3.4 Academic honesty and referencing

One of the things that a lot of our students worry about when they first arrive is referencing and avoiding plagiarism. The key message is that if you read all of the guidance we offer in our Academic Honesty module and from our Library and Study Skills services you are unlikely to get into trouble! 

Unfortunately, every year some of our new students ignore the need to understand our expectations of using sources, referencing, and use and acknowledgement of AI tools. When students don't complete the required reading and tasks to make sure that they understand good academic practice, this often results in work being investigated for academic misconduct. Please do not let this happen to you!

There’s no need to worry as we have lots of resources and support available, and you can always ask your Academic Personal Tutor or module tutors if you’re not sure about anything.

Most of the students who find themselves accused of academic misconduct are not intentionally cheating. Turn the flash cards below to see some of the main mistakes these students make.

If after reading the resources and completing the induction tasks you are not sure about how to reference your work correctly, please seek support - the consequences of not understanding this important area can be serious, but we are on your side and want to help you! This short video explains why it’s so important to ask for help if you need it.