What is plagiarism and

how to avoid it
Dr K. Ndhlovu
Introduction

PLEASE READ THESE NOTES TOGETHER WITH THE NOTES ON ESSAY WRITING
 Congratulations you made it to university!!! At university level, you are expected to
do what is called academic writing. Academic writing is clear, concise, focussed,
structured and backed up by evidence type of writing. (
https://library.leeds.ac.uk/info/14011/writing/106/academic_writing).
 The style of writing that is used in academic writing is formal and you are expected to
use language and vocabulary that is relevant and applicable to your field.
 N.B: All disciplines and professions have different conventions of writing and
vocabulary, so it is important to learn how to speak and write using expected
language.
 In academic writing, you are expected to showcase subject knowledge and
cite/reference properly. Unfortunately, you cannot choose to write your essays or
projects without support from literature, this means it is mandatory to know how to
cite properly and understand what plagiarism is, so that you can avoid it.
What is plagiarism?

 Plagiarism is the use of someone’s words, phrases, ideas and entire work
without acknowledging them as the originator.
 The Rhodes University policy defines plagiarism in an academic, university
context as using the ideas, writings, works or inventions of another, from any
textual or internet-based source, as if they were one’s own (
www.ru.ac.za/media/rhodesuniversity/.../plagiarism_policy.pdf .
 This simply means you cannot take information directly or paraphrased from
any written and/or spoken source without acknowledging it. Spoken sources
are sources like Youtube, speeches, zoom meetings, online conferences etc
 I always say to students, treat other people’s ideas like bad gossip, attribute
every word to the speaker or writer. This way you are safe.
Plagiarism

 Plagiarism can be intentional or accidental and in both cases, it is not acceptable. Thus,
the moment you join a university as a student, it is important to familiarize yourself
with citation, acknowledgement and plagiarism rules of the university.
 Rhodes university has a plagiarism policy that can be found on the Rhodes website. It is
important that you read this policy so that you do not find yourself on the other side of
the law.
 As a student, you are advised to visit the following Rhodes University website on
plagiarism policy: www.ru.ac.za/media/rhodesuniversity/.../plagiarism_policy.pdf .
 Note that you are expected to sign a declaration form confirming that you have not
plagiarised when handing their assignments. www.ru.ac.za/media/.../PLAGIARISM%20
DECLARATION.pdf
 The sad thing is that, many students sign this form claiming they have not plagiarised,
when in many cases they have. This comes from not fully understanding what plagiarism
is and the different types of plagiarism.
Plagiarism

 Many young people understand issues of plagiarism when it is related to music, where copyright
issues apply. In music you cannot take a phrase, verse or entire song that belongs to another artist
without getting permission or signing an agreement on how the song will be used. Failure to do so
is a criminal offence that can lead to court mediation and losing a lot of money and social
standing among your peers.
 The same concept of copyright infringement applies to academia. When it comes to written or
spoken word in academia, we call it plagiarism. If you didn’t say it first or write it first, attribute
the word, phrase, sentence or idea to the originator.
 In academia, other people’s ideas are like currency/ money, so stealing their work and benefitting
from it to get more marks, a certificate or degree is like stealing their earnings. It is not
acceptable. I urge you to take this seriously.
 Plagiarism at Rhodes university is not tolerated. It can lead to you failing the course or facing
disciplinary action and in some cases expulsion.
 If you express an idea without mentioning the source, or paste a passage of text without properly
quoting it, you’re taking credit for someone else’s work. This is true even if you didn’t
deliberately set out to mislead your readers (https://www.scribbr.com/category/plagiarism/).
Types of plagiarism

 The Rhodes definition covers a wide range of misdemeanours such as: using
the direct words of another without using quotation marks (even if the
passage is referenced); the unacknowledged copying of a sentence or two of
text; copying more extensive blocks of text; the syndication of a single piece
of work by more than one student (unless the assignment task is a legitimate
group assignment); the borrowing and using of another person’s assignment
(with or without their knowledge and permission); stealing an entire essay
from another student or from the Internet; or infringing copyright (
www.ru.ac.za/media/rhodesuniversity/.../plagiarism_policy.pdf).
 The different types of plagiarism are explained in the next slide
Types of plagiarism

 Direct quotation/citation/ Copy and Paste – this takes place when a student
copies directly from a source without citation. This may be copying of a
phrase, sentence or two or a paragraph. In this instance all the words are
exactly the same as in the original text.
 Paraphrasing is taking someone’s idea and expressing it in your own words
without citation. This type of plagiarism is common among students and it is
not acceptable. If the idea is not yours, acknowledge the source.
 Copying: involves copying large sections or blocks of someone’s work. In this
case, it does not matter if you acknowledged the source or not. You are not
allowed to take paragraphs or sentence after sentence of someone’s work.
Remember, essay writing is about you presenting your ideas and using other
people’s views to support your own argument.
Types of plagiarism

