Good study habits help avoid plagiarism

Not many students set out to cheat by copying work from other writers, but it's quite easy to plagiarise accidentally. So it's important to learn good study habits that help reduce this risk. Here are some tips:

• Effective time management is essential. If you don't give yourself enough time to write and re-write your work, you may be tempted to 'borrow' from your sources. Aim to finish essays at least a day before your deadline.
• When you make notes, always use your own words. Then when you write up the notes, there's no danger of repeating phrases from your sources.
• As you make notes, keep a careful record of the source - author, date, title, page numbers and publisher. This will save time later and should ensure accuracy.
• Before handing it in, check your work to make sure that every in-text citation is included in the list of references.

Your university or college website may explain the policy on plagiarism. Alternatively, try this site:

http://uefap.com/writing/plagiar/plagfram.htm