Unilicungo University

Faculty of Letters and Humanities

Honours Degree in English Language Teaching

Laidino Carlitos Fernando

Academic Writing and Plagiarism

Mocuba
2022
 Laidino Carlitos Fernando

Academic Writing and Plagiarism

Work to be delivered at Honour’s Degree

in English Language Teaching, at
department of Faculty of Letters and
Humanities as evaluative requirement.

Tutor: Dr. Antunes Alexandre Tomas Jaime

Mocuba
2022
Contents

Introduction…………………………………………………………………………..…..4

Objectives……….………………………………………………………………………..4

General Objective………………………………………………………………………...4

Specific Objectives…………………………………………………………………….....4

Research Questions……………………………………………………………………....4

Research Methodology…………………………………………………………………..4

1. Academic writing and Plagiarism………………………………………………...5

1.1.Academic writing………………………………………………………………...5
1.2.The goal of Academic Writing…………………………………………………...5
1.3.Structure of Academic writing……………………………………………….......5
1.4.Features of Academic writing………………………………………………........6
1.5.The importance of academic writing………………………………………….....8
1.6.Referencing in academic writing………………………………………………...8
1.7.Procedures used before writing an academic writing…………………………....9
2. Plagiarism………………………………………………………………………...9
2.1.Types of plagiarism……………………………………………………………...10
2.2.How to avoid plagiarism………………………………………………………...12

Conclusion…....................................................................................................................13

References Bibliography………………………………………..………….....................14
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Introduction

The present task of Study skills I is going to talk about, Academic Writing and Plagiarism,
where is finding the definition of an Academic writing andplagiarism, the outline of the
generalorganization of a piece of an academic writing, the importance of academic writing,
the features of academic writing, procedures used before writing an academic writing, types
of plagiarism and how to avoid plagiarism in academic writing.

Objectives

General Objective

 To comprehend the concept and the structure of an academic writing and the concept
of plagiarism.

Specific Objectives:

 Distinguish academic writing and plagiarism;

 Avoid plagiarism in academic writing;
 Identify the importance of a good academic writing.

Research Question

 What is academic writing?

 How an academic writing must be structured?
 What is plagiarism in academic writing and how to avoid it?

Research Methodology

All research assignment follows a general rule or methodology to achieve the goals settled to
be achieved. Therefore the methodology to be used in an assignment depends on the type of
research given.

So, the methodology used for this research was based on exploratory or Qualitative and
Quantitative methodology, that consist on researching the facts and analyzing the contents.
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1. Academic writing and Plagiarism

1.1.Academic writing
According to UNIVERSITY OF LEEDS, Academic writing is clear, concise, focused,
structured and backed up by evidence. Its purpose is to aid the reader‟s understanding. It has a
formal tone and style, but it is not complex and does not require the use of long sentences and
complicated vocabulary.

Each subject discipline will have certain writing conventions, vocabulary and types of
discourse that you will become familiar with over the course of your degree. However, there
are some general characteristics of academic writing that are relevant across all disciplines.

According to Anne Whitaker, (2009) Academic writing is, essentially, the writing you have to
do for your university courses. Your instructors may have different names for academic
writing assignments (essay, paper, research paper, term paper, argumentative paper/essay,
analysis paper/essay, informative essay, position paper), but all of these assignments have the
same goal and principles.

Patricia Vineski,Academic writing refers to scholarly work supported with facts and
evidence.Academic writing is the process of breaking down ideas and using deductive
reasoning, formal voice and third person point-of-view. It is about what you think and what
evidence has contributed to that thinking.

1.2.The goal of Academic Writing

In an academic writing assignment, you will start by asking a good question, then find and
analyze answers to it, and choose your own best answer(s) to discuss in your paper. Your
paper will share your thoughts and findings and justify your answer with logic and evidence.
So the goal of academic writing is not to show off everything that you know about your topic,
but rather to show that you understand and can think critically about your topic (and this is
what earns you a good grade).

1.3.Structure of Academic writing

An academic writing is basically structured by:

Introduction

Whereis found the subject or topic, statement of the problem, etc. Comments on the way it is
to be.
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Development

Consists on the presentation, discussion and analysis (involving comments on advantages and
disadvantages).

 Main idea (examples and details);

 Main idea (examples and details).

Conclusion

A summary of the main points of the development. Own views/opinions and decision.

Many academic writing are organized in a similar way- introduction; development of main
ideas or arguments; conclusions. Each part of the writing will consist of language functions:
particular uses and structures of the language organized according to the specific purpose that
the writer has in mind in wishing to communicate his ideas etc. to other people-describing,
defining, exemplifying, classifying etc. Each language function consists of sentences and/or
paragraphs that are joined together or linked by connectives (words or phrases that indicate a
logical relationship).