 Mix and match: This involves taking bits and pieces from a source reorganizing
them and then presenting them as your own work.
 Mosaic plagiarism (also known as patchwork plagiarism or incremental
plagiarism) means copying phrases, passages and ideas from different sources
and putting them together to create a new text. This includes slightly rephrasing
passages while keeping many of the same words and structure as the original
(https://www.scribbr.com/plagiarism/types-of-plagiarism/#verbatim).
 Syndication of an essay: this is when two or more students submit the same essay
or a similar essay with a few changes here and there (www.ru.ac.za/media/
rhodesuniversity/.../plagiarism_policy.pdf). This is not acceptable and can lead
to all the students who are involved being penalized. If your friend fails to write
his or her essay, do not give them your own so that they may copy and change a
few things. You will also get penalised and lose all the marks.
Types of plagiarism

 Cloning or stealing another student’s essay and submitting it as your own. This
may lead to disciplinary action being taken against you.
 Copying the class notes: many students think it is okay to copy class notes
without acknowledgement and this is another form of plagiarism. Cite properly.
Please note that you are not allowed to present large portions of class notes in
your essay, even if you acknowledge the source.
 Stealing an entire essay or from the internet: this involves downloading an
essay from the internet and submitting it in part or in full as your own. This can
lead to you being penalised.
 Asking another person to write your work and then passing the work as your
own: this is not acceptable because you will be benefiting from someone’s
sweat. It is easy to tell when a student did not do the work because the writing
styles will be different.
Types of plagiarism

 Copying materials from different sources without proper citation: this involves taking
quotations from different sources and not acknowledging the writers.
 Citing largely from other people without any contribution from the student. Students
love this one where they present one quotation after another without any interaction or
engagement with the quotations.
 Citing incorrectly – attributing quotations to wrong scholars intentionally or
unintentionally. It is your duty as a student to check every citation in-text and at the end
of the text.
 Accidental plagiarism occurs when a person neglects to cite their sources, or misquotes
their sources, or unintentionally paraphrases a source by using similar words, groups of
words, and/or sentence structure without attribution. Accidental plagiarism is not
accepted at university level. You have a duty to check all your sources before
submitting. (
https://www.bowdoin.edu/dean-of-students/judicial-board/academic-honesty-and-plagi
arism/common-types-of-plagiarism.htm
).
Types of plagiarism

 Self-plagiarism – this involves taking parts of or submitting an entire essay in

the same course or different course. In simpler terms, it is recycling the same
ideas in different essays in order to get marks. This is not acceptable.
 Self-plagiarism can also occur when you use ideas, phrases or data from your
previous assignments. As with paraphrasing, reworking old ideas and passages
is not inherently plagiarism, but you should cite your previous work to make
the origins clear
(https://www.scribbr.com/plagiarism/types-of-plagiarism/#verbatim).
 Plagiarism as a result of ignorance: this is when a student uses other people’s
work and they do not acknowledge them because they do not know the
plagiarism rules. lgnorance does not absolve you of the offence. It is your
duty to research on plagiarism, read the university policy, familarise yourself
with the citation conventions of your department of field.
How to avoid plagiarism

 Always distinguish your words from those of other people.

 Choose a citation style and follow it consistently.
 Credit the original author by citing in-text citation and creating a reference
list.
 Please note that different department utilise different citation styles, for
example, APA, Chicago, Harvard etc. It is your duty as a student to find out
which citation style is used in your department.
 Once you have found out which style is used in your department, print it out
and keep it next to you when writing an essay. It is better to do the right
thing from the start.
 In-text citation refers to citations that you use within the text.
How to avoid plagiarism

 Check all sources by highlighting every quotation within the text and then ticking it
against the reference list. This ensures that all cited sources are accounted for.
 Keep track of all your sources
 Rhodes University uses a plagiarism detection software called Turnitin, which compares
your text to a large database of other sources and highlights similarities. Utilise this
software to your advantage.
 Remember to also cite information or ideas that you found in non-academic sources,
like websites, newspapers or YouTube videos (https://www
.scribbr.com/category/plagiarism/).
 N.B: Each type of source has its own reference format. For example, a book is cited
differently from a journal, which is cited differently from a dissertation etc. Take note
of the disctinctions.
 Be consistent in how you cite in-text and how you write you reference list. Every comma
and full stop counts.
How I avoid plagiarism

