1 What is good academic practice?

Good academic practice is about making sure that anyone who reads your work can easily identify your thoughts and ideas on a subject, and can distinguish these from the thoughts and ideas of others.

‘Academic integrity’ is an all-encompassing term. Universities can use it to define the good academic practice that enables every individual to demonstrate how much and what they have learned within their subject or programme of study, and that they are able to put this into practice. It also allows tutors and other students to fairly assess the extent of learning progression made by each individual, and encourages everyone to respect and acknowledge the work of others.

‘Plagiarism’, however, is considered to be inappropriate practice. This is another wide-ranging term: it can cover everything from poor study skills and a lack of understanding of what is expected at your level of study, to straightforward fraud in the form of intentional cheating. This resource will help you gain a deeper understanding and an appreciation of how to develop your good academic practices, which in turn will help you to avoid plagiarism.