2nd years - Plagiarism

• Pd
• Higher Education (non-degree)

What does plagiarism mean?

Plagiarism

Plagiarism is the wrongful copying of the text of another author without mentioning the source.

There are 4 different kinds of plagiarism which we will explore; these are:

• Direct plagiarism
  
• Mosaic plagiarism
  
• Self-plagiarism
  
• Accidental plagiarism
  

Plagiarism breaches copyright laws and therefore is actually a crime.

Plagiarism

In your tables, discuss what you think the following are:

• Direct Plagiarism
• Mosaic plagiarism
• Self-plagiarism
• Accidental plagiarism

Direct plagiarism

Most commonly, the crime of plagiarism involves using parts from the writing of another writer without proper mention of the source. The person copying from the text may not change one word; they may change parts of sentences or replace some of the words with his/her own, this is still plagiarism. 

• Among the different forms of plagiarism, direct plagiarism is the most harmful one. When the plagiarist copies and pastes the text from someone else’s work and neglects to cite the source or removes quotation marks, then it is direct plagiarism. 
  
• The identical copying or cloning of a text is an offense. This duplicate content falls under the category of deliberately plagiarised content. It is unethical, and the writer of the original content can take legal action against the plagiarist.
  
• In the case of academic writing, disciplinary action would be taken against a student if their work, or parts of their work, was found to be plagiarised.
  

Mosiac Plagiarism: 

This type of plagiarism is unintentional. In this case, the plagiarist may have mentioned the source of the content which is referenced in the writing but, if you do not acknowledge the quoted part or put them under the quotation marks correctly, then this is plagiarism.

• Whether intended or unintended, plagiarism is a serious matter and again can result in action being taken by the original writer.
• Where any form of plagiarism occurs in academic writing, even if accidental, the student is likely to face disciplinary action. 

Self Plagiarism: 

This is one of the most common types of plagiarism, where students copy and paste work from previously submitted academic papers. 

If a student submits the same work for two different assignments and has not discussed this with the tutor, then this is considered self-plagiarism.

Self-plagiarism does not usually result in legal action; the student however will receive a warning and will be required to re-do the assignment. 

Accidental Plagiarism: 

Accidental plagiarism is another common form of plagiarism. 

This occurs when the plagiarist misquotes phrases or parts of the text he/she has taken from the source material, does not cite the source or cites a wrong source. 

How can you avoid plagiarising?

What's new?

Artificial intelligence: 

• What is it?
• What can it do?
• Why might it be of interest to you?

What's new?

Artificial intelligence can provide lots of information; for example, if you were to put in an assignment question, then it could write an answer BUT if you submitted this as your own work it would be plagiarism.

AI

• You may use AI tools to collect and analyse data, provided that you appropriately cite your sources and verify the accuracy of the AI-generated content.
  
• Language assistance: You may use AI tools to improve your writing, grammar, and spelling. However, you should ensure that you still demonstrate a good understanding of the subject matter and do not rely solely on the AI-generated content.
  
• Creative writing: You may use AI tools to generate ideas or inspiration for creative writing projects. However, the final work should still be your own original content.
  

Want to know more?

Link to JCQ candidate information.