Referencing and avoiding plagiarism

Learn how to reference effectively, paraphrase correctly and avoid plagiarism.

Reference effectively and avoid plagiarism
Avoiding plagiarism for beginners
Paraphrasing for Beginners
Referencing FAQs
UCL Plagiarism Guidelines

Reference effectively and avoid plagiarism

How should I reference at IOE?

At IOE you will usually need to use a version of APA or Harvard. These are two systems that use in-text referencing (not footnotes). The two systems are very similar. The most important aspect is to be consistent, and to use the same format for all your references. The following UCL Library open resources provides an overview on managing references, how to reference and avoid plagiarism:

Guidance on using other referencing styles is available, too.

Reference managers

Many students prefer to use a reference management software. Although there are many packages available, the IOE Library provides LibGuide instructions for the following:

Avoiding plagiarism for beginners

N.B. Please try to understand the ideas behind referencing and discussing different authors' ideas in your work. If you do not have time to do that, you can follow this beginner's guide.

You may stop after any of these steps, and you will have successfully avoided plagiarism. To fully develop your writing, you will probably prefer to progress through as many steps as you can.

Step 1: Direct Quotation

Find the idea that you want to include.
Write this idea in direct quotes.
Add the author’s name and page number.
Put the full reference at the end of your document, to make sure you remember to include it.
You have avoided plagiarism. Stop here, or continue to Step 2, to develop your writing further.

Example: Direct quotation

Universities also place the burden of understanding plagiarism and attribution conventions on students. There are myriad information-laden web-based self-help tutorials and workshops on related sites for the universities in this study. Many are excellent resources and can be helpful. Nevertheless, the lack of additional, detailed individual assistance about the techniques of engaging in academic writing conventions, particularly for students studying in off-campus or distance modes, raises issues of equity for plagiarism management policymakers. (Sutherland-Smith, 2010:9).

References: Sutherland-Smith, W. (2010) "Retribution, deterrence and reform: the dilemmas of plagiarism management in universities", Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management, 32(1) 5-16. Available at Taylor and Francis Online (Accessed on 11 January 2019).

Step 2: Paraphrase

Decide what the key information is, for the purposes of your discussion.
Change the order of the ideas and the words. This can help you to emphasise your interpretation of the original text.
Change the word form/grammatical form if necessary.
Use synonyms if appropriate, but do not change any specific terminology. In the example below, terms such as 'plagiarism management', 'universities', 'students' and 'distance' were not changed. The best place to find suitable synonyms will be elsewhere in the same article.
If some words stay the same in the same order (three or more consecutive words), you need to use quotation marks around these words.
Repeat the author's name or a pronoun through the paraphrase, so it is clear that we are still reading a paraphrase.
Add a detail about where the information came from, if necessary. Here, the information 'through her study of eighteen policies on plagiarism from different universities' was added, to give some context to the claims.
Keep the author name and page number (you may have been told that you do not need the page number for a paraphrase, but if the idea came from one specific page, it is still useful to include it. That way, you can check the information again if you need to.)
You have avoided plagiarism. Stop here, or continue to Step 3, to develop your writing further.

Example: Paraphrasing

Step 3: Add your own examples (optional)

Do you have any examples of what is being discussed? These could be from your own practice or professional experience; from observations you have made; from other literature or published materials.

Include an example with a phrase such as 'To illustrate...' or 'An example of this can be seen in...'
Include the reference if your example is from published materials.
You have avoided plagiarism. Stop here, or continue to Step 4, to develop your writing further.

Example: Adding your own examples

The responsibility for learning how to reference correctly and avoid plagiarism tends to be passed from the university to the students, as Sutherland-Smith (2010:9) found, through her study of eighteen policies on plagiarism from different universities. She points out that many universities provide self-access resources for students to try to learn more about this area. An example of this can be found on the website “Writing Centre Online” (UCL Institute of Education, 2019), which includes a “Beginners Guide” page with step-by-step instructions on avoiding plagiarism, as well as various links to referencing and plagiarism resources. Despite this type of provision, Sutherland-Smith observes, the support provided is, on the whole, inadequate. Sutherland-Smith expands further to explain that this inadequacy is partly because the advice provided is not specific enough for each student, and partly because distance students will often receive even less support. She concludes that these issues carry implications for the decisions around plagiarism management, as some students may receive more assistance than others, leading to questions of inequity.

Step 4: Add your own comment (Optional)

Do you have any comments on the ideas? These could be:

To support the ideas.
To suggest the ideas are not valid.
To show how the ideas connect to something else.
To comment on the context.
To add another critical comment.

