Plagiarism

Definition Presenting someone else’s work, including the work of other students, as one’s own. It includes ideas or materials that have been taken from another source for either written or oral use which are not acknowledged, unless the information is common knowledge. So, reproducing others’ ideas, opinions, statistics or any form of materials without giving the owner credit is considered as plagiarizing. Intentionally paraphrasing the words, ideas or opinions and deceitfully misrepresenting other people’s work as your own without acknowledging the owner, is a crime.

Types of Plagiarism 1. "Copy & Paste Plagiarism“ very common type of plagiarism amongst students 2. "Word Switch Plagiarism“ may not take the whole sentence in one chunk, but you change the words according to its synonyms 3. “Style Plagiarism“ copying a certain style of an author or writer

Types of Plagiarism 4. "Metaphor Plagiarism“ 5. “Idea Plagiarism“ metaphors are used to give the reader an analogy or to make an idea clearer so that the expression touches the reader’s feelings better than a simple explanation 5. “Idea Plagiarism“ if an idea is clearly attributed to a certain author or owner, then you do need to indicate who the original owner is and the source from where you obtained the idea. Common knowledge ideas need not be referenced

Types of Plagiarism 6. Accidental Plagiarism students fail to realize that any material which is borrowed from any source must be credited to its owner, even if it is very familiar to you, and even if you paraphrased the words of the text to your own, you still are required to provide proper citations from where you have obtained the materials. 7. Self- Plagiarism writer does not present the work of others as his or her own work, but present his or her own previously published works as a new publication. may use part of a published document, like an instrument which you have used in a research. On this matter, it is permissible to limit the number of previously used word and you may cite yourself. if the citation is extensive, it is the norm that you need to state the citation. Extensive self-referencing should be avoided.

Avoiding Plagiarism Avoid charges of plagiarism by following some essential guidelines in researching and writing your research paper: Always start by stating your own research question or thesis or by restating your assignment clearly and completely in your own words. Keep accurate records of the sources you use, noting all the pertinent information about each source and whether you have quoted from it, summarized it, paraphrased it, or commented on it. Clearly understand how to quote, paraphrase, and summarize information you borrow and understand how to integrate this information in your paper. If you don’t understand the source material, don’t use it in your paper. Find out which style guide you should use and use it consistently. Review your final written paper looking for changes in your writing style or thinking that might signal that you are using a borrowed source

Consequences of Plagiarism failing grade or you may be suspended from your studies in a worst scenario, you may be expelled from the university if you have obtained your degree, and there are evidences to show that you have plagiarised, your degree may be revoked by your university.