CAVENDISH UNIVERSITY

ZAMBIA
BA115: BUSINESS AND
ACADEMIC COMMUNICATION

@2024
 PLAGIARISM AND REFERENCING
Many people think of plagiarism as copying another's work or
borrowing someone else's original ideas. But terms like
"copying" and "borrowing" can disguise the seriousness of the
offense.
Plagiarism is:
 the representation of another person's language, thoughts, ideas, or
expressions as one's own original work.
 a piece of writing or other work reflecting such unauthorized use or imitation.
 to use (another's production) without crediting the source
 Examples of plagiarism
1. Copying parts of a text word for word,
without quotation marks
2. Paraphrasing a text by changing a few
words or altering the sentence structure,
without citing the source
3. Giving incorrect information about a
source
4. Quoting so much from a source that it
makes up the majority of your text
5. Reusing work you’ve submitted for a
previous assignment, without citing
yourself
Submitting a text written entirely by
someone else (e.g., a paper you bought
Why is it wrong?
It makes it seem like these are your own
words.
It makes it seem like you came up with
the idea, when in fact you just rephrased
someone else’s idea.
If readers can’t find the cited source, they
can’t check the information themselves.
Even with proper citations, you’re not
making an original contribution if you
rely so much on someone else’s words.
Even though it’s your own work, the
reader should be informed that it’s not
completely new but comes from previous
research.
Not doing the work yourself is
academically dishonest, undermines your
 TYPES OF PLAGIARISM
In academic writing, plagiarizing involves using words, ideas, or
information from a source without citing it correctly. In practice, this can
mean a few different things. These seven types of plagiarism are the most
common:

Complete plagiarism: This overt type of plagiarism occurs when a writer

submits someone else’s work in their own name. Paying somebody to
write a paper for you, then handing that paper in with your name on it, is
an act of complete plagiarism—as is stealing or “borrowing” someone’s
work and submitting it as your own.
An example of complete plagiarism is submitting a research paper for
English class that your older sister wrote and submitted when she took the
class five years ago.
 Direct plagiarism is similar to complete plagiarism in that it, too, is the
overt passing-off of another writer’s words as your own. The difference
between the two is how much of the paper is plagiarized. With complete
plagiarism, it’s the entire paper. With direct plagiarism, specific sections or
paragraphs are included without crediting (or even acknowledging) the
author.
An example of direct plagiarism is dropping a line or two from your source
directly into your work without quoting or citing the source.

Paraphrasing plagiarism: is what happens when a writer reuses another’s

work and changes a few words or phrases. It’s a common type of
plagiarism, and many students don’t even realize it’s a form of plagiarism.
But if you’re presenting someone else’s original idea in your writing without
crediting them, even if you’re presenting it in your own words, it’s
plagiarism.
Self-plagiarism: Reusing content from your essay in your research paper
would be an act of self-plagiarism. You can absolutely use the same
sources and if you cite them properly, you don’t have to worry about being
accused of plagiarism.
It can be an issue if you write professionally. When you’re commissioned to
write for a client, the client owns that work. Reusing your own words for
subsequent clients is plagiarizing your own work and can damage your
professional reputation (as well as make your clients look bad).

Patchwork plagiarism: Also known as mosaic plagiarism, patchwork

plagiarism refers to instances where plagiarized work is interwoven with the
writer’s original work. This kind of plagiarism can be subtle and easy to
miss, and it may happen in conjunction with direct plagiarism.
An example of patchwork plagiarism is taking a clause from a source and
embedding it in a sentence of your own.
Source-based plagiarism: can be a tricky one to understand. With this
kind of plagiarism, the writer might cite their sources correctly but present
the sources in a misleading way.
For example, the writer might reference a secondary source in their work
but only credit the primary source from which that secondary source is
derived. Other examples include citing an incorrect source and even making
up sources.
Accidental plagiarism: Accidental plagiarism is perhaps the most common
type of plagiarism because it happens when the writer doesn’t realize they
are plagiarizing another’s work. Accidental plagiarism includes the following:
 Forgetting to cite your sources in your work
 Not citing your sources correctly
 Failing to put quotes around cited material
 Even accidental plagiarism is subject to consequences, such as failing
your assignment.
 About Images, Videos, and Music
Using an image, video or piece of music in a work you have produced
without receiving proper permission or providing appropriate citation is
plagiarism. The following activities are very common in today’s society.
Despite their popularity, they still count as plagiarism.

