Academic integrity means honestly representing your own work and properly crediting others' ideas — using someone else's words or ideas without attribution is plagiarism, whether intentional or accidental. Referencing (citing) means acknowledging your sources in a consistent format, so readers can trace where information came from and so you get credit only for your own original contribution.
Example
If you use a specific fact or quote from an article in your assignment, you'd cite it — for example, in a common format: (Smith, 2023) in the text, with the full source details listed in a reference list at the end.
Key terms
Plagiarism:
Using someone else's words or ideas without giving them credit.
Citation:
A reference acknowledging the source of information used.
Paraphrasing:
Restating information in your own words, while still citing the original source.
Questions
1. Plagiarism means:
Using someone else's words or ideas without credit
Always citing every source correctly
Writing only your own original ideas
A type of formal essay
2. A citation:
Acknowledges the source of information used
Is always optional in academic work
Replaces the need for any research
Is the same as plagiarism
3. Paraphrasing means:
Restating information in your own words, while still citing the source
Copying text exactly with no changes
Never referring to any source
Writing without any research
4. Academic integrity means:
Honestly representing your own work and crediting others
Copying others' work freely
Avoiding all research
Only citing sources you disagree with
5. Even paraphrased information from a source should:
Still be cited
Never be cited
Always be left unattributed
Be treated as your own original idea
6. Plagiarism can occur:
Intentionally or accidentally
Only intentionally, never by accident
Only when directly copying word for word
Never in schoolwork
7. A reference list at the end of an assignment provides:
Full details of all sources cited
A summary of the whole essay
The author's personal opinions only
A list of unrelated topics
8. Why is citing sources important even when you've rewritten the information in your own words?
The original idea still came from someone else and deserves credit
Paraphrased information never needs to be credited
Rewriting information automatically makes it your own original idea
Citations are only required for direct quotes
9. Which of these would be considered plagiarism?
Copying a paragraph from a website with no citation
Quoting a source with proper citation
Paraphrasing with a citation included
Writing your own original analysis
10. Using a consistent citation format (like APA or MLA) throughout an assignment helps:
Readers clearly trace and verify your sources
Confuse readers on purpose
Remove the need for any sources at all
Replace the need for original writing
11. Why might accidental plagiarism still be treated seriously, even without intent to deceive?
Proper citation practices are still expected regardless of intent, to maintain academic standards
Accidental plagiarism is never considered a real issue
Intent is the only factor that matters, with no other consideration
Accidental plagiarism is impossible to happen
12. A direct quote from a source should be:
Placed in quotation marks and cited
Presented as your own words with no indication
Always avoided entirely in every essay
Removed from any reference list
13. Why is it good academic practice to keep track of your sources while researching, not just when writing the final citation list?
It's much easier to accurately cite sources you've tracked as you go, rather than trying to recall them later
Tracking sources during research serves no useful purpose
Citations can always be added perfectly from memory at the end
Source tracking is only relevant for professional researchers
14. A student summarising a Wikipedia article's ideas into their assignment without citing it has committed:
Plagiarism
Correct academic practice
A type of citation
Nothing problematic at all
15. Why do universities and schools take academic integrity so seriously?
It ensures fair assessment of genuine understanding and protects the value of original work and ideas
Academic integrity has no real consequence for anyone
Schools only care about citation formatting, not honesty
Original work has no value compared to copied work
16. Why might referencing a wide range of credible sources (not just one) generally strengthen an academic argument?
It shows broader research and can demonstrate the argument is supported by multiple perspectives or evidence points
Using multiple sources always weakens an argument
A single source is always sufficient for any strong argument
Referencing more sources has no bearing on argument quality
17. Why is self-plagiarism (reusing your own previously submitted work without disclosure) still considered a form of academic dishonesty in most contexts?
Assessments generally expect new, original work for each specific task, not recycled previous submissions
Using your own previous work is always completely acceptable with no issue
Self-plagiarism does not exist as a real concept
Only copying from other people's work counts as plagiarism
18. Why might different academic disciplines (like science versus humanities) use different citation styles?
Different fields have developed conventions suited to their typical sources and referencing needs
All disciplines are required to use one single universal citation style
Citation style has no connection to academic discipline
Citation styles are chosen completely randomly with no reasoning
19. Why is understanding how to properly synthesise and cite multiple sources considered a valuable skill beyond just avoiding plagiarism penalties?
It reflects genuine critical engagement with existing knowledge and builds stronger, well-supported arguments
This skill has no value outside of avoiding punishment
Synthesising sources is unnecessary if you avoid direct copying
Only avoiding punishment matters, not the depth of research skill
20. Why might AI-generated text present new academic integrity questions for students and educators?
It raises questions about authorship and originality that traditional plagiarism guidelines were not originally designed around
AI-generated text has no relevance to academic integrity discussions
Academic integrity rules never need to adapt to new technology
This is a completely settled issue with no ongoing discussion
21. Why might a teacher ask students to submit early drafts or an annotated bibliography alongside a final essay?
It provides evidence of the genuine research and drafting process behind the final work
Draft submissions have no connection to verifying original work
Final essays alone always fully prove a student's research process
This request has no relationship to academic integrity at all
Answer key (parent copy)
1. Using someone else's words or ideas without credit
2. Acknowledges the source of information used
3. Restating information in your own words, while still citing the source
4. Honestly representing your own work and crediting others
5. Still be cited
6. Intentionally or accidentally
7. Full details of all sources cited
8. The original idea still came from someone else and deserves credit
9. Copying a paragraph from a website with no citation
10. Readers clearly trace and verify your sources
11. Proper citation practices are still expected regardless of intent, to maintain academic standards
12. Placed in quotation marks and cited
13. It's much easier to accurately cite sources you've tracked as you go, rather than trying to recall them later
14. Plagiarism
15. It ensures fair assessment of genuine understanding and protects the value of original work and ideas
16. It shows broader research and can demonstrate the argument is supported by multiple perspectives or evidence points
17. Assessments generally expect new, original work for each specific task, not recycled previous submissions
18. Different fields have developed conventions suited to their typical sources and referencing needs
19. It reflects genuine critical engagement with existing knowledge and builds stronger, well-supported arguments
20. It raises questions about authorship and originality that traditional plagiarism guidelines were not originally designed around
21. It provides evidence of the genuine research and drafting process behind the final work