Plagiarism
Penalties for plagiarism and how to avoid it.
What is Plagiarism?
Plagiarism can be defined as the deliberate use of another person's work in your own work, as if it were your own, without adequate acknowledgement of the original source.
Every submission made for assessment must be original. You cannot submit the same work or part of a previous assessment for credit in the same or another course.
General Principle
Every sentence in every piece of submitted work must be entirely in your own words.
If you submit work without appropriate acknowledgement, then you are attempting to mislead the examiners. In other words, plagiarism is cheating – trying to claim the credit for something that is not your work.
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Time management – Prepare in advance, don’t leave to last moment.
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Record your sources carefully when making notes and NEVER copy and paste into your notes.
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Always use your own words. Don't copy text directly into your essay unless you indicate this using quotation marks as well as by referencing the source.
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Use citation software (Endnote, Reference manager, Zotero).
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Use Turnitin, if available, to test your essay for plagiarism before you submit it.
The University’s Assessment Regulations gives details of the regulation relating to plagiarism.
The following section explains how the Biology Teaching Organisation operates within these regulations.
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Work submitted for assessment is processed electronically by “Turnitin”. Plagiarism may be detected using this software or by other means.
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Students who are suspected of submitting plagiarised work are invited for interview by the School or College Academic Misconduct Officer and asked to explain the similarity between their work and another source.
If plagiarism is established:
- A reduced mark or a zero mark may be returned for the work, or the disciplinary procedure may be invoked, which can result in expulsion from the University.
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The Student Adviser of the student involved is informed of the offence and will keep a record.
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The incident will remain on the student’s University record for the duration of this or any future degrees at the University of Edinburgh, but will not appear on the transcript. Any future misconduct will automatically be considered as serious.