This paper introduces the types and forms of academic plagiarism, and puts forward a series of preventive measures. These include the development of a rigorous sense of checking and scientifically sound writing skills, the standardised citation of references, and the optimal use of reference management tools. By following these recommendations, it will help undergraduates, master’s students, and doctoral students to protect themselves while optimising the efficiency of resource management needed to use their dissertations.
In recent years, academic plagiarism has become a growing concern with the strict requirements of academic paper checking, which involves personal integrity issues, infringes on protest mechanisms, and also damages the reputation of instructors and schools. However, we should have an in-depth understanding of it so as not to violate the moral boundaries unknowingly.
Firstly, we should clarify the manifestations of academic plagiarism. After detailed observation, it is not difficult to see that this is mainly divided into: direct copying of other people’s results, plagiarism and citation, the overall checking degree of the paper exceeds the standard and so on. Obviously, this is a direct violation of academic ethics, and therefore attracted the severe condemnation of the tutors.
In order to prevent these behaviours, we should adopt the following strategies:
(i) Fully understand the importance of weight checking. Several higher education institutions in Malaysia have adopted Turnitin as a plagiarism checking website and tool, in addition to providing free essay checking service to learners. It is important for learners to submit the checking report or query results to their tutors on time before handing in the paper.
(ii) Develop good writing habits. Try to avoid directly entering duplicate content, borrowing references need to respect the rights of the original author, strengthen innovation when summarising, and use your own language to express your views, which not only reduces the risk of plagiarism, but also consolidates the knowledge gained.
(iii) Correct use of the reference system. The serial numbers of the books and information fragments that are actually read rather than copied into the thesis are listed in a standardised way, so that the user can trace the source of the information and confirm the relevant arguments. In general, references are required to be authentic, reliable, and in order, summarising the proven results of the thesis.
Overall, the prevention of academic plagiarism is a systematic project that requires every learner to possess the qualities of being humble and studious, following the right rules and regulations, as well as having the right attitude towards academic ethics and other aspects. Only in this way can we truly achieve personal academic integrity and improve academic standards. Reference management software such as Mendeley, Wtire-N-Cite, Endnote and other aspects also provide great convenience.
