and provide a bibliography
WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO AVOID PLAGIARISM? During induction to your programme, you signed a code of conduct, agreeing to comply with the study and behaviour requirements of the Academy. In order for your genuine knowledge and understanding to be accurately assessed, you must produce work which is presented, created and compiled by yourself alone. Anything else is dishonest and false, and is very often easily identified.