1.4.Features of Academic writing

According to UEfAP, Academic writing in English is linear, which means it has one central
point or theme with every part contributing to the main line of argument, without digressions
or repetitions. Its objective is to inform rather than entertain. As well as this it is in the
standard written form of the language.

There are main features of academic writing that are often discussed such as:
 Complexity;
 Formality;
 Precision;
 Objectivity;
 Explicitness;
 Accuracy;
 Hedging;
 Responsibility;
 Organization;
 Planning;
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 Correct APA Style.

Complexity

Written language is relatively more complex than spoken language. Written language has
longer words, it is lexically denser and it has a more varied vocabulary. It uses more noun-
based phrases than verb-based phrases. Written texts are shorter and the language has more
grammatical complexity, including more subordinate clauses and more passives.

Formality

Academic writing is relatively formal. In general this means that in an essay you should avoid
colloquial words and expressions.

Precision

In academic writing, facts and figures are given precisely.

Objectivity

Written language is in general objective rather than personal. It therefore has fewer words that
refer to the writer or the reader. This means that the main emphasis should be on the
information that you want to give and the arguments you want to make, rather than you. For
that reason, academic writing tends to use nouns (and adjectives), rather than verbs (and
adverbs).

Explicitness

Academic writing is explicit about the relationships in the text. Furthermore, it is the
responsibility of the writer in English to make it clear to the reader how the various parts of
the text are related. These connections can be made explicit by the use of different signaling
words.

Accuracy

Academic writing uses vocabulary accurately. Most subjects have words with narrow specific
meanings. Linguistics distinguishes clearly between "phonetics" and "phonemics"; General
English does not.
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Hedging

In any kind of academic writing you do, it is necessary to make decisions about your stance
on a particular subject, or the strength of the claims you are making. Different subjects prefer
to do this in different ways.

A technique common in certain kinds of academic writing is known by linguists as a „hedge‟.

Responsibility

In academic writing you must be responsible for, and must be able to provide evidence and
justification for, any claims you make. You are also responsible for demonstrating an
understanding of any source texts you use.

Organization

Academic writing is well organized. It flows easily from one section to the next in a logical
fashion. A good place to start is the genre of your text. Once you have decided on the genre,
the structure is easily determined.

Planning

Academic writing is well planned. It usually takes place after research and evaluation,
according to a specific purpose and plan.

Correct APA Style.

All academic papers should follow the guidelines of the American Psychological Association
as found in Research and APA Style Guide 2010, regarding in-text citations, the reference
list, and format.

1.5.The importance of academic writing

Academic writing serves as a tool of communication that conveys acquired knowledge in a
specific field of study. Writing academically will help students analyze, convey
understanding, think critically and focus on technique and style.

1.6.Referencing in academic writing

According toUNIVERSITY OF LEEDS, referencing is an important part of academic work. It

puts your work in context, demonstrates the breadth and depth of your research, and
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acknowledges other people‟s work. You should reference whenever you use someone else‟s
idea.

Why reference?
Referencing correctly
 helps you to avoid plagiarism by making it clear which ideas are your own and which
are someone else‟s;
 shows your understanding of the topic;
 gives supporting evidence for your ideas, arguments and opinions;
 Allows others to identify the sources you have used;
When to reference?

Whenever you use an idea from someone else's work, for example from a journal article,
textbook or website, you should cite the original author to make it clear where that idea came
from. This is the case regardless of whether you have paraphrased, summarized or directly
quoted their work. This is a key part of good practice in academic writing.

1.7.Procedures used before writing an academic writing

According to Anne Whitaker, (2009) before writing an academic writing there are some
procedures to take into considerations such as:

 Choose a topic;
 Think (brainstorm);
 Research;
 Discover your thesis;
 Plan (outline);
 Write;
 Revise;
 Edit;
 Proofread.

2. Plagiarism

The word Plagiarism is derived from Latin word „Plagiare‟ which means to kidnap or
abduct. Plagiarism means when one is using someone else words, ideas, thoughts, expressions
without citing original creator. In simple words, whenever we are using other‟s work in our
 10

research work, we must give proper credit to original creator. Plagiarism is also known as
Academic theft and considered as unethical in Academic Community. By paying homage to
original source we are doing ethically right and easily we are in safe zone because Research
Misconduct is serious offence and attracts fines, suspension, legal penalties as per existing
law of a country or nation. It varies country to country.

According to Oxford College of Emory University, Plagiarism means the use of “a writer's
ideas or phraseology without giving due credit”.

According to Stanford University, defines plagiarism as the "use, without giving reasonable
and appropriate credit to or acknowledging the author or source, of another person's original
work, whether such work is made up of code, formulas, ideas, language, research, strategies,
writing or other form."

