 Avoiding Plagiarism and Referencing Skills  Areas to be covered in this workshop: ◦ What is plagiarism? ◦ How to avoid plagiarism using referencing ◦ Referencing: voices in academic writing ◦ Strategies to avoid plagiarism ◦ NB: workshop 3: “Summarising and Paraphrasing”

 Susan, why have you and your brother written the same essay about ‘My dog’?  But Miss Jones; it’s the same dog!

Your lecturers want you to demonstrate that: ◦ You have understood your task ◦ You have read widely ◦ You have understood what you have read and how the research/findings/ideas/opinions of scholars to give authority to your work Academic writing is about your understanding of and/or position on a particular topic and requires support from reliable sources (What is plagiarism?)

‘Plagiarism is passing off someone else’s work, whether intentionally or unintentionally, as your own for your own benefit’ (Carroll, 2002, p.9) ‘someone else’s’…whatever the source

 ‘Explanation/discussion’ with lecturer  Reduced grades  Failure of the assignment  Failure to complete the course  Expulsion  University plagiarism policy

 To avoid plagiarism “The best way to avoid plagiarism is to acknowledge the resources upon which you have based your ideas” (Harvard Guide, 2007 p7)  To add strength and credibility as evidence to support your position  To indicate the scope and depth of your research  To allow others to independently follow up the presented content

The only unlabelled voice is YOURS! Your voice introduces new points, presents arguments, refers to other sources…”the same dog” There are 3 ways to refer to the voices of others:  A direct voice uses the exact words of the source  An indirect voice paraphrases the source and identifies the source as part of the sentence  An external voice paraphrases the source and identifies the source outside of the sentence (Brick, 2006)

 Direct voice: the exact words of the source Smith (2004, p45) states that critical thinking is “the most important skill that students develop in tertiary study.” “for short quote” block Should be used for emphasis – do not exceed 10% …further research was “absolutely imperative for progress.” (Jordan, 1998 p59) ……….. xxxxxxxx

 Indirect voice Smith (2004) believes that the development of critical thinking skills is of central importance to all university students *Author prominence *Most common *Written in your style *Reporting verbs e.g. claims, asserts, justifies, suggests, concludes, according to

 External voice Many researchers have concluded that critical thinking skills are extremely important for all university students (Smith 2004; Jones 2005) *Information/research prominence *Written in your style Activity: your turn to try!

Academic writing requires you to use authoritative sources. Your role is to use sources to support your ideas - but you must make clear what is your voice and what is the voice of others Doing this well enhances your writing and helps you to avoid plagiarism 4 Ways to avoid plagiarism?

 Time Management  Read widely  Note references as you research  Reference and paraphrase (How will each of these assist?)

 Analysing questions  Paraphrasing/Summarising  Oral Presentations  Exam revision strategies