Make sure it is clear, through the language you use, which is your comment, and which is the original paraphrase.

See the section on criticality for more ideas: Criticality

Example: Adding your own comment

The responsibility for learning how to reference correctly and avoid plagiarism tends to be passed from the university to the students, as Sutherland-Smith (2010:9) found, through her study of eighteen policies on plagiarism from different universities. She points out that many universities provide self-access resources for students to try to learn more about this area. An example of this can be found on the website “Writing Centre Online” (UCL Institute of Education, 2019), which includes a “Beginners Guide” page with step-by-step instructions on avoiding plagiarism, as well as various links to referencing and plagiarism resources. Despite this type of provision, Sutherland-Smith observes, the support provided is, on the whole, inadequate. It is interesting to note that this inadequacy can be seen at both an institutional level and from a student perspective, which will have implications as discussed in the following section. Sutherland-Smith expands further to explain that this inadequacy is partly because the advice provided is not specific enough for each student, and partly because distance students will often receive even less support, possibly, we could note, as they are wholly reliant on online materials. She concludes that these issues carry implications for the decisions around plagiarism management, as some students may receive more assistance than others, leading to questions of inequity. It could be considered that inequities are a particularly important issue in discussions of plagiarism management, given that controls on plagiarism could be seen, in principle, as intended to make the system fairer.

Paraphrasing for Beginners

“Paraphrasing” means rewriting the same information in a different way. It helps you to better integrate the ideas into the particular piece you are writing.

Step-by-step paraphrasing

Decide what the key information is, for the purposes of your discussion.
Change the order of the ideas and the words. This can help you to emphasise your interpretation of the original text.
Change the word form/grammatical form if necessary.
Use synonyms if appropriate, but do not change any specific terminology. In the example below, terms such as “plagiarism management”, “universities”, “students” and “distance” were not changed. The best place to find suitable synonyms will be elsewhere in the same article.
If some words stay the same in the same order (three or more consecutive words), you need to use quotation marks around these words.
Repeat the author's name or a pronoun through the paraphrase, so it is clear that we are still reading a paraphrase.
Add a detail about where the information came from, if necessary. In the example below, the information “through her study of eighteen policies on plagiarism from different universities” was added, to give some context to the claims.
Keep the author’s name and page number (you may have been told that you do not need the page number for a paraphrase, but if the idea came from one specific page, it is still useful to include it. That way, you can check the information again if you need to).

Text Comparison

Example original text

Example paraphrased text

Sentence Analysis

Sentence 1

Original: Universities also place the burden of understanding plagiarism and attribution conventions on students.

Paraphrase: The responsibility for learning how to reference correctly and avoid plagiarism tends to be passed from the university to the students, as Sutherland-Smith (2010:9) found.

Comment: Here, the following changes have been made:

Order of ideas or words (look for where “university” appears)
Word form (active “place the burden on” changed to passive “to be passed to”)
Synonyms (“understanding” changed to “learning how to”, “plagiarism and attribution conventions” changed to “reference correctly and avoid plagiarism”). Note some key terms have not been changed.

Sentence 2

Original: There are myriad information-laden web-based self-help tutorials and workshops on related sites for the universities in this study.

Paraphrase: She also points out that [...] many universities provide online self-access resources for students to try to learn more about this area.

Comment: Here, the following changes have been made:

Order of ideas or words (look for where “university” appears).
Word form (descriptive “There are” changed to active “many universities provide”).
Synonyms (“information-laden web-based self-help tutorials and workshops on related sites” changed to “online self-access resources”, “myriad” changed to “many”). Note some key terms have not been changed.
Some information has been added, to help explain the meaning (“for students to try to learn more about this area”).

Sentence 3

Original: Many are excellent resources and can be helpful.

Paraphrase: N/A

Comment: This sentence was not included in the new paraphrase, as the writer felt it was not important for their discussion.

Sentence 4

Original: Nevertheless, the lack of additional, detailed individual assistance about the techniques of engaging in academic writing conventions, particularly for students studying in off-campus or distance modes, raises issues of equity for plagiarism management policymakers.

Paraphrase: ...The support provided is, on the whole, inadequate. Sutherland-Smith expands further to explain that this inadequacy is partly because the advice provided is not specific enough for each student, and partly because distance students will often receive even less support. She concludes that these issues carry implications for the decisions around plagiarism management, as some students may receive more assistance than others, leading to questions of inequity.

Comment: Here, the following changes have been made:
• The information has been divided into sub-points, to try to express the point more clearly. Some explanatory words and linking words have been added, to help explain the meaning and to show that it is the original author who has made these claims (“Sutherland-Smith expands further to explain that...”)
• Synonyms (“issues of equity” changed to “questions of inequity”, “raises issues” changed to “carry implications”). Note some key terms have not been changed.

