A definition of plagiarism is making use of someone else’s ideas but describing them as your own without stating where the ideas come from. Plagiarism is a form of cheating, and a person who plagiarises, consciously or unconsciously, may be suspended from their studies.
There are a number of recurring examples of plagiarism among students, and the following is not permitted:
- to rewrite another author’s text and substitute only individual words for synonyms - regardless of whether there is a reference or not.
- to re-use your own previously marked works without adding citations, known as self-plagiarism
- to use another author’s text and present it as your own; regardless of whether you have omitted to state a reference by mistake or intentionally.
- to use another author’s text and in your own words formulate how you understand the contents – without adding citations
- copying or “borrowing” a text from the internet, from the course literature, from other students’ work or from previously submitted examination work without citing any source
- to make direct translations without citing the source; this is plagiarism.
- to make use of someone else’s structure/model when solving a task if the source is not clearly stated and justified.
