6. Writing and Assessment (web)

6.2. Plagiarism and referencing

Queen Mary defines plagiarism as: “Presenting someone else’s work as your own, irrespective of intention. Close paraphrasing, copying from the work of another person, including another student, using the ideas of another person without proper acknowledgement or repeating work you have previously submitted – at Queen Mary or at another institution - without properly referencing yourself (known as ‘self plagiarism’) also constitutes plagiarism.”

Academic Misconduct Policy

Plagiarism is a serious offence and all students suspected of plagiarism will be subject to an investigation. If found guilty, penalties can include failure of the module to suspension or permanent withdrawal from Queen Mary.

It is your responsibility to ensure that you understand plagiarism and how to avoid it. The recommendations below can help you in avoiding plagiarism.

  • Be sure to record your sources when taking notes, and to cite these if you use ideas or, especially, quotations from the original source. Be particularly careful if you are cutting and pasting information between two documents, and ensure that references are not lost in the process.
  • Be sensible in referencing ideas – commonly held views that are generally accepted do not always require acknowledgment to particular sources. However, it is best to be safe to avoid plagiarism.
  • Be particularly careful with quotations and paraphrasing. Quotations need to be recorded accurately, and references are required when paraphrasing someone else’s ideas.
  • Be aware that technology, such as Turnitin, is now available at Queen Mary and elsewhere that can automatically identify possible plagiarism.
  • Ensure that all works used are referenced appropriately in the text of your work and fully credited in your bibliography.
  • If in doubt, ask for further guidance from your Advisor or module tutor.