What is plagiarism?

Plagiarism refers to the act of presenting someone else’s work and passing it off as one’s own. There are different types of plagiarism as listed below. 

Deliberate Plagiarism Accidental Plagiarism
Copy & paste from someone else's writing Ignorance of the need for citation
Take chunks of other people’s work and change a few words Fail to paraphrase properly
Style plagiarism: follow the reasoning style of a source exactly Fail to cite properly due to ignorance on the concept of common knowledge
Idea plagiarism: use other people’s creative idea as your own without proper citation Self-plagiarism: reuse the same work twice for different assignments, or reuse your own previous work without proper citation
Consequences of Plagiarism

Be it deliberate or accidental, plagiarism is considered a serious offence in SUTD.  Students found guilty of plagiarizing face severe penalties including failure of a subject, suspension or even expulsion from the university.

Avoiding Plagiarism

Do not cut & paste: use your own words
Never cut and paste information directly into your own essay. If ideas from a certain source are used, make sure you understand and paraphrase the ideas in your own words. Don’t forget to cite the sources after paraphrasing. 

Always cite the sources properly
This is crucial to avoid plagiarism. Consult different sources of information (articles, books, videos etc) to gather ideas and information to assist you in writing your essay.  All reference sources must be properly cited with an appropriate citation style (such as APA, MLA, Harvard etc.) as requested by your professor, 

Learn the APA style with the citation guide books in SUTD library (Additional Materials at the bottom of this page). It is also recommended that you use a citation manager software to manage and generate your citations in an efficient manner. Contact the library team  to conduct trainings or refer to  Cite It Rightand Avoid Plagiarism (Additional References for training slides).

To learn everything about citations and references, refer to the SUTD Library Citation Guide.

Keep track of the sources used in your essay
While working with a lot of resources, ensure that you keep track of the sources right from the beginning.  To avoid the difficulty of recalling which article or book your idea or example came from,  add in citations as and when you are writing your essay.  Alternatively, create a separate document to keep track of the sources with annotations and research notes. 

Word of Caution
Faculty may use "Turnitin", a web-based plagiarism management tool, to validate submission of written works and assist in identification of cases of plagiarism. 

Additional References
Source Type Source Call No. or URL Notes
Book Publication manual of the American Psychological Association. 6th ed. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association, 2010. Print. BF76.7 PUB The authoritative guidelines on APA style by American Psychological Association
Book Houghton, P. M., Houghton, T. J., & Pratt, M. M. (2009).APA: the easy way! (2nd ed.). Flint, Mich.: Baker College. Available at SUTD library Learn APA style in a simple and easy-to-understand manner
eBook Neville, C. (2007). The complete guide to referencing and avoiding plagiarism. Maidenhead: Open University Press. Click here A eBook on how to cite and avoid plagiarism
eBook Murray, R., & Moore, S. (2006). The handbook of academic writing a fresh approach. Maidenhead, England: McGraw-Hill. Click here This book defines what academic writing is, and explains the process of getting started through to completion
eBook Creme, P., & Lea, M. R. (2008). Writing at university a guide for students (3rd ed.). Buckingham: Open University Press. Click here The book looks at an array of writing projects, including essays, reports and dissertations, and analyzes what is expected of each form of assignment with illustrative examples.
Web Resource APA Quick Citation Guide by Penn State University Libraries Click here This document explains how to cite different types of sources using APA style with illustrative examples

 

Avoiding Plagiarism Guide (PDF)
Avoiding Plagarism Guide