Minor Thesis Guide for Honours & Postgraduate Diploma

Plagiarism

The following guidelines are offered by the School in addition to the current Arts Faculty Guidelines on Plagiarism. Student should also read the Faculty Guidelines that also outline the procedures that will apply in the case of plagiarism.

Plagiarism can be defined as ‘the appropriation, by copying, summarising or paraphrasing, of the ideas or argument or another writer, without acknowledgment’. The other writer may be a published author or a fellow student. Plagiarism is ‘literary theft’. Its presence completely negates the value of any written work and it will be dealt with severely. The mark for written work wholly or partly plagiarised will be 0. The School may, at its discretion, institute disciplinary action, or allow the work to be resubmitted.

There are four main types of plagiarism:

Copying.

This is the transcription of another author’s work, word for word, or with minor changes. If you wish to use another author’s words these must be placed in inverted commas or indented, and be footnoted, according to the section dealing with quotation above. Quotations should only be used when really needed. A thesis composed largely of passages by other writers, even if those passages are properly acknowledged, is likely to be of little value.

Paraphrasing.

This is the free rendering or amplification of an author’s meaning in different words: that is, the sequence of ideas and information is retained, but the words are changed. A common form of plagiarism combines copying with paraphrase, repeating some words from the original text and substituting different words from others. Very loose paraphrasing may be difficult to describe as plagiarism, but in so far as the work is derivative the need to cite its source remains. While paraphrasing can be a legitimate activity, it is best avoided.

Summarising.

It is often necessary to summarise the arguments of another writer: for example, when you wish to present a writer’s argument first before discussing it. In such circumstances it is not enough simply to provide a footnote; the structure of your sentences should make it quite clear to the reader that what he or she is reading is a summary.

Cobbling.

This is a term sometimes used to describe the practice of stringing together ideas and expressions from several different texts. This may produce an argument different from those in any of the sources, but it remains necessary to acknowledge the debt by exact references. Even when due acknowledgments are made, theses cobbled together in this way are seldom of much value.

Plagiarism can be eliminated if the normal conventions of citation of sources are observed. A common misunderstanding is to think that only quotations need footnotes.  This is not so. All facts, ideas, opinions, or pieces of information on which you have drawn need references. The only exceptions are items of common general knowledge.