Here's Everything You Need to Know About Plagiarism In College - And How To Avoid Getting Stung

To freshers it may seem like college is great – it involves going out, joining societies and the overall most fun part of your entire life.

However, a bit of work is inevitable and if you're finding it hard to wrap your head around the idea of plagiarism, look no further.

Here is the ultimate guide on plagiarism and how to nail that first essay...

So what is plagiarism?

The Oxford English Dictionary defines plagiarism as: “the action or practice of taking someone else’s work, idea, etc., and passing it off as one’s own; literary theft.”

In college terms it basically means stealing passages, direct quotations or copying someone else's work without proper attribution.

And what's the punishment?

The punishment varies from college to college - but generally you must either re-submit the piece of work, receive a written warning or if there's multiple accounts of plagiarism, under-take disciplinary action.

This can range from failing the subject to expulsion - depending on the severity of plagiarism.

Why is it such a problem?

Many people struggle to interpret their college course material and rather than add their own opinions to essay's they simply copy the lecturer's notes. This, unfortunately, is plagiarism.

From the college's point of view (and yours), you're not learning anything.

How is it detected?

Many colleges use the plagiarism software, Turnitin. This compares submitted work to a database of websites, articles and previously submitted assignments. So, you won't get away with copying and pasting off Wikipedia.

However, if you're really stuggling, using lots of quotes isn't technically plagiarism – so long as they're properly attributed. So that's your best bet, should you be chasing a word count and want to hit it with minimal effort.

That said, it'll probably get you a shit mark... but it might just get you off the hook.

I’m really stuck, my friend wrote this EXACT same essay last year and I don’t have time… will anyone know if I just copy it?

Yes. Turnitin references an entire database of past students' essays, so it's always better to submit something that's your own work.

Your college will know if you've directly copied another person's work, the database saves everything.

Anything else I should know?

When submitting to Turnitin it rarely says your essay is 100% plagiarism-free. Don't fret about this; it's as a result of certain quotations being flagged as copied, so just remember to always use quotation marks and reference like your life depends on it.

Most importantly, remember learning to reference takes practice, and everyone gets the hang of it after the first few essays. You've got this.

So there's no way of fooling the system?

Unfortunately not – you might have been able to get away with it 10 years ago but all this wonderful technology we have these days is a double-edged sword. So no dice.