 Copying media (especially images) from other websites to paste them

into your own papers or websites.
 Making a video using footage from others’ videos or using copyrighted
music as part of the soundtrack.
 Performing another person’s copyrighted music (i.e., playing a cover).
 Composing a piece of music that borrows heavily from another
composition.
 Consequences of Plagiarism
Plagiarism can destroy a student’s reputation: The assignments and projects can be cancelled
on a small scale, or a penalty can be charged, such as remaking assignments.
A poison to an academic career: If a student is expelled from an institution due to plagiarism,
the student may not be admitted to another university or college. The student will become
unable to write something as it has no credibility.
Monetary penalty can be charged: If a person steals the work of an author, journalist, or
professional writer, it can also lead to a monetary penalty. This depends on the sensitivity of
the content a person is stealing.
Legal issues can be raised: It is the responsibility of every writer to give the author credit or at
least cite the author’s name in both in-text citations and bibliography.
It can hinder the learning process: Academic writing is a whole procedure in which a person
selects a topic. After that, the person conducts primary and secondary research on it and then
forms it on the paper.
 Avoiding Plagiarism
These are some key ways in which you can avoid plagiarism:
1. Acknowledge all the sources of information you use in your work by
providing accurate in-text citations and complete references.
2. Follow the referencing style recommended by your School.
3. Think about the best way to integrate what you have read into your
writing.
4. Take accurate notes when reading and researching.
5. Do not fabricate or falsify data.
6. Never give or receive unauthorised help with academic work.
7. Only hand in work that you have done yourself.
8. Do not submit work that you have already submitted for another
assignment, whether the work was submitted at this University or another
institution.
 PUNCTUATING, REFERENCING AND QUOTING
1. Punctuations - In simple terms, punctuation marks are a symbol to create
and support meaning within a sentence or to break it up.

Examples of different punctuation marks include: full stops (.), commas (,),
question marks (?), exclamation marks (!), colons (:), semi-colons (;),
apostrophes (') and speech marks (",").

Punctuation, such as a full stop, comma and apostrophe, are the marks used
in writing to separate sentences and elements of sentences and clarify
meanings.
 Use Of Punctuations
Punctuation mark (Symbol) Sentence example

Full stop / Period . I am a student.

Comma , Ashlin, my sister’s daughter, came home today.
Colon : You have two options: Take a bus or hire a cab.
Semicolon ; I did not like the dish; however, I ate it since I did not want
to waste it.
Apostrophe ’ Ritu’s brother is moving to Sydney.
Quotation marks “ ” My mom said, “Make sure you get home before 7 p.m.”
Hyphen – We have a black–eyed white bunny.
Dash — My mom’s friends — Sheela, Immaculate and Agnes —
visited her today.
Parentheses () Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu (popularly known as ‘Mother
Teresa’) was born on August 26, 1910.
Slash / You can use a noun/pronoun to start a sentence.
Exclamation mark ! Wow! That is great news.
Question mark ? What would you like to have for dinner?

Ellipsis … We wrote in the comments section, “We were here. This

is the … again.”
2. Writing References/Bibliography
IN-TEXT CITATION:
• It consists mainly of the authors' last name and the year of publication (and
page numbers if it is directly quoted) in round brackets placed within the
text. If there is no discernible author, the title and date are used.
REFERENCE LIST:
• The reference list should be ordered alphabetically by the last name of the
first author of each work. References with no author are ordered
alphabetically by the first significant word of the title.
• Use only the initials of the authors' given names. No full stop and space
between the initials. Last name comes first.
• Here is an example that cites a book with one author using harvard style.
Material Type In-Text Example Reference List Example

(Holt, 1997) or Holt (1997) wrote Holt, D.H. 1997. Management principles and
Book: single author
that... practices. Sydney: Prentice-Hall.

