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refers to the act of attempting to copy, or use another person's work. It is not uncommon for students to plagiarise during their , and some students may succeed in doing so. On occasion this may due to a misunderstanding as to what actually constitutes plagiarism and what does not. It must be made clear that will not condone plagiarism, and in the case of being accused your reputation and course is at risk. This section defines the different types of plagiarism, the consequences, reasons to avoid plagiarising work, how to avoid plagiarising and what you should do if you are wrongly accused.

The basic act of plagiarism comes from the act of using another persons work as your own. This can occur in a number of ways, which are addressed below:

This is the commonest form of plagiarism and involves one student copying another students work. This may occur in a number of ways:

• A student provides their work to another student to base their own work upon.
• A student obtains another student's work without anyone's knowledge and uses that as a baseline for his or her own work.
• A student provides their work to another student who submits it as their own work.
• A student obtains another student's work without anyone's knowledge and submits it as his or her own work.

The first two scenarios do not seem to be as bad as the last two, on the basis that at least some effort is being put into the work being submitted. However, it is easy to have an intention to only base your work on another student's and find that large sections are almost exact copies apart from some basic rewording. There is also the risk that the original or piece of work had subtle differences in requirements to your own, which you may miss. You are also losing out on the research and understanding aspect of the work as which will benefit you for later work or .

Due to the amount of research material sometimes required to understand and complete an assignment or piece of work, students will sometimes try to take shortcuts. The misuse of books and publications is normally made due to not understanding the rules of completing certain types of research work. When using a book to complete work, you may extract certain amounts of information as is on the basis that you use it to:

• Help form an opinion of your own.
• Strengthen an opinion of your own or of others.
• Form an argument as part of the work being undertaken.

There are also some rules that must be applied when doing this:

• The person making the statement, presenting their view etc. in the book or publication must be referenced next to the extract from the book, or in a footnote at the bottom of the page on which the extract exists.
• A must be present, detailing all sources that were referred to or even researched. This will typically include the book or publication name, the author, and the publisher and date of print.

You must not simply reword paragraphs from books and publications and present them as your own. You also should not just use extracts of information without referencing them in a way that shows that they come from a source, which can be identified. Also aim to use these extracts to provide validity to a point or argument that you are making within your work.

The fact that the contains such a vast amount of information makes it tempting to abuse it. Students can find inventive ways of finding complete and , which can be used to aid in their work. As with books and publications, always state the locations from which you gained research material. With an Internet source you should include the from where it can be found and any author information if relevant.

If you are caught undertaking or participating in of any type your place of study may act in the following ways.

• Award zero marks - You may be given zero marks for the piece of work that you have submitted. This can affect your overall mark for the , or .
• - In strong cases being caught undertaking plagiarism in a particular unit may mean being failed in that unit and more than likely having to repeat the unit again.
• Removal from the course - This is the strongest type of action that could be taken against plagiarism of any type. This will depend on how important the work was, and how seriously the matter is taken. Any students attempting to participate in plagiarism should be aware of this type of action, in view of the fact that it will be noted on your record, and may affect future applications for education.

In any case, any suspicion of plagiarism is dealt as a serious matter. Even if you are successful at undertaking it once, you may not be so lucky the next time. It is also possible that any previous work undertaken will be investigated for plagiarism and/or .

The main reasons for not participating in plagiarism have been already stated but will be re-iterated below:

• have strong attitudes towards plagiarism. A strong stance is taken in the battle to prevent plagiarism and thus there are serious consequences for students who attempt to plagiarise.
• Advanced learning - Students actually have more to gain by undertaking work themselves. By carrying out plagiarism you prevent yourself from learning new concepts and from developing the ability to think for yourself.
• Higher achievements - By not carrying out plagiarism you will have achieved so much more than those students who did plagiarise, typically the ability to take initiative, and work unaided. More importantly you will have gained enough knowledge for future work and .

If you are wrongly accused of plagiarism you should do the following:

• Gather up evidence to prove the work is your own. You should locate all the books that you have used along with references as well as any related information that you have made use of along with web addresses for each one. Also locate all the draft work undertaken to lead up to the final piece, and print a copy of the final piece itself.
• Talk to your - You should obtain useful advice on how to prove that you have not taken part in plagiarism of any type.
• Talk to a member of your - They will be able to advise what may happen and how you can put your case forward.
• Talk to your - You should make an to talk to your course director. During this interview you should present the facts and the proof that you have. If you are certain that someone has copied your work and that you know who they are, do not feel reluctant to tell your course director. It can be very useful to arrange a question/answer session whereby, you are interviewed on your knowledge of your submitted work. This can prove (up to a certain point) whether the work is your own, or not, as the case may be.

If you have provided enough evidence that the work is your own you should be able to have the accusation of plagiarism dropped. If possible you should make sure that you have this provided in writing and keep it safe in the event of any discrepancies.

If you have any doubts about what constitutes plagiarism and what does not, consult a lecturer who will advise you further. If you have already written a piece of work, you may be able to ask for a quick review to ensure that in principle it is okay. Other students, especially those in later years of study may be able to help on any other questions you may have. Remember that you can also consult your librarians, as they will be able to provide (almost specialist) help regarding this subject.

Cheating is strongly tied to plagiarism and to gain further insight into cheating please refer to the cheating content.