APA Referencing Guide: Plagiarism

The term plagiarism refers to taking and using another person's ideas, writing or inventions as one's own and failing to acknowledge the source.

Plagiarism can be avoided by acknowledging the sources of information used in written work.

Using another person’s ideas or opinions without acknowledging the source of
information.

Failing to place a quotation in quotation marks.

Using statistics, maps and illustrations without acknowledging where they came from.

Failing to include sources of information used in the preparation of an assignment in a Reference List.

Cutting and pasting to create an assignment from several sources.

Using information from a website, online database or other electronic source without proper acknowledgement. 

What is plagiarism and how to avoid it?

Paraphrasing is to express someone else's ideas in your own words without changing the original meaning.

Paraphrasing involves replacing words, restructuring sentences and rewriting the information in your own words.

Step 1: Read the original information carefully, ensuring you understand it fully.

Step 2:  Identify the main points and key words and highlight them.

Step 3: Determine what you can change versus what cannot be changed.

Step 4: Cover the text so you cannot see any of it.

Step 5: Write out the idea in your own words using synonyms or phrases of similar meaning where possible.

Step 6: Change the order of the words or structure of the sentences.

Step 7: Then check your paraphrase against the original to be sure that you have not changed the meaning and that the information is accurate.

Why and how do you paraphrase? 

The Art of Paraphrasing: Avoiding Plagiarism