plagiarism and assignments jeffrey kidd manager, business programs

Plagiarism and Assignments

Jeffrey Kidd

Manager, Business Programs

Surviving at University in Australia

• How to learn• How to achieve success• How to enjoy it

How to Learn ?

• What skills are important ?

• Reading and writing!!!!• Buy the text book and

read it• The text book costs about

$100 – repeating the subject costs more than 10 times that!!

• Make notes in class • Use mnemonics• Switch off your mobile

phone in class!!!!

How to Learn at an Australian University

• Lectures and how to use them • Critical thinking skills• Successful essay writing • Successful report writing • Time management• Oral presentation skills• Collaborative learning: a strategy for

success• Learning about plagiarism and avoiding it

Lectures and how to use them

What will your lectures be like ?

What do you do to make the most out of a lecture ?

What do you do before a lecture ?

What do you do in a lecture ?What do you do after a

lecture ?

Critical Thinking Skills

• What is critical thinking ?

• Your brain is designed to be used – “use it or lose it”!

• Problem solving is part of daily life

• Critical thinking helps problem solving

Successful essay writing

• What is an essay ?• What are they used for at MIT ?

Critical Thinking and Essay Writing:

• Which country has the best cricket team ? Give three reasons. Explain your answer in 100 words or less.

• Assessment criteria (20 points): – 3 reasons (5 points each)– English grammar and spelling (5 points)

Time Management

From Introduction to Independent Learning, University of Ballarat, Student Learning Support, 2002

Part Time Jobs

• Be careful –• If you work too much or

get too tired because of work, you will fail in your studies.

• If you put too much energy into your part time job, you will use all the money you earn to pay to take a unit again, and to pay your airfare home at the end of first semester.

• Your study MUST BE your number one priority

Collaborative Learning

• What is it ?• What is it used for ?• What are the keys to success ?

Collaborative Learning

• Team projects and team assignments• Helping each other to learn• Studying together, discussing issues and ideas• BUT teamwork doesn’t mean copying someone

else’s work• AND if you get help on an individual assignment,

acknowledge it, and make sure your assignment is NOT the same as someone else’s

Plagiarism

• What is it ?

Plagiarism

• Plagiarism is using the words or ideas of others and presenting them as your own.

• If you get help from someone, if you work with someone– Acknowledge it !– Do not submit someone else’s work as your

own– Do not give your assignment to other students

I declare that this assignment is my individual work. I have not worked collaboratively nor have I copied from any other student’s work or from any other source except where due acknowledgment is made explicitly in the text, nor has any part been written for me by another person. I realise that penalties may ensue for late submission or any other breaches of assignment rules.

Signature:

Date:

We declare that this is a group assignment and that no part of this submission has been copied from any other student's work or from any other source except where due acknowledgment is made explicitly in the text, nor has any part been written for us by another person.

MIT/UB ID Number Family name, Given names Signature

Do Not Let Others Copy

• You must not allow other students to copy your work and must take care to safeguard against this happening. In cases of copying, normally all students involved will be penalised equally; an exception will be if you can demonstrate the work is your own and you took reasonable care to safeguard against copying.

Plagiarism and You

• If you plagiarise –– You will get caught

• You will face a hearing– You will fail the assignment– You will probably fail the unit– You will have to take the unit again– You will be on a path to failing the degree– You will be on a path back home

Recently

• Hearings for students who were caught plagiarising

• What happened ?– Fail assessment– Fail unit– Repeat the unit– Pay over $1000 to renew student visa– Delay marriage

Catching Plagiarism

• Lecturers and tutors look for plagiarism because it is cheating

• How can you commit plagiarism in assignments ?

• How can you commit plagiarism in software assignments ?

Plagiarism may have long term outcomes

• Plagiarism can follow you all your life – example of student in law career

Acknowledge Sources and Acknowledge Help

• You must acknowledge all help

• Make sure your work is different and your work is your own

References

http://www.ballarat.edu.au/aasp/student/learning_support?Avoiding_plagiarism.shtml