It is using ideas or the work of another person and presenting it as your own work. It can take a number of forms:
It applies to all types of sources and media: text, illustrations, photographs, musical quotations, mathematical derivations, computer code, material downloaded from websites, drawn from manuscripts, published and unpublished material including lecture handouts and other students' work.
You can also be accused of self-plagiarising: resubmitting work for assessment that you have already been assessed for. If you want to reuse elements of that original piece of work, you should not simply copy it but cite yourself in the way you would a published author.
If you write essays as part of your course, you will be required to read around the subject and organise your ideas into a coherent argument. It is very important to reference your sources each time you include an idea or an argument from your reading, whether you have summarised the information, quoted it directly or paraphrased it. Effective quotation and use of source materials can show credibility and authority in the writing you produce, as well as providing opposing views against which you can comment. Anything you cite should clearly support your conclusions.
To help you distinguish between your thoughts and that of another, it is important to keep clear notes that easily define your contribution versus the words of the author. Cite resources for everything that isn’t common knowledge, such as widely known historical facts. This doesn't normally include ideas or interpretations.
Read the following definitions to understand how you can legitimately use the work of others.
If you refer to specific information that you have found (for example, a fact, event, date, or map) and you use an in-text citation as well as a full reference in the bibliography or references section at the end of your work – this is reporting. Here are some reporting words that are useful when evaluating and writing about other authors’ work, for example:
This is necessary to capture your research in writing. Use it to show your understanding of an argument. You can use a summary to show the key outcomes of a study or show a specific approach taken by a researcher.
Generally, in each paragraph a point is developed. If you link three or four such points together you have an ‘argument’. Using summary with appropriate quotation forms the basis of good writing.
If you copy or repeat a passage or use the exact wording from a source. Perhaps there is an exact turn of phrase that is particularly significant and cannot be conveyed by paraphrasing. You might need to quote the text of a formal definition or standard to ensure the exact meaning is made clear to your reader. However, use quotation sparingly. You should only use a quotation if it is worth a comment. Tell the reader why you have chosen to use it. Try asking yourself the following questions:
The official definition
The University has issued an in-depth definition of plagiarism, which it is useful to be familiar with before starting your course.
Have a look and if you have any questions, ask a librarian or Director of Studies once you've settled in.
Image credits
CC0 by Chan via Unsplash
Film credits
© Cambridge University Libraries. All rights reserved.
