1. Ursula Connolly School of Law Plagiarism Advisor
Plagiarism Induction
Ursula Connolly
School of Law Plagiarism Advisor

2. What is Plagiarism?
Plagiarism is the act of copying, including or directly quoting from, the work of another without adequate acknowledgement.
(NUI Galway Code of Practice 1)
Student responsibility to ensure academic honesty of submitted work
(Code of Practice 2 and 5)

3. Why is it important?
Academic honesty
Code of Practice on Plagiarism

4. Give me some examples………
Minor
Major
apparently innocent misuse of materials;
inadequate citation such as poor referencing, inappropriate paraphrasing;
over-reliance on sources without sufficient of the candidate’s own work.
copying multiple paragraphs in full without acknowledgement of the source;
taking essays from the Internet;
copying all or much of the work of a fellow student;
submitting the same piece of work for assessment under multiple modules;
Final years/second offenders.

5. Do you know what Plagiarism is?
1. When writing an essay I copied and pasted some information I found on the internet into my essay. I didn’t reference the internet site. Is this plagiarism?
Yes or No?

6. Using other people’s words
2. I decide to quote Nelson Mandela in an essay as I really admire him. I don’t bother to mention that the words I’m using are Nelson Mandela’s and not mine. Is this plagiarism?
Yes No

7. Summarising the work of others
3. You read a very interesting article and use lots of ideas from it throughout your essay. You provide a reference at the end of the essay to the article. Is this plagiarism?
Yes No

8. Quoting a friend
4. If you quote your friend you don't have to cite him/her or present the words as a quotation.
True
False

9. Common knowledge 1: Proverbs
5. You don't have to cite famous proverbs because they're common knowledge.
True
False

10. 2. Everyone knows that…
10. The fact that the Supreme Court is the final court of appeal in Ireland is common knowledge which means you don't have to cite the source in which you found it.
True
False

11. Other peoples’ ideas
6. You read an article and it has some great arguments. You put these all into your own words (paraphrase) and include them in your essay. You don’t feel you have to reference this as you have put everything in your own words. Are you..
Correct
Plagiarising

12. And more on that….
7. You use a few phrases from an article and mix them in with your own words in an essay you are writing. To avoid plagiarism you must:
Present any words that are not yours as quotations and provide a reference in each instance of use
Present the phrases that are not your words as quotations and provide a reference at the end of the essay , there is no need to provide references in the body of the essay
(c) Provide a reference at the end of the essay, there is no need
to reference as you go along or to present the words as quotations as they are now mixed with your own words

13. Songs
8. Song lyrics don't have to be cited, actually.
True
False

14. Sharing is (Not) Caring
14. You let a friend copy some of your work. Is this plagiarism? (By whom?)
Yes No

15. Recycling is (not) best
16. You use some sections from another of your assignments in your current assignment. You do not acknowledge this in your current work. Is this plagiarism?
Yes No

16. But how will anyone find out??
Turnitin software
And we’ve probably read what you’re plagiarising……

17. What will happen when I am found out
Plagiarism is usually innocent and inadvertent
Process:
Referral to School of Law Plagiarism advisors: Ursula Connolly and Caterina Gardiner
Code of Practice is applied:
Warning in minor cases (usually negatively impacts on marks)
Resubmission with or without a cap
Fail with no opportunity to resubmit
In very serious cases referral to University Discipline Committee

18. Now I’m scared – how will I learn not to plagiarise?
Read the Code of Practice on Plagiarism
Pay very careful attention in your Legal Research and Methods class
Ask your lecturer for advice
If in doubt reference (it is difficult to ever over-reference)

19. The end!
Code of Practice found at