 I have a simple method that I use when writing an essay or dissertation. I create my
reference list from the word go. Before reading a book or article, I start by entering
the bibliographic details onto my reference list. This involves writing down the
Surname, Initials, Year of publication, Title, Publishing house and Publishing City if
it is a book. For journal articles I add the volume and page numbers. In simpler
terms, I capture all the necessary information in line with the source.
 The next step, I copy the bibliography details and paste them on a clean page.
Thereafter, I type the quotations that are applicable to my topic. At the end of
every quotation, l add the page number. This ensures that l do not misquote people
and l know where every quotation is located in the book or article. If l paraphrase
later on, l can always check what l am saying against the original quote.
 I repeat the same method for every book that l read. By the time l complete my
research, I will be having a full reference list. From then l select the quotations l
want to use and incorporate them into my text.
How I avoid plagiarism

 After writing my text, l print my reference list and place it in front of me. I also
print my reference guide or style and place in in front of me.
 Then l highlight very quotation in the text in yellow. I check my in-text citation
against the reference style to ensure consistence.
 Thereafter, l check every quotation against my reference list. If l find the source
in the reference list l tick it and then undo the yellow. By the time l am done,
sources that are not referenced will remain in yellow and then l find the
bibliography details from my notes.
 Sources that were not used will not be having ticks against them in the
reference list and then l delete them.
 Lastly, l check the reference list against the reference style guide to ensure that
all the required details are included. Also, to ensure that every comma or full
stop is in the right place.
How I avoid plagiarism

 This seems like hard work, but it saves me from being charged with plagiarism.
 What l am saying is, find a way of checking your sources that works for you and
apply it. You can even adopt the method that is outlined above.
 At first it will seem like it’s a lot of hard work, but with time, it becomes
easier because you become familiar with the requirement of the reference
style you are using.
 In simpler terms, when doing your research and taking notes, you must ensure
that any notes are accompanied with the correct references, and that such
notes provide an accurate representation of the author’s ideas if you intend to
use this in your work (https://www.scanmyessay.com/plagiarism/how-to-
avoid-plagiarism.php)
 .
How to avoid plagiarism

 Students generally love creating long reference lists which have books that
they never read to create the impression that they researched. This does not
get you any marks at all but the opposite. Your reference list should be in
sync with your in-text citation.
 If you read a book and do not quote it in-text, do not add it to the reference
list.
 By the time you print your work ready for submission (or finalise it if it is a
digital submission), you must be confident that everything in your work has
been correctly cited and referenced, using the referencing style that has
been requested in your assignment specifications
(https://www.scanmyessay.com/plagiarism/how-to-avoid-plagiarism.php).
 Before submitting your work submit it to Turnitin. Use the turnitin report to
correct citation errors
How to avoid plagiarism

 I will end my discussion on how to avoid plagiarism by directly quoting from

the Comparative Media Studies that lists five basic rules exist regarding the
use of information in professional and in academic writing:
(1) If we use the language of a source, we must quote it exactly, enclose it in
quotation marks, and cite the source.
(2) If we use ideas or information that are not common knowledge, we must cite
the source.
(3) If we didn’t invent it, we cite the source.
(4) Unless our professor explicitly tells us to paraphrase, we don’t paraphrase.
(5) When in doubt, we cite the source. Doing so only enhances our readers
sense of your honesty (https://cmsw.mit.edu/writing-and-communication-
center/avoiding-plagiarism/).
Consequences of plagiarism

 If you plagiarize, you can fail the course

 Depending on the severity of plagiarism, you can face disciplinary action
 For more serious cases, you can be expelled from the university
 Please note that it does not matter whether the plagiarism is intentional or
accidental, it is your duty as a student to check your work before submitting.

 PLEASE DOWNLOAD THE REFERENCE STYLE THAT IS USED IN YOUR

DEPARTMENT. KEEP A COPY ON YOUR DESKTOP AND KEEP A PRINTED COPY
ALSO.
 STUDY THE RULES FOR INTEXT CITATION
 STUDY THE RULES FOR WRITING A REFERENCE LIST
Reference list

 Comparative Media Studies. Avoiding plagiarism. Accessed online:

https://cmsw.mit.edu/writing-and-communication-center/avoiding-plagiaris
m/
.
 Rhodes University. 2014. Common Faculty Policy and Procedures on
Plagiarism. Accessed online: www.ru.ac.za/media/rhodesuniversity/.../
plagiarism_policy.pdf.
 Scribbr. Understanding plagiarism. Accessed online:
https://www.scribbr.com/category/plagiarism/.
 University of Leeds. Academic writing. Accessed online:
https://library.leeds.ac.uk/info/14011/writing/106/academic_writing.
 Viper. How to avoid plagiarism. Accessed online:
https://www.scanmyessay.com/plagiarism/how-to-avoid-plagiarism.php.
 THE END