Academic writing requires that you acknowledge other peoples works, ideas, sources used in a paper, assignment, report and conference papers. This is called referencing or citing.
Plagiarism is not just about copying a classmate's assignment but also taking someone else's ideas and writings from books, journals and websites and pretending they are your own.
In the academic environment it is essential to indicate where you got your information and ideas from - your lecturers want to see what you have read.
Turnit in is an internet based tool used to check and detect plagiarism in an essay or any kind of academic related document. Its a licensed based software which universities and school obtain through subscription. Register at www.turnitin.com.
There are many user guides on the Turnitin site eg an instructor guide and a Student user guide;
to acknowledge the work and ideas of others
to avoid plagiarism. Not referencing another person's work is a serious offence.
to indicate the range of sources you used; how up-to-date your sources are and whether you used relevant material.
EndNote is a software package designed to help you to organise citations and create a bibliography. The software can be downloaded from the University software library. EndNote allows you to:
A referencing style is the preferred format for creating references to sources of information. Format includes the order of elements of a reference as well as punctuation.
There are many different styles, and you must not mix and match them. It is important to follow a single style. Your department will have a policy on which style you should use. Ask your lecturer or consult your course outline to find out which style to use.
Below are some of the most popular referencing styles: