Plagiarism is a kind of academic cheating. If you incorporate someone else's work or ideas into your own work without acknowledging it with a correct reference, this is plagiarism. Even if it was unintentional, it could still be taken very seriously.
Unintentional plagiarism includes:
- Not referencing correctly, e.g. omitting quotation marks from direct quotations, not adding in-text citations or reference list entries where required.
- Patchwriting, e.g. copying from a text and deleting some words, changing grammatical structures, substituting words, etc.
Intentional plagiarism includes:
- Buying a written assignment (contract cheating)
- Using someone’s freely given assignment or sharing your work with others (collusion)
- Submitting your work that has been submitted elsewhere (self-plagiarism).
Leeds Beckett University defines plagiarism in section 10 of its Academic Regulations. Plagiarism is part of the University's Academic Honesty regulations and if you are suspected of breaching these regulations you will be investigated.
Please see the University's Academic Integrity Student Factsheet for more information.
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