1. 1 How not to cheat, get caught, and fail Delivered by John Stockwell – Academic Development Manager for FCET

2. 2 Some thoughts on plagiarism What is plagiarism? What is plagiarism? Why might I be tempted to do it? Why might I be tempted to do it? What are the penalties for getting caught? What are the penalties for getting caught? How can I avoid it? How can I avoid it?

3. 3 Academic dishonesty Regulations available at : http://www.staffs.ac.uk/images/academic_d ishonesty_tcm68-12681.pdf See your Award handbook navigable from http://www.fcet.staffs.ac.uk/prospective_stu dents/prospective_student_undergrad.htm Academic dishonesty includes plagiarism

4. 4 What is plagiarism? PLAGIARISM is the representation of another person’s work, without acknowledgement of the source, as the student’s own for the purposes of satisfying formal assessment requirements. Examples of plagiarism are: (i) the use in a student’s own work of more than a single phrase from another person’s work without the use of quotation marks and acknowledgement of the source (ii) the summarising of another person’s work by simply changing a few words or altering the order of presentation, without acknowledgement

5. 5 What is plagiarism? (cont.) (iii) the use of ideas or intellectual data of another person without acknowledgement of the source, or the submission or presentation of work as if it were the student’s own, which are substantially the ideas or intellectual data of another person (iv) copying the work of another person (v) the submission of work, as if it were the student’s own, which has been obtained from the internet or any other form of information technology

6. 6 What is plagiarism? (cont.) (vi) the submission of coursework making significant use of unattributed digital images such as graphs, tables, photographs, etc. taken from books/articles, the internet or from the work of another person; (vii) the submission of a piece of work which has previously been assessed for a different award or module or at a different institution as if it were new work (viii) a student who allows or is involved in allowing, either knowingly or unknowingly, another student to copy another’s work including physical or digital images would be deemed to be guilty of plagiarism THE ABOVE LIST IS NOT EXHAUSTIVE

7. 7 Comments from last year’s students found guilty of plagiarism “I got desperate at the last moment” “There was too much work due to more than one assignment hand-in at the same time” “My English isn’t good enough to use my own words” “I have to pass, everyone expects me to” “I didn’t understand what I was expected to do to avoid plagiarism” “I can’t do this, I have to copy” “We were told to ‘work together’ ” “I’ve never had to do assignments before and I was unaware of the regulations”

8. 8 Penalties for academic dishonesty at undergraduate level First case, normally a Grade Point 0 will be given for that element of the module First case, normally a Grade Point 0 will be given for that element of the module Second case, a Grade Point 0 will be given for the whole module Second case, a Grade Point 0 will be given for the whole module Third case, a Grade Point 0 will be given for the whole module and you will fail the award with no opportunity to be reassessed in that award or to take a replacement module. You will also not be allowed to enrol on any other award of this University. Third case, a Grade Point 0 will be given for the whole module and you will fail the award with no opportunity to be reassessed in that award or to take a replacement module. You will also not be allowed to enrol on any other award of this University.

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10. 10 How to avoid plagiarism Don’t cut and paste from the Internet Don’t cut and paste from the Internet When paraphrasing someone else’s work you must cite and reference (see example in workshop) When paraphrasing someone else’s work you must cite and reference (see example in workshop) Just referencing is not enough Direct quotations must be accompanied by quotation marks – use very sparingly Direct quotations must be accompanied by quotation marks – use very sparingly

11. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~(Author,Date) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~(Author,Date) “~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~”(Author,Date) ……………References Author …etc. 11

12. 12 How to avoid plagiarism (cont.) Don’t allow your work to be copied by someone else Don’t allow your work to be copied by someone else Don’t copy someone else’s work – either student or author Don’t copy someone else’s work – either student or author Don’t work together when the assignment is an individual piece of work Don’t work together when the assignment is an individual piece of work Do organise your work so you complete assignments in plenty of time Do organise your work so you complete assignments in plenty of time

13. 13 How to avoid plagiarism (cont.) Don’t be tempted to use paper mills Don’t be tempted to use paper mills Most assignments that are discursive expect a judgement and reasoned argument about what you have read. They are not simply exercises in finding relevant material and paraphrasing it. Most assignments that are discursive expect a judgement and reasoned argument about what you have read. They are not simply exercises in finding relevant material and paraphrasing it. Examine the assignment criteria carefully before beginning Examine the assignment criteria carefully before beginning

14. 14 Who is really being cheated when someone plagiarizes? Copying, short circuits a number of learning experiences and opportunities for the development of skills Copying, short circuits a number of learning experiences and opportunities for the development of skills Writing in your own words rather than copying gives not only knowledge of the subject, but improves research skills, thinking and analyzing, organizing, writing, planning and time management Writing in your own words rather than copying gives not only knowledge of the subject, but improves research skills, thinking and analyzing, organizing, writing, planning and time management All this is missed when the work is copied All this is missed when the work is copied