Definition
Plagiarism is where a learner has submitted someone else’s work as if it is their own. Some learners do this unintentionally while others do it to gain higher marks. Either way it is intellectual dishonesty.

Examples of plagiarism include:

• copying from published text without an acknowledgement of source
• copying small or large sections of assignments from other students
• copying images, graphs or tables without an acknowledgement of source
• downloading original material from the Internet without an acknowledgement of source
• imitating too closely an existing work of art, design ideas/concepts or music.

Using Someone Else’s Work
Whilst learners should be encouraged to use relevant sources for research purposes, they must express the information or ideas from these sources in their own words and adopt a critical approach to any material that is not their own. Where a learner uses another person’s work to support an argument or to illustrate an idea/issue, then an acknowledgement must be given which informs the reader of:

• which words, ideas or images come from another person
• who the original thinker, writer or artist is/was
• the exact source of the words, images or ideas, including the name of the author/artist, the date and the details of the source (eg. source title and page reference or website location).

When quoting another person’s writing, the actual words must be in quotation marks. If paraphrasing the work, or using an illustration or graph etc., the source of the material must be clearly identified.

This applies to material taken from any source, whether a published book or article, the internet or a non-published course material (eg. lecture handouts).

How to discourage plagiarism

• Ensure that learners are made fully aware of plagiarism and its consequences
• Refer learners to appropriate leaflets, books and advice on how to avoid plagiarism
• Subscribe to an electronic plagiarism advisory service, eg. JISC.

Sanction
The award of credit must not be given for any work which is plagiarised.