How to avoid plagiarism
Text matching software
What is text matching software?
Text matching software can be used to see if work has been copied from other sources. While not all of these programs are the same, most of them check assignments against thousands of other published sources to see if there are sections of the text that are identical.
What happens if the lecturer finds material that has been copied?
Obviously if the material that has been copied has been done appropriately (is not too long and has been referenced) then the lecturer will accept the work.
If a lecturer finds large copied sections that are not adequately referenced then it is likely that they will believe that the assignment has been plagiarised and they will follow the University’s Academic Misconduct policy (PDF 252KB) accordingly.
What if I change one or two words?
The software is likely to pick up text that closely resembles the original. In addition to that, your lecturer will often be able to see where the text style or tone changes from your own words and that will make them think you’ve copied too closely another person’s writing.
What text matching software is used at La Trobe?
La Trobe has a licence to use a program called Turnitin.
- Lecturers are also able to use Turnitin to check whether your assignment is that same as an assignment submitted by another student in your class or an assignment of a student from a previous year.
- Turnitin has a large database of online articles and student essays.
- Turnitin may be made available for some students to check their work before submitting it.
Further information
Go to the La Trobe Turnitin page.
