Copyright: Plagiarism

All of the following are considered plagiarism:

• turning in someone else's work as your own
• copying words or ideas from someone else without giving credit
• failing to put a quotation in quotation marks
• giving incorrect information about the source of a quotation
• changing words but copying the sentence structure of a source without giving credit
• copying so many words or ideas from a source that it makes up the majority of your work, whether you give credit or not ("fair use" rules)

However, by citing your sources, most cases of plagiarism can be avoided.

Plagiarism.org, What is plagiarism n.d, viewed 14 December 2015, <http://plagiarism.org/plagiarism-101/what-is-plagiarism>

Turnitin 2012, White paper: the plagiarism spectrum: instructor insights into the 10 types of plagiarism, p. 3, viewed 3 June 2013 <http://pages.turnitin.com/plagiarism_spectrum.html>

There are those facts that may be deemed 'common knowledge', for example the French Revolution began in 1789. 

In this case, you may choose not to cite such a well-known fact, however, there is some dispute in academic literature about 'what is common knowledge'. If in doubt, cite or ask your teacher.

In the academic community, plagiarism is considered a form of theft and will be dealt with according to severity of intent. Failure of the paper and/or subject and possibly expulsion from the Polytechnic, are all possible consequences.

As a student or staff member, it is your responsibility to be familiar with the Higher Education Student Academic Integrity Policy and the Student Discipline Rule.  Ask your lecturer for details.  

To plagiarise means:

Source:  Merriam Webster's Online Dictionary

Tips and guidelines on how to prevent plagiarism...

Planning and researching your paper

• Plan your paper
• Take clear, well-organised notes
• Keep a record of your sources 
• Learn how to evaluate your sources

Writing your paper

• Learn how tp paraphrase. Have a look at Purdue Online Writing outlines six steps to effectively paraphrase

Melbourne Polytechnic adheres to two styles of referencing:  Harvard Style, and APA Style. Check with your teacher to find out which style is appropriate for your studies.

Ten most common types of plagairism ranked in order of severity of intent.

#1. CLONE - Submitting another’s work, word-for-word, as one’s own

#2. CTRL-C - Contains significant portions of text from a single source without alterations

#3. FIND - REPLACE - Changing key words and phrases but retaining the essential content of the source

#4. REMIX - Paraphrases from multiple sources, made to fit together

#5. RECYCLE - Borrows generously from the writer’s previous work without citation

#6. HYBRID - Combines perfectly cited sources with copied passages without citation

#7. MASHUP - Mixes copied material from multiple sources

#8. 404 ERROR - Includes citations to non-existent or inaccurate information about sources

#9. AGGREGATOR - Includes proper citation to sources but the paper contains almost no original work

#10. RE-TWEET - Includes proper citation, but relies too closely on the text’s original wording and/or structure

Turnitin.com, The plagiarism spectrum: tagging 10 types of unoriginal work 2012, viewed 9 October 2017, <http://www.turnitin.com/assets/en_us/media/plagiarism_spectrum.php?_ga=2.130874127.185647697.1507511130-101067434.1507511130>