Glossary

Patch writing is when a student copies short sections of text from a source and makes only minor changes — such as rearranging words or replacing a few terms — without fully paraphrasing or giving proper credit. It is often unintentional but still counts as poor academic practice. This is also known as Turnitin's Find and Replace above.

Plagiarism is when you present someone else’s words, ideas, or work as your own without proper acknowledgment. This can happen intentionally or accidentally, for example, by copying text directly or failing to include correct citations and references.