According to The U.S.A. Naval Academy, Plagiarism is “the use of the words, information,
insights, or ideas of another without crediting that person through proper citation."

According to the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, to ”plagiarize” means:

 To steal and pass off (the ideas or words of another) as one‟s own
 To use (another‟s production) without crediting the source
 To commit literary theft
 To present as new and original an idea or product derived from an existing

2.1.Types of plagiarism

Direct Plagiarism

Direct Plagiarism means when an researcher copies exact words, without using quotation
marks or attribution, presenting it as his or her own, known as Direct plagiarism or Verbatim
Plagiarism.

Paraphrasing Plagiarism

This is the most common type of Plagiarism and required more attention. In this type of
Plagiarism, when someone is using another‟s writings with minor changes such as either
grammatical change or restructuring the sentences but the core idea or theme will remain
same. This also falls under the umbrella of Academic misconduct and we need to maximizes
the awareness in academic community.
 11

Self-Plagiarism

Self-Plagiarism means when an author reuses some or whole part of his or her previously
published manuscript without any citation or attribution. This is referred as Self-Plagiarism
or Auto Plagiarism. Even it is his or her real work but it required attribution while an owner
again uses some part of it, in its another research or academic writings otherwise it will be
considered as Auto Plagiarism. Many reputed National or International Academic journal
strictly follows the rules and check the plagiarism issues before publishing any manuscripts.
This is beneficial for the research ethics and integrity.

Mosaic Plagiarism

This type of Plagiarism is hard to detect because when a researcher or student intentionally
borrows someone else‟s exact phrases or text in his or her writings without any quotation
marks or any attribution, called as Mosaic Plagiarism or Patch writing. It attracts serious
consequences and considered as Academic Misconduct.

Accidental Plagiarism

Accidental Plagiarism occurs whenever an author forgets or neglects to cite sources, or

unintentionally paraphrases a source by using similar words or sentences without giving
proper due is also considered as unethical in research writings and needs to be avoided in
order to bring more just and ethical writings which is beneficial for the society.

Fabrication and Falsification

Data Fabrication means generating or creating data and findings that never had been actually
done or observed in real survey. Data is created and analysis without any actual surveying
process.

Creating imaginary data or information without any real survey is known as Data Fabrication.
While on the other hand, Data Falsification means altering or manipulating the existing data
or information to say something else. Changing or altering answers from real respondents in
a survey is known as Data Fabrication. Both terms i.e. Data Falsification & Fabrication falls
under the ambit of Academic Misconduct or Plagiarism.
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2.2.How to avoid plagiarism

We can take major steps, measures in order to avoid the issues of Plagiarism, and brings more
research ethics and integrity in the Academic world by implementing these golden rules as
follows:

 Be honest with your writings or work is the first virtue in order to avoid the issues of
Research misconduct.
 By clear understanding of what is Plagiarism and its consequences.
 By clear understanding of IPR, Plagiarism and Copyrights etc. should be in mind
before publishing any manuscripts.
 When you have used a source in your paper, give credit where it is due. Pay tribute or
homage to real source of information.
 Citation is basic and foremost thing while you are using someone else contents in your
writings.
 Reference management tools are always helps and saves you from the menace of
Plagiarism. So that researchers must know how to cite
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Conclusion

Reaching in this step of the present work we can assure that academic writing refers to
scholarly work supported with facts and evidence and the process of breaking down ideas and
using deductive reasoning, formal voice and third person point-of-view. We can also say that
academic writing is writing about what you think and what evidence has contributed to that
thinking.

Regarded to Plagiarism we can conclude that plagiarismis using someone else words, ideas,
thoughts, expressions without citing original creator. Therefore it means whenever we are
using other‟s work in our research work, we must give proper credit to original creator.
 14

Reference bibliography

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31, 2004, from Duke Libraries Web site: http://www.lib.duke/edu /libguide/choosing.htm;

Hamid, S. (2004).Writing a research paper. Retrieved July 10, 2004, from Purdue Online
Writing Lab Web site: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/workshops
/hypertext/researchw/index.html;

http://www.uefap.com/writing/feature/featfram.htm;

https://library.leeds.ac.uk/info/1402/referencing/47/referencing_explained

Conference: 9th INTERNATIONAL LIBRARY INFORMATION PROFESSIONAL

SUMMIT (ILIPS-2020 )At: Gwalior, MP, India August 2018Journal of Society of
Anesthesiologists of Nepal 4(2):47-48

DOI:10.3126/jsan.v4i2.21202

SHARMa A. Avoiding plagiarism in academic writing. Journal of Society of

Anesthesiologists of Nepal(JSAN) 2017;4(2):47-48.