(McCarthy, William & Pascale, McCarthy, E.J., William, D.P. & Pascale, G.Q. 1997. Basic
Book: 2 or 3 authors
1997) marketing. Sydney: Irwin.

Book: more than 3 Bond, W.R., Smith, J.T., Brown, K.L. & George, M.
(Bond et al., 1996)
uthors 1996. Management of small firms . Sydney: McGraw-Hill.

Book: no author (A history of Greece, 1994) A history of Greece. 1994. Sydney: Irwin.

Jones, M.D. (ed.) 1998. Management in Australia .

Book: editor (Jones, 1998)
London: Academic Press.

Bullinger, H.J. & Warnecke, H.J. (eds.) 1985. Toward the

Book: 2 or more editors (Bullinger & Warnecke, 1985)
factory of the future . Berlin: Springer-Verlag.
3. Quotations ("") – Quotation marks (also known as quotes or inverted
commas) are used to indicate direct speech and quotations. In
academic writing, you need to use quotation marks when you quote a
source. This includes quotes from published works and primary
data such as interviews. The exception is when you use a block quote,
which should be set off and indented without quotation marks.
Whenever you quote someone else’s words, use a signal phrase to
introduce it and integrate it into your own text. Don’t rely on quotations to
make your point for you. There are two types of quotation marks: ‘single’
and “double.” Which one to choose generally depends on whether you
are using American or British English.
Note: Some punctuation usage rules vary among
authorities. For example, the Associated Press (AP)
Stylebook is a guide specific for news media and
journalists while The Chicago Manual of Style (CMS) is
 Punctuation for a Quote
Ending a Sentence With a Quote
You can end your sentence with a quote or piece of dialogue. Any punctuation
that comes at the end of the quote (such as periods, quotation marks, or
question marks) stays inside the marks.
Then he said, "How would you like to get some ice cream after the movie?"
Beginning a Sentence With a Quote
When a sentence begins with a quote, place the punctuation inside the
quotation marks before continuing the sentence. If there’s no end
punctuation, use a comma.
"I would love to but I really ought to go home," I replied.
Dashes, Colons, and Semicolons Go Outside Quotation Marks
If you have a sentence where another type of punctuation mark (such as a
dash, colon, or semicolon) follows a quote, it goes outside the quotation
mark.
Capitalize Complete Sentences in Quotes
If your quoted text is a complete sentence (or multiple sentences), capitalize
the first letter, regardless of where you put the quote within the larger
sentence.
•She said, "We went to the movies.“
Can You Use Quotation Marks for Emphasis?
Style guides and editors are torn on whether quotation marks are effective
ways to emphasize text. Those who support this usage argue that quotation
marks make a word or phrase more visible, just like italicizing or underlining
it.
But those against quotation marks for emphasis say that it’s too easy to
misuse them in this way, especially because quotation marks can also show
sarcasm or non-literal meaning. Just imagine someone saying these
statements with air quotes, and determine whether they seem genuine or
not.
 Sources
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plagiarismhttps
2. https://www.dictionary.com/browse/plagiarism
3. https://www.plagiarism.org/article/what-is-plagiarism
4. https://www.scribbr.com/plagiarism/types-of-plagiarism/
5. https://www.evelynlearning.com/what-are-the-consequences-of-plagiarism-in-academic-
writing/
6. https://www.ncl.ac.uk/academic-skills-kit/good-academic-practice/plagiarism/
7. https://www.grammarbook.com/punctuation/quotes.asp
8. https://ufh.za.libguides.com/c.php?g=91522&p=590675
9. https://byjus.com/english/punctuation/
10. https://www.grammarly.com/blog/types-of-plagiarism/