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Student Radio
Understand and Beware
Take it from the Education and Welfare Officers (EWOs), who often represent students in plagiarism cases, the process is a stressful one and the consequences can be far-reaching.
You could merely get NIL for your assignment. You might be failed for your subject, with no supplementary options. You might not be allowed to repeat that subject. Worst case is being thrown out of your degree.
Why is plagiarism treated so seriously by the University?
You are here to demonstrate your own powers of thought, analysis and creativity. To present someone else's as your own is the ultimate contradiction of the higher education process. To do it deliberately is capital crime in academic terms.
So who would do such a dangerous thing?
Evidence is that many people do it by mistake, or through bad study habits.
They may not have paid attention to policy handouts on quotation marks and referencing.
They may not have been careful making notes from sources in research, so when writing-up, they are unclear which of the notes are their own thoughts and which are extracts from other sources.
They may have been under personal stress and struggling to meet deadlines or standards.
Whatever the reason, the risks and penalties are severe.
You can count on it that the marker, as an expert in her/his field, will be familiar with most topic sources and cribbed material will ring a bell in the marker's mind.
If anything, plagiarism from the Internet is even more likely to be identified than from texts - if you found a source by using key words, then so can the marker. Software also exists and is routinely used by Departments to track internet sources.
Copying from someone else, too, can be easily traced - especially if you copy a uniquely wrong answer!
So what should you do?
- Be familiar with the University and Faculty policy on plagiarism. There are handouts from Departments, and the Policy can be found in the University Calendar and on the University Website
- Carefully read departmental handouts and course outlines about the conventions of quotations and references. If you don't understand the concepts, seek advice from your tutor/lecturer BEFORE submitting a piece of work
- If you are having trouble with research and note-taking methods, go to the University's Centre for Learning and Professional Development - they can help
- If you have personal problems which are putting you under pressure, get help from the EWOs in Student Care, or from the Counselling Centre: don't try and find a solution in risky short-cuts like plagiarism.
- If you ARE accused of plagiarism, be aware that there is a formal process in which you have the right to seek help and representation which involve the EWOs/Student Care.
