1. How to avoid plagiarism

2. Format of this session A. What is plagiarism?: Can you recognise it?
(Activity 1, 2 and 3)
B. What is paraphrasing?: How do you do it?
(Activity 4)
C. When and how to reference within the text
(Activity 5, 6 and 7)

3. Activity 1: What is plagiarism?

4. A: What is plagiarism? Students’ views:
“If you try to put it into proper quotation marks and you reference properly then it can’t be classed as plagiarism.”
“It’s quite straightforward, … to reference, so I don’t see how it [plagiarism] can be unintentional because you are supposed to reference.”
SDDU Plagiarism University of Leeds guide. [Online]. [Accessed 28 January 2009] Available from:

5. A: What is plagiarism? Activity 1.2
Try this:
Draw a shape on your notepad. Any shape!

6. A: What is plagiarism?
How many of you drew a common shape?

7. A: What is plagiarism?
How many of you produced this shape?

8. A: Is this plagiarism?
Original Your work

9. A: Is this plagiarism?
Original Your work

10. A: Is this plagiarism?
Original Your work

11. A: What is plagiarism?: University of Leeds definition
“Plagiarism is defined as presenting someone else’s work, in whole or in part, as your own. Work means any intellectual output, and typically includes text, data, images, sound or performance” (University of Leeds 2013 section 2.1).
Plagiarism can be avoided by acknowledging in an appropriate academic manner, the contribution that others have made to the development of your ideas and the quality of your answers.
NB: Plagiarism = intentional OR unintentional
University of Leeds Cheating, plagiarism, fraudulent or fabricated coursework and malpractice in university examinations and assessments. [Online]. Available from:

12. A: Plagiarism: detection and penalties
Lecturer knowledge
TurnitinUK or other software
Penalties can include:
Written warning and loss of mark (in whole or in part) for the offending piece of work
Loss of mark or credit for the entire module with which the offending piece of work is associated
Requirement to submit a new piece of work
Requirement to repeat the module

13. Activity 2:
You be the judge: Is this plagiarism?

14. A: Is this plagiarism?: You be the judge!

15. Can you recognise plagiarism in a piece of academic writing?
Activity 3:
Can you recognise plagiarism in
a piece of academic writing?

16. A: Can you recognise plagiarism?

17. B: Avoiding plagiarism: Activity 4: Paraphrasing and note taking

18. B: Plagiarism and note-taking
Use keywords
Use your own words to explain ideas
Write down the reference you are using in your notes
NEVER (or try not to) look back at original source when writing about it
When finished reading, mindmap links between sources

19. B: What is paraphrasing? Activity 4.5
Paraphrase = same meaning, different words, in detail
Paraphrasing = legitimate way to borrow from a source
Why paraphrase?: shows you understand original
Summary = main ideas of whole text, different words, shorter

20. B: How to paraphrase: Activity 4.8
Read originals
Keyword notes only
Make a note of reference/s
Put originals away and rewrite from keyword notes
DO NOT look at original again; NO cut and paste!
Paraphrasing is NOT just changing a few words or
rearranging the sentence a bit! Remember to:
1. rewrite the ideas 2. change the words 3. cite the source

21. C: Why reference? To avoid plagiarism, but also to:
Put your work into context
Show you have read widely
Give supporting evidence for an idea
Allow others to find your sources
Note: poor information sources and poor referencing lose marks!

22. Activity 5:
When to reference within the text

23. C: When to reference in the text: Activity 5
Reference EVERYTHING except what has come out of your own head!
You do not have to reference common knowledge (if you are sure it is)
It is better to over–reference than to under-reference!

24. Activity 6:
How to reference within the text

25. C: How to reference within the text Activity 6
Beginning: Smith (2008) states that…
Middle: Studying the …, Smith (2008) points out that…
End: The floods caused significant damage (Smith, 2008).

26. C: When and how to use quotations
Don’t over quote- use only a few per essay!
Choose carefully! (Unusual or different)
Short and ‘in the middle of your sentence’ (Jones, 2008, p.5)
OR longer (if absolutely necessary)
“indented and in quotation marks” (Jones, 2008, p.34)
Don’t disturb the flow of text
Put in reference and page number

27. C: Referencing styles Harvard Style
This is the Harvard Style (Jones, 2008).
Reference List
Jones, R Harvard Style. Leeds: University Press.
Numeric Style
This is the Numeric Style (1).
1. Smith, J. Numeric Style. Leeds: University Press, 2008.
See the Library website for more on referencing styles.

28. Activity 7:
When to reference within the text: practice

29. C: When to reference within the text Activity 7
Reminder once again: If in doubt, put down a reference!
Unless it’s from your head or you are sure it’s common knowledge.

30. Conclusion: Top tips for avoiding plagiarism
Keyword notes, own words
Write source references in notes
Full paraphrasing from own notes
Full referencing within the text
Correct use of quotations

31. Resources For more advice on avoiding plagiarism
For more on referencing: