What is Plagiarism and How to Avoid It?

Academic writers need to use material from other writers to support their own ideas. Failure to integrate this material appropriately can lead to plagiarism, a form of academic misconduct. This video explains what plagiarism is, gives types of plagiarism, gives some examples of acceptable and unacceptable source use, lists reasons why students plagiarise, and suggests ways to avoid plagiarism. Plagiarism, which means using words or ideas of other writers without giving proper acknowledgement, can be categorised according to the intent of the writer into intentional plagiarism (also called deliberate plagiarism) and unintentional plagiarism (also referred to as textual or accidental plagiarism). Reasons why students plagiarise include: time difficulties; lack of understanding of what plagiarism is; lack of citation skills; inability to paraphrase appropriately; lack of good note-taking skills; and a belief that the plagiarism will not be detected. Methods to avoid plagiarism include: trai