How to Plagiarise and get away with it!

Okay so this isn’t possible, but here’s a few pointers on how to stay out of strife with those pesky assignment markers

DON’T GET CAUGHT!

Written by students for students

You’ve ditched the pub on Thursday night to finish writing your essay. You think you’ve done a great job and you’re looking forward to seeing your well earned mark of a distinction. You head to bed thinking you can leave the referencing till the morning 10 minutes before class - we found out the hard way, this is NOT a good idea.

If you reference incorrectly, you have plagiarised, even if it was an honest mistake!

In saying this, referencing isn’t used just to avoid plagiarism. By citing a source, you are respecting and acknowledging this person’s work. So feel free to use ideas, insights and arguments put forward in textbooks, journals, and websites, but make sure you acknowledge them!

If you knowingly fail to reference these sources, this is dishonest plagiarism - there is a penalty!

If you make a small mistake in your referencing of these sources, this is negligent plagiarism - there is still a penalty!

This email isn’t going to bore you to death and lecture you on how to reference every source correctly, our aim is to make you aware how easy it is to get busted.

Some of the areas that people experience most difficulties in while referencing include:

• Referencing a source that someone else has already referenced (secondary referencing)!
• Using direct quotations
• Paraphrasing correctly (changing a few words doesn’t count)

Secondary referencing
Secondary referencing is when one author is referring to the work of another and the original source is not available. Secondary referencing should be avoided by reading the original source. However, if this is unavailable you may be required to secondary reference.

If you site only the original source without reading it, you may misinterpret what the secondary author was saying about the original authors work (in other words, it could become Chinese Whispers).

So when the original authors work is not available, make sure your secondary referencing is correct!

You need to refer to BOTH sources in the text, and put only the source you used in the reference list.

For example:
You read a study by Jones (1999) that said “Jones (1999) stated that …” in a book by Smith (2005).

– In your essay, you used some of Jones study, so you should write “(Jones, 1999, as cited in Smith, 2005)” after the idea as a citation.

- The reference in your reference list should fully reference Smith only!

Smith (2005) Learn how to fish. Sydney: Fishing Publishers Pty Ltd Using direct quotations Quotations may be placed in the text, with the quotation enclosed by double quotation marks, and page numbers MUST be included. For short quotations, these can be written in your essay as normal.

For example:

He stated that “Parramatta Eels are the best team in the NRL” (Johnson 2005, p. 300)

OR
Johnson (2005) found that “Parramatta Eels are the best team in the NRL” (p. 300). For longer quotes (more than 40 words), the quote has to go on another paragraph and must be indented from the left margin. You don’t need quotation marks, but you still need the page number in brackets. Also, if the quotation is more than one paragraph, indent the first line of the second.

For example:

Injury is often accompanied by depression, tension, anger and low self esteem, particularly in competitive, seriously injured athletes. Mood disturbance seems to relate to the athlete’s perceived progress in rehabilitation and has been shown to negatively relate to attendance at rehabilitation sessions (Smith, 1996, page 26)

Your reference in your reference list would then be:

Smith, A. M. (1996). Psychological impact of injuries in athletes. Sports Medicine, 22(6), 391-405

Paraphrasing

Paraphrasing demonstrates your understanding of the material - this doesn’t mean changing a few words here and there. If you paraphrase, you still have to reference the source.

For example:

Original quote:

For male athletes in particular, sport can be viewed as a masculinising experience, even as a ritual, and those who remove themselves from active participation as consequence of injury may be regarded as soft.

From:

Young, K., White, P., & McTeer, W. (1994). Bodytalk: Male Athletes Reflect on Sport, Injury and Pain. Sociology of Sport, 11, 175-194.

PARAPHRASING

Injury from sports can often have an affect on an individual’s self esteem and masculinity (Young, White, & McTeer, 1994).

NOT PARAPHRASING

For men in particular, sport can be seen as a masculinising experience, and those who remove themselves from sport as consequence of injury may be regarded as soft (Young, et al., 1994).

SUMMARY:

Secondary referencing: if you cite only one source, you have plagiarised!

Direct quotes: if you don’t include quotation marks and/or page numbers, you’ve plagiarised!
Paraphrasing: if you change only a few words and/or don’t cite the original source, you have plagiarised!

We hope that this has managed to make you realise how important it is to reference correctly and how easy it is to make a mistake. Take time when referencing and don’t leave it till the last minute!


References (references in endnote using APA 5th)
Lucas, S. M. (2008). Guidelines for Presentation of Assignments: University of Sydney,
Cumberland Campus, from http://www.fhs.usyd.edu.au/pdfs_docs/assign_guide.pdf
Plonsky, M. (2005). Psychology with style: A Hypertext Writing Guide for the 5th Edition of the
APA Manual Retrieved September 17, 2008, from http://www.uwsp.edu/PSYCH/apa4b.htm
The Learning Centre: UNSW Sydney NSW. Why is Referencing Important? Retrieved September 16, 2008, from http://www.lc.unsw.edu.au/plagiarism/citation.html