Plagiarism is a serious type of Academic Misconduct and can happen unintentionally.
Our tips:
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Use your own words to demostrate your understanding. Don’t copy and paste or simply change a few words around.
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Reference everything! Theories, ideas, concepts, etc, that aren’t your ideas, even if you express them in your own words.
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Use various sources. It will allow you to expertly discuss your topic when you read widely about it.
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Use quotation marks (and reference) when taking a direct quote from a source. However, keep the number of direct quotes to a minimum. Less is best!
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Ensure your notes are yours. When taking notes, make sure you write down the reference if you take a direct quote. You don’t want to forget and mistake a quote for your own words.
Resources
- Olaide Phillips, one of the lecturers in the Psychology department, has a great video about plagiarism and how to avoid it.
- The University's Reference List and Referencing Styles for Different Subjects