Referencing FAQs

As Hyland (1999) describes, referencing is central to academic writing: “Reference to previous work is virtually mandatory in academic articles [...] as a strategy for supporting current claims" (Hyland, 1999, p. 362).

What is the purpose of referencing?

The simplest way to think of referencing is to imagine that your reader might want to find out more about a piece of information or check the facts for themselves. Your reference shows them where to look.

When do I need a reference?

It is important to provide correct references for any information which you give in your essay. Information could include ideas, facts, phrases, or anything else.

This means that you need to include references for all information, even if it is from something which you do not consider “academic”, such as an unregulated website. (Technically, it is probably best to avoid these sources of information anyway).

What if I use paraphrasing?

You need to provide a reference, whether or not you are using the exact words. Even if you change the words, someone might want to find out more about the information you are referring to.

If you use the same words as the original, you need to use quotation marks around this section, followed by the reference. If you do not use the same words, you do not need the quotation marks, you only need the reference itself. Make sure you include a list of references at the end of your essay. See the referencing guidelines for how to do all of this.

Are there other reasons to reference?

Referencing makes your point more convincing. Your reference shows that this information has been published somewhere, and you did not just make it up. If it is an opinion, your reference shows that other people writing in this area also share your opinion, which makes the opinion more interesting for your academic reader.

What about my own ideas?

Sometimes you might want to think of your opinion as unique. It might be a coincidence that someone else thought of the same idea as you. Even if it is a coincidence, and you thought of the opinion by yourself, putting a reference to someone who also thought this way makes your opinion seem more valid to the academic community, as it is not simply one person's idea. Sometimes, it might be the case that you are the first person to have thought of an idea. If that is the case, you need to show how your idea is different from another person's idea. In all of these situations, you still need references!

How much referencing do I need?

It is a good idea to have a reference for every claim you make, if possible. Do not worry about using referencing too often. As a general rule, it is better to use the references too often than not enough. This does not refer to the number of different authors/texts, but the frequency of citing those authors. It should be high-frequency overall. You may have been given some advice not to use too many references. This advice means you don't need to have a long list of authors that you didn't read properly. Instead, it is better to use fewer texts, but read them in more detail. You may follow the examples on this site, or you may use a slightly different format. The most important aspect is to be consistent and use the same format for all your references.

What if I use an author who is mentioned by another author?

In this situation, you need to use “cited in”. It is often useful to describe the secondary quotation a little more and show how it fits in with the first author. Here is an example. The writer had read Gray et al (2011) but wanted to mention another reference they used.

Example – Secondary citation: To further support their argument, Gray et al (2011:866) summarise a number of other studies which reported positive evaluations of coaching by coachees, including statistics such as "participants estimated return on investment of 5.7 times the initial cost" (McGovern et al, 2001, cited in Gray et al, 2011:866). Studies such as these appear to indicate that coaching can be worthwhile for the individual and the organisation. Source: Anonymous UCL Institute of Education student (2013).

In this example, only Gray et al (2011) will appear in the reference list at the end of the assignment, as this is the only one that the student has read as a primary source.

What if I can't find a reference for the exact point I want to make?

You can often say that something is similar to an author's point, or connected to an author's point. You can even say that something contradicts an author's point. Using a reference doesn't only mean showing exactly where the information came from. It can also mean showing how information is connected to something that is published. It could also mean showing how an author's statement may be applied in a different context. Here is an example of something similar to this.

Example – Using a reference to show connections: As some of Bion's (1961) work has shown, groups can be particularly resistant to learning, preferring (if we can speak of a group as having a "preference") to preserve itself. As learning often means movement and change, it can be resisted by a group. Whether or not an 'organisation' can be considered equivalent to a 'group' in this context is outside the scope of this discussion, but insights such as those from Bion's work have been applied very usefully to analyses of the way that organisations may function in particularly conservative ways (see, for example, Armstrong, 2005). It can be useful to remember this when working with various staff members within an organisation.
Source: Anonymous UCL Institute of Education student (2013)

UCL Plagiarism Guidelines

For more information, please refer to the UCL guidelines on academic integrity, which include definitions of plagiarism.

Academic Integrity
Turnitin FAQs (UCL Wiki, access only via VPN/network)
Guidance for students submitting work via Turnitin in Moodle (UCL Wiki, access only via VPN/network).

If you are a UCL student and interested in the similarity report of your assignments, you may find this Moodle course useful:

Turnitin Similarity Checker (self-access UCL Moodle course - login required).