Verbatim copying: word for word copying of sentences or paragraphs from one or more sources which are the work or data of other persons (including books, articles, thesis, unpublished works, working papers, seminar and conference papers, internal reports, lecture notes or tapes) without clearly identifying their origin by appropriate referencing;

Incorrect/inadequate acknowledgement: closely paraphrasing sentences or paragraphs from one or more sources without appropriate acknowledgment in the form of a reference to the original work or works.  This is the most common form of unintentional plagiarism.

Ghost writing: submitting work which has been produced by someone else on the student’s behalf as if it were the work of the student;

Collusion: submitting work which has been wholly or partially derived from another student’s work with his/her knowledge.

Purloining/appropriation: copying material from another’s assignment without his/her knowledge.

Academics indicate that they perceive the reasons for intentional plagiarism to include: laziness, greed for grades, deceitfulness, competitiveness, lack of time and apathy. However the list of reasons given by students themselves is more extensive and includes:  helping a friend, extenuating circumstances, peer pressure, fear of failure, “everybody does it”, laziness and cost of education (Franklin-Stokes & Newstead, 1995).

Further research by Park (2003) into this area suggests the following reasons for plagiarising, amongst Australian students:

1. Efficiency gain – a better grade in less time;


2. Time management issues;


3. Students’ personal values that may be influenced by social pressure – ‘it’s okay to plagiarise’;


4. Defiance – a deliberate sign of dissent and/or objection to assessment tasks;


5. Negative student attitudes towards teachers and/or assessment tasks;


6. Denial or neutralisation of plagiarism-related behaviour;


7. Temptation and opportunity via the digitisation of information; and


8. Lack of deterrence –low chance of being caught/effectively punished.

While you can discuss your research reports and essays with others, what you prepare and submit for assessment must be all your own work. This applies for both whole sections as well as smaller parts. Text matching software has now become very sophisticated in detecting similarities among assignments.

Don't tempt others. Protect your work from theft when you are in a public space, don't give other people your drafts to take away, don't e-mail your work to others, and don't post answers on public forums such as Facebook. If two students are found to have submitted identical or very similar pieces of work it can be very hard to prove who copied off who when both parties deny any wrongdoing. In such cases, both students may be penalised.

Studying with others is not about asking what the correct answer is or telling others the answer. The best way to study is to discuss and explore ideas so that each individual is in a better position to write their assignment on their own and to the best of their ability.

In a DEST funded project, James (2002) outlines factors that influenced unintentional plagiarism:

• Students’ lack of understanding of the concept of plagiarism and what it means in practice;


• Students’ lack of understanding of citation and referencing conventions;


• Students’ limited skill base in academic skills (such as critical analysis, constructing an argument and paraphrasing) and in learning skills (such as time, group, workload and stress management); and


• Student misunderstanding and ignorance about why and how they should avoid plagiarism.

Cultural factors that may also influence either intentional or unintentional plagiarism include:

• A norm of learning by rote where it is acceptable not to acknowledge the source;


• Inadequate skills in paraphrasing because English is the student’s second language;


• Belonging to a ‘culture of pleasing’, so desiring to submit first class work to a respected teacher (Mathews, 2007); and


• Fear of bringing dishonour to one’s family by failing.

Penalties for plagiarism will be enforced.  Full details can be found in the Student Academic Misconduct Policy.

To avoid accusations of plagiarism:

• Take notes carefully when conducting your background readings for assignments.


• Make sure to distinguish your direct quotes from paraphrases


• In your assignment work, try to avoid quoting more than needed


• Use direct quotations only when the author’s statement adds to your argument and when their wording is difficult to replace


• Avoid giving your colleagues copies of your assignment drafts – discuss your approach to your assignment in your study groups but try to get someone who is not studying the same subject as you to proof read your assignment.

Below is an example of what plagiarism looks like.  

It will help you see the difference between acceptable paraphrasing and plagiarism.

Original Text
If the existence of a signing ape was unsettling for linguists, it was also startling news for animal behaviourists (Davis, 1993; p. 26).

Plagiarised Text
If the existence of a signing ape was unsettling for linguists, it was also startling news for animal behaviourists. Note: This is plagiarism as the writer has used exactly the same words and not acknowledged the source.  To use this text word for word you have to acknowledge the source by placing in brackets the author’s name, date of publication, and page number.  You would also need to put it in double quotation marks (“  ”).  If you listed the author and the date but failed to identify it as a quote this would still be plagiarism. The existence of a signing ape unsettled linguists and was also startling news for animal behaviourists (Davis, 1993; p. 26). Note:  Even though the writer has acknowledged the source and changed one or two words, they have not used quotation marks around the direct quotes “the existence of a signing ape” and “was also startling news for animal behaviourists”. Therefore it is still plagiarism.

No Plagiarism
According to Davis (1993), linguists and animal behaviourists were unprepared for the news that a chimp could communicate with its trainers through sign language. Note: This is paraphrasing of the original text.  The words used are different to the original and the sentence structure is changed.  No page number is needed in this case.  If you do not want to be accused of plagiarism make sure to reference all quotations and paraphrases, any ideas that are not your own, and facts that are not general knowledge.Below is an example of what plagiarism looks like.  It will help you see the difference between acceptable paraphrasing and plagiarism.

Original Text
If the existence of a signing ape was unsettling for linguists, it was also startling news for animal behaviourists (Davis, 1993; p. 26).

Plagiarised Text
If the existence of a signing ape was unsettling for linguists, it was also startling news for animal behaviourists. Note: This is plagiarism as the writer has used exactly the same words and not acknowledged the source.  To use this text word for word you have to acknowledge the source by placing in brackets the author’s name, date of publication, and page number.  You would also need to put it in double quotation marks (“  ”).  If you listed the author and the date but failed to identify it as a quote this would still be plagiarism. The existence of a signing ape unsettled linguists and was also startling news for animal behaviourists (Davis, 1993; p. 26). Note:  Even though the writer has acknowledged the source and changed one or two words, they have not used quotation marks around the direct quotes “the existence of a signing ape” and “was also startling news for animal behaviourists”. Therefore it is still plagiarism.

No Plagiarism
According to Davis (1993), linguists and animal behaviourists were unprepared for the news that a chimp could communicate with its trainers through sign language. Note: This is paraphrasing of the original text.  The words used are different to the original and the sentence structure is changed.  No page number is needed in this case.  If you do not want to be accused of plagiarism make sure to reference all quotations and paraphrases, any ideas that are not your own, and facts that are not general knowledge.

A great way to learn more about academic integrity is through the Griffith Academic Integrity site or through the "Academic Integrity Student Tutorial". You can access the tutorial via Learning@Griffith. Here's how to do it:

1. Login to Learning@Griffith


2. At the top of the page, click on the "Organisations" tab


3. You will see a Search box on the left. Search for "Academic Integrity Student Tutorial"


4. Hover your mouse cursor over this Organisation ID 'ACADEMIC_INTGY_A1_TUTORIAL'. You will see a small arrow appear. Click the arrow and then click on the word "Enrol" in the drop down box.


5. Check that the details are correct.


6. Click the Submit button and you are good to go.