Plagiarism
A quick guide to referencing *
Every idea has an owner – give them credit
- every article has an author (or authors) who has spent time creating and researching the topic.
- you can’t use the author’s work or ideas, including images, without giving them credit.
- don’t just cut and paste.
Let your teacher know your sources
- By giving credit and clearly indicating that you are incorporating someone else’s ideas in your own work you show your teacher that you have researched the topic properly using authoritative sources.
- If you use someone else’s ideas in your work without giving them credit for the original, this is plagiarism (trying to pass someone else’s work off as your own). If this work is submitted for your qualification this constitutes malpractice and you will be penalised, which could result in disqualification from the examination or examination series.
Enable someone else to find your sources
- You give credit or acknowledge the sources you have used by adding a set of references to your work.
- Ideally when you provide a reference to a source, whether it is a website or a printed text, you should give enough information about the source so that others, in particular your assessor (teacher or the examiner), can find it easily.
* this extract from OFQUAL - Using sources – a guide for students, p10
http://www.ofqual.gov.uk/files/2009-12-24-plagiarism-students.pdf
Useful links
Authenticity: A Guide for Teachers (PDF, 587 KB)
Avoiding Plagiarism: A Guide for Parents and Carers (PDF, 566 KB)
Using Sources: A Guide for Students: Find it - Check it - Credit it (PDF, 654 KB)
http://www.plagiarismadvice.org/advice-and-training.html
http://www.ofqual.gov.uk/2719.aspx
Image and links from www.ofqual.gov.uk