Strategies for Avoiding Plagiarism

There are many strategies for avoiding plagiarism. The following suggestions will help you manage your studies during those times in which students are most tempted to plagiarise.

Sometimes, life is busy. While we often can’t do anything to change this, we can use strategies to help manage our time effectively. Distance learning can be challenging and it is very easy to fall behind in your work. Although there are no strict deadlines for work submission, the suggested guideline dates should give you a good sense of where you should be in your studies. By keeping on track with these dates, you can avoid having to submit a semester’s worth of work in a very short timeframe.

The following time management strategies will help you manage your studies.

• Make a note of your suggested deadlines, then proceed as if the assignments are due a week (or a few days) before those deadlines. By doing so you should be able to complete the assignment well before it is due, leaving time to edit, complete additional research, or just relax. If something unexpected happens, you will have extra time to finish the assessment or ask for help.
• While completing your assignment, keep a list of all your sources. Your bibliography will be significantly easier to write, and you won’t forget where you found them. If you can’t reference something that requires a source, you cannot include it, so make sure to keep a detailed list.
• Break down your schedule. If you use ‘to-do’ lists, don’t write one enormous list for everything that needs to be done in the next six months. Break it down into manageable task lists that suit your lifestyle and needs. For example, if you are time orientated, you could have a list of tasks that must be completed in the next week, next two weeks, next month, etc. If you like to list things by priority, you could have rated lists, e.g. ‘High Priority,’ ‘Medium Priority’ and ‘Low Priority.’ You could also group things by category, e.g. ‘Things I need to do for my job,’ ‘Things I need to do for my studies,’ ‘Things I need to do for the house,’ etc. Use whatever approach works best for you.
• Avoid procrastination! No one wants to complete assignments at the end of a long day. If you are prone to procrastination, create a reward system. For example, if you enjoy social media, allow yourself to spend 15 minutes online for every hour you spend studying. If you enjoy a certain type of food, allow yourself a bit of indulgence for every task that you complete. When you break down large assignments in this way, you motivate yourself to finish the task. Make sure that you don’t get too focused on ‘finishing’ though, as you must still give the task the attention it needs.
• Most importantly, allow time for yourself in order to avoid becoming burned out and uninterested in your studies. Employing good time management skills will allow you enough time to learn, enjoy your studies and avoid stress, so it is unlikely you will be tempted to plagiarise.

Stress is part of everyday life. All we can do is try to manage and limit the things that cause us stress. The following suggestions will help reduce your stress levels with respect to your studies and to life in general.

• Maintain a healthy balance of work and leisure. Budget enough time to relax, sleep and address all tasks.
• Maintain a healthy lifestyle. Eat well to give your body the fuel it needs to carry you through each day.
• Employ time management skills to avoid leaving stressful tasks to the last minute.
• When problems arise with your studies, or if you have questions, read over the information you have been given in your Learner’s Guide and the Student Handbook. If you do not find the answer there, use the FAQ in the Student Lounge, or contact Student Assist so we can offer assistance.