The best way to avoid an unintentional breach of academic integrity is to always follow good academic practice.

Good academic practice is writing academic work in your own voice, using your own words and ideas. Ideas, information and text from other sources should always be acknowledged in your work to show where you took it from, and to show how it supports your own arguments. Acknowledging the work of others will allow you to demonstrate your depth of reading and application of this information will develop your own understanding, and show your tutor your interpretation of your findings. This will protect you against plagiarism and demonstrate there is evidence to support the topic that you are discussing.

By following good academic practice you will ensure that the work submitted is your own work, and all of the sources of information that you have used to help to develop your work are referenced correctly.

Good study practices that help to maintain academic integrity and avoid academic misconduct.

Cite Them Right, Studiosity and Turnitin will help you to develop your study skills, but there are also other things that you can do:

• Make sure you know which referencing style you are required to use. Harvard is the most common, but some courses use a different style. If unsure, check with your tutor.

• When using quotations, make sure they are to support the points that you are making, and that the quotations do not become the essay.

• When paraphrasing, move the source away to ensure that you write the information in your own words and are not tempted to copy it from the source. Paraphrase information to use to support your own points, so your essay does not become a list of paraphrased information without any of your own voice.

• Keep clear and accurate notes to help remember which sources you used for which information. Make it clear which parts you have quoted and always note the full source reference. This will also help you to find the source and information again if you need to.

• Proofread your work before you submit it, and check your referencing. You can find more information in the document Editorial assistance [DOCX]

• Manage your time. Ensure that you leave yourself enough time to use any feedback provided, and to make any changes noted following proofreading or use of Turnitin. If you are having problems with Turnitin, you should contact your tutor. Do not submit your work through Turnitin (or any other similarity checker) at any other Institution.

• Take care to keep your work secure. Don’t pass it around to others. This includes your draft work. Sharing work with a friend, or helping them with an assignment may result in collusion.

• Organise your sources. Make sure the sources that you save have the full reference, and the link where it was found (if it is an online source).

• Keep your passwords safe. If someone sees your password, then change it. If you suspect a security breach, report this to your unit co-ordinator immediately.