Plagiarism

Why is there a whole section of this guide on plagiarism?

As lecturers, when essays are set, we are testing your ability to read academic texts and interpret them. Putting the work in your own words is how we can see that you have understood the work and how it relates to other work written on a topic. The whole section on academic writing is aimed
to teach you how to write academically. Unfortunately, some students copy the work of their colleagues and given the volume of material available, out of necessity, we have to check for plagiarism.

"Plagiarism, in an academic, university context, may be defined as taking and using the ideas, writings, works or inventions of another, from any textual or internet-based source, as if they were one's own." (Rhodes University, 2014: 2). See the Rhodes University website and the University Calendar for a detailed statement on the Rhodes University policy on plagiarism (Common Faculty Policy and Procedures on Plagiarism, Rhodes University, 2014). This can be downloaded at: https://www.ru.ac.za/media/rhodesuniversity/content/institutionalplanning/documents/policies/Common_Faculty_Policy_and_Procedures_on_Plagiarism.pdf

When you write an essay or report in an academic setting, it is normal to draw on material written by other people. However, when you use others' ideas, it is important that you acknowledge the work that you have drawn on. There is nothing wrong with utilising others' ideas, it just needs to be acknowledged. There are standard procedures for doing this; for example, by citing a reference and providing details of the source in a reference list at the end of the assignment. You are expected to do this even where you do not quote directly from your source but merely express in your own words ideas or arguments that you have taken from that source. In addition, where you quote verbatim from a published source, you must put inverted commas around the quoted material and provide a page number. The only situation in which these rules do not apply strictly is in examinations written without access to books and other reference materials.

Plagiarism refers to the practice of presenting as your own work material and ideas that have been written by someone else. Any use of material that is derived from the work of another person constitutes plagiarism unless the source is clearly acknowledged in the manner described above. You will be guilty of plagiarism if, for example, you hand in an assignment under your own name which, either in part or as a whole,

• is copied from an essay or practical report written by another student;

• is copied from a document downloaded from a website;

• is copied from a published article or book chapter;

• has been written for you by someone else.

The following comments are adapted from the handbook of the Department of Geology, University of Durham:

"Plagiarism, therefore, applies to verbatim copying and close paraphrasing by simply changing a few words or the order of sentences, or quotation of phrases from someone else's work or concepts without appropriate acknowledgement. The student must ensure that someone else's work is not presented as the student's own.

With regard to collusion, note that students should avoid unauthorised, deliberate collaboration with one or more students in producing assignments which are identical or very similar. Such collusion is not acceptable.

The keywords in avoiding all the difficulties referred to above are appropriate acknowledgement."

As a university student, you are being trained to understand and observe the highest standards of ethics, integrity, and professional practice in the writing of essays and reports. The Department of Geography expects these high standards to be observed as a matter of course. Please be careful. Some may think there is no harm in copying sentences from books and articles when composing essays and practical reports. However, that stops us from seeing how much you understand the subject matter. Also, in terms of the policy stated above, the use of even one sentence without acknowledgement constitutes plagiarism and is not acceptable.

The Senate of the University has adopted an overall policy towards the handling of plagiarism. In terms of this policy:

• Departments are encouraged to address the matter in their teaching and to train students in procedures for acknowledging sources in assignments;

• Standards are expected to increase as students progress through the University. The highest standards are expected of postgraduates;

• Cases of plagiarism must be addressed by disciplinary procedures within the Department and at the university level.

The Rhodes University Plagiarism can be found at: https://www.ru.ac.za/media/rhodesuniversity/content/institutionalplanning/documents/policies/Common_Faculty_Policy_and_Procedures_on_Plagiarism.pdf

To assist with academic writing and also to check that you are indeed interpreting readings in your own words, we do utilise text-matching software. You will be able to see if your own efforts match others' work as all assignments are submitted to Turnitin through RUconnected for text matching.

Please note: Turnitin is NOT a plagiarism checker and does not necessarily confirm that plagiarism has actually taken place, and neither is the "Turnitin Score". We DO NOT utilise the "Turnitin Score" in its raw format; each report is checked to contextualise the text that is matched with other sources.

For examples of different kinds of plagiarism, see Annexure A in the University's plagiarism policy or check the following URL: https://plagiarism.iu.edu/plagiarismPatterns/

In terms of this policy, the Geography Department has a Disciplinary Committee that deals with intentional plagiarism. Where there is evidence that students have plagiarised work, the matter will be referred to this Disciplinary Committee. When the Committee concludes that intentional plagiarism has occurred, it will make a ruling on appropriate disciplinary steps. In terms of the Senate guidelines, these steps range from giving a warning (for the first time and minor offences) to imposing a mark penalty and, in serious cases, withdrawing the student's DP. The Department is required to keep a record of all cases of plagiarism, including minor offences. In addition, where the Disciplinary Committee establishes that there has been a serious case of plagiarism, the Department is required to report the matter to a Senate Plagiarism Tribunal to investigate and make recommendations on disciplinary steps. The Tribunal may impose penalties that may include exclusion from the University.