How can you avoid plagiarism?

1. Always attribute quoted words. It does not matter if the quote is long or short, every quoted passage taken directly from the work of another should be clearly marked as such by the use of quotation marks. The full reference, including page number, should be given for each quotation, either in a footnote or endnote.

2. Always give full references for paraphrases of others' ideas or judgments. Simply rewriting a passage in your own words does not avoid plagiarism. Paraphrases or summaries of the ideas or judgements of others should be referenced fully.

3. Give references to support purely factual claims where necessary. Plagiarism is mainly about the appropriation of others' ideas and judgements. Factual references are less sensitive. You certainly do not need to include references for facts that are well established (the date of the battle of Waterloo, for example). However, where the facts are less well known and some other investigator has persuasively established some claim of fact, you should acknowledge this in your references, as a well as the sources for any quantitative data you might use.

4. Include a reference to any source used in a paragraph in that paragraph. One way to find yourself sailing rather too close to the wind is to include a single reference at the end of a long passage of more than one paragraph that gives the source for the entire passage. This can give the reader the impression that the reference refers only to the last paragraph or so, rather than the whole passage. If for some reason you wish to avoid repeating references to the same source, then include a statement or footnote early on indicating that the discussion that follows is drawn from such-and-such a source. For example: 'Except where indicated otherwise, the account of overseas trade set out in this section is drawn from Davis, English overseas trade, pp. 35-42'.

5. Remember that a full bibliography is necessary. You should be at pains to include every source on which you have relied in your bibliography.

Ultimately, the golden rule should be: when in doubt, give the reference. This not only protects you from unintended plagiarism, it is also good manners: credit should be given to sources where and when they are used. That is why it is not unusual to find academic articles of 10,000 words or so that have anywhere from 50 to 150 references. Students sometimes worry that giving full references throughout will make it appear as though their papers are just compilations of other people's views. However, even if there are 100-odd references in a medium-length article, the author's own contribution to the discussion should be clear to the reader. If it is not, then the paper is probably not a very strong one. This means that thorough referencing will provide a good check on the substance of your dissertations: if the finished product looks like nothing more than a cut-and-paste job full of others' ideas and data, it probably needs to be rewritten.

Note that you are required to submit a signed statement that you understand what plagiarism is, and have not committed it, and that you agree to make available an electronic copy of your essay for testing by the JISC plagiarism detection service.