Task A: Avoiding plagiarism

Activity

Following are statements that could appear in your assignment work. Indicate whether the statements are common knowledge or require citation.

Exercise 1

Physics is an experimental science.

Common knowledge Requires citation

Common knowledge

This would be common knowledge to most high school educated people.

Exercise 2

Granitoids are usually formed from restite unmixing magma.

Common knowledge Requires citation

Requires citation

In an assignment for an introductory general earth science unit, this would not be considered common knowledge and would require citation. However, in an advanced third year assignment on igneous petrology this would probably not require citation.

Exercise 3

The heart is a pump.

Common knowledge Requires citation

Common knowledge

This would be regarded as common knowledge to most high school educated people.

Exercise 4

The heart is a pump consisting of four chambers separated by valves composed of epithelial tissue which open and close in response to differences in blood pressure enforcing the unidirectional flow of blood.

Common knowledge Requires citation

Requires citation

This level of knowledge would definitely need referencing in an undergraduate essay or report. The correct in-text reference for this statement is (Marieb 2003:692), placed at the end of the sentence before the full stop.

Exercise 5

The heart is the most effective pump in nature.

Common knowledge Requires citation

Requires citation

Opinions about common knowledge need to be acknowledged. The correct in-text reference for this statement is (Smith 1999) placed at the end of the sentence before the full stop.

Activity

Do this plagiarism quiz to see if you can recognise which practices are acceptable and which ones would constitute plagiarism?

Example 1

Jim wants to include a section about the latest research methods in DNA sequencing in his biology essay. His sister is studying genetics and has covered this in lectures. He copies the information from her lecture notes and puts it in his essay.

Acceptable Unacceptable

Unacceptable

Jim would need to write it in his own words and provide an appropriate reference stating the lecturer's name, the unit, and date of lecture.

Example 2

Phyllis copied the exact words from a succinct descriptive sentence in her biology text into her prac report. She put it in quotation marks, followed by the author, date, and page number in brackets. 

Acceptable Unacceptable

Acceptable

Phyllis has followed acceptable referencing practice for a direct quote.

Example 3

Michelle pulls together information from an internet article, a textbook and a recent TV documentary and presents it in her own words.

Acceptable Unacceptable

Unacceptable

Michelle would need to provide an appropriate in-text reference for each one of her three sources.

Example 4

The academic support person on Anna’s floor uses examples from his maths assignment of two years ago to explain a concept. One of the questions is exactly the same as Anna’s current assignment, so she transcribes the answer and most of the working onto her assignment answer sheet for submission.

Acceptable Unacceptable

Unacceptable

Anna should not copy someone else's work and present it as her own. She should study the correct procedure to answer the question and then do her own working on her assignment answer sheet.

Example 5

Tony reads, understands and integrates information from a section of his chemistry textbook into his essay in his own words, followed by the author's name and date of publication.

Acceptable Unacceptable

Acceptable

Tony has followed acceptable referencing practice for using information derived from another source.

Example 6

David interprets information from a graph in a journal article and presents it as text in his essay.

Acceptable Unacceptable

Unacceptable

Even though David has changed the format of the information, he is still citing someone else's work and would need to reference it accordingly.

Example 7

Sam reads, understands and integrates the information from his geology text in the discussion of his practical report.

Acceptable Unacceptable

Unacceptable

Even though Sam has understood the information and written it in his own words, he would still need to acknowledge the textbook as the source of the information.