Academic Honesty

Plagiarism Offense

Plagiarism is one of the most serious offenses, and it can directly affect your academic future. There are several types of plagiarism:

• Copy and Paste Plagiarism. If you take a sentence or phrase intact from a source, use quotation marks and reference the source.
• Word Switch. If you take a sentence from a source and change around a few words, it is still plagiarism! Consider putting some parts of the phrase in quotation marks and referencing the source. You can copy no more than 3 words in a row, including articles.
• Idea Plagiarism. If you use a creative idea or come up with a solution to a problem already suggested by a different author, it must be clearly attributed to that author.
• Self-Plagiarism. If you take information from your previous or other papers and add it to a new one, this act can be referred to as self-plagiarism. Exceptions are possible if your teacher assigns previous papers as parts of a final larger paper.

How to Avoid Plagiarism in Papers

When you have found the information that is ideal for your paper:

1. Quote the parts that cannot be paraphrased, reference the author, and mention the page number. Add direct quotations wisely. They should not be longer than 40 words. Direct quotations should not exceed 10% of your paper;
2. If a direct quotation is too long, cut it or separate it with your own words. Do not forget to use quotation marks for borrowed phrases, reference the author, and mention the page number;
3. Change the structure, order, and vocabulary of those sentences that can be paraphrased; add your own ideas, and add other authors’ ideas where you should also change the vocabulary;
4. Break complex ideas into smaller units;
5. If you mention facts or numbers, it is better to copy them as part of a phrase, put them in quotation marks, and cite;
6. If you mention numbers without quoting the material, change them where possible: e.g., use in the 1990s, instead of “in 1992, 1994, and 1997”, about 35% instead of “34.8%”.

AI Offense

New technologies like ChatGPT by OpenAI give not only possibilities to explore things and get answers quicker and more effectively but also raise concerns about the limits of their use.

These systems are often based on advanced machine learning models and can produce text that ranges from simple sentences to complex essays or research papers. They are trained on vast amounts of data and can mimic human writing styles.

The use of AI writing tools by students raises serious issues around academic integrity, including:

• Plagiarism: Learners may be tempted to submit AI-generated text as their own original work. This is plagiarism since they made little to no effort to generate that content.
• Authenticity: AI-generated text does not demonstrate the student’s own skills, learning or critical thinking. This practice undermines the goals of academic assignments.
• Hindering learning: Relying on AI writing prevents students from truly engaging with the course material and developing knowledge and skills.
• Unfair grading: AI text makes it hard for educators to accurately assess students’ abilities. Grades may not reflect actual learning.
• Unethical behavior: Using AI to complete assignments without attribution erodes academic integrity and trust between students and institutions.

❓ Academic Honesty FAQ