PPGA’s Guide for Students: How to Avoid Plagiarism

Plagiarism is the act of using or passing off someone else’s ideas or work as your own without proper acknowledgment of the source. It is a serious breach of academic integrity and represents substandard scholarship. The Public Policy and Global Affairs (PPGA) program adopts a zero-tolerance policy toward plagiarism. If you plagiarize, the imposed penalties may include grade reduction, zero on the assignment in question, course failure, and dismissal, depending on the degree of severity. Repeat offenders will receive more severe penalties. Following NTU official policy, PPGA maintains a database. 

To avoid plagiarism, you should follow the guide below:

[1] You must cite the source when you are using another person’s words, ideas, data, images, and research in your work. Quotation marks should be used when you incorporate another person’s exact words into your own writing. You should place a citation after each instance of quoted information and after paraphrasing.

[2] Referencing should be complete and accurate. The reference list should appear at the end of the paper. It must include all references cited in the text of the paper in alphabetical order by the surname of the first author. Key elements of the reference include author, date of publication, title, and source (i.e. list the publisher). You should record all the sources you cite when researching for an assignment.

[3] Self-plagiarism: You should not reuse in part or in whole your previous work submitted as an assignment for a prior module. Presenting your earlier work as a new, original work in other modules is self-plagiarism and it is an academic misconduct. You should undertake original research from scratch for your assignments in PPGA modules.

[4] Avoiding self-plagiarism in your Final Year Project (FYP): Your FYP is a substantive piece of scholarly work that demonstrates the accumulation of your university studies. You may decide to build on a prior paper you have submitted in another module. To avoid self-plagiarism, work closely with your assigned supervisor to prepare a major revision and to properly cite your original work.

[5] Time management is important. Intentional or accidental plagiarism occurs when you rush to get their assignments done. You must be clear about assignment deadlines and stay organized. Do not wait until the last minute to complete your assignments.

[6] There are many sources that are available to assist you in avoiding plagiarism. The PPGA program recommends the following sources:

• NTU Academic Integrity Handbook
  Link to NTU Academic Integrity policy in student intranet

• Preventing plagiarism when writing
  https://www.plagiarism.org/article/preventing-plagiarism-when-writing
  

• An official APA webpage
  https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/references/examples

You are free to use other citation styles (e.g. Chicago style, Harvard style) as long as you cite consistently in your written assignment.

Version: March 2024