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Academic Misconduct/Plagiarism

Hi all,

I am not sure if this is the right place to ask this type of question sorry.

I am a first year Law student with ambitions of becoming a lawyer.I have just been told by my university that part of my assignment has been found with plagiarism.I made a mistake by not referencing properly after paraphrasing as I wasn't aware of this. This was not intentional and due to time pressure and ignorance, I have missed out on referencing quite a lot.Now that they have found this as a major misconduct, this will go for an investigation and committee.I am quite stressed and this never happened in my studies before. I don't know how not to think about this as my dream is to become a lawyer and I am scared that this is going to affect my future studies.I have heard that because this is my first year the admission to legal profession won't have any issues.Can anyone put some light into this, please?

bob78
bob78Posted 04-03-2017 12:54 AM

Comments

 
Freda
FredaPosted 16-03-2021 11:22 PM

I think I am answering late but still, it may help some other students.

Plagiarism is a serious concern if you paraphrase the content, you need to cite the source from where you copied. Paraphrasing is another type of plagiarism that is not good especially for assignments. However, it's better to use a Plagiarism Checker to find any copied/paraphrased content and some tools also provide the option of citation at the same platform.  

This way, you can find the text that is plagiarized and easily cite the source to avoid any consequence. 

 
ranathomson
ranathomsonPosted 05-07-2018 05:11 PM

Don't worry..next time  you check your assignment by using Plagiarism  Checker to avoid duplicate content..

 
bob78
bob78Posted 02-04-2017 11:27 AM

Hi All,

 

I have been thinking this for a while but not sure I should do this.I thought of ringing the law society and asking whether I will have to have to worry about my future admission suitability.I have asked a professor about this he said not to worry too much but I still want to be sure if there is something more to it. Any thoughts and suggestions or anyone who has a little bit of information regarding this or someone who has gone thru this.It will be much appreciated as its really concerning me and my studies.Smiley Sad

 
 
JanaG
JanaGPosted 03-04-2017 12:04 PM

Hey @bob78 Smiley Happy

Calling the law society sounds like a good idea. You could always call other universities as well to see if that is something that will affect their admissions decisions? Hope you hear back soon!

 
missep
missepPosted 30-03-2017 12:16 PM

@bob78 Sorry to hear that! 😞
I feel like if it was urgent then they would have gone ahead with it but it's hard to say! That's just from my personal experience with meetings.

 
 
bob78
bob78Posted 31-03-2017 01:20 AM

They rung me today to reschedule and said will let me know a date soon 😞
 
bob78
bob78Posted 30-03-2017 12:02 PM

Meeting cancelled today due to weather warnings! Have to wait now Smiley Sad

Spoiler
 

 

 
 
N1ghtW1ng
N1ghtW1ngPosted 30-03-2017 04:24 PM
Ah no @bob78 that sucks. Are you in QLD? Pretty much everywhere has been closed down (schools, my uni lecturers and tutors cancelled today too) so hopefully they'll put it for the next closest time.
 
 
 
bob78
bob78Posted 31-03-2017 01:23 AM
N1ghtW1ng yes QLD they have rung to reschedule and told will let me know a date soon.
 
 
 
 
N1ghtW1ng
N1ghtW1ngPosted 31-03-2017 09:14 AM
I've got my fingers crossed for you @bob78 🙂
 
ms_xt
ms_xtPosted 08-03-2017 11:31 PM

Hi there @bob78

 

I had a good friend go through a similar experience. She was an occupational therapy student in her second year who sumbitted an assessment which had a portion of un-referenced content. 

 

She went through a very similar experience, however she was just given a warning at the end of the investigation, because:

 

  • She was still "early" in her degree (not a seasoned academic)
  • She had no other incidents of academic misconduct
  • She acknowledged her error, and advised that it was not intention, just an error
  • She offered to take on any further classes/workshops on referencing to prevent an incident from occurring again

I hope this information helps. Getting support from student guild/union will also be able to help. Make sure you also let some trusted family/friends know about the situation so you aren't facing this alone. 

 

Take care! Heart

 
 
bob78
bob78Posted 29-03-2017 11:33 AM
Hi ms_xt,
Thank s heaps, appreciate your reply.
 
missep
missepPosted 05-03-2017 08:38 PM

Hi @bob78,

As a uni student myself I can definitely relate to the pressures of plagiarism checks! 
I wanted to check in on you and see how you were going. 

I think at this stage keeping in contact with your course convener (or whoever is your point of contact) and making sure to explain what happened on your end will definitely help to clarify things.  

 
 
bob78
bob78Posted 07-03-2017 01:02 PM
Hi Missep,
Thanks for checking, still haven't heard from them yet waiting.Do you have anyone who has gone thru this?Very painful in initial years trying to figure out everything not knowing what is right or wrong.

 
 
 
missep
missepPosted 08-03-2017 12:33 AM

Hi @bob78!

I haven't known anyone personally but I have heard of incidences!  When we're new to uni it's a learning process and with the amount of students writing academically for the first time, these things can accidentally happen. I believe that when a discussion goes through about plagiarism, they can definitely recognise whether it was accidental or purposeful. 

Please don't let this discourage you for the future, if anything it can be seen as a learning experience! 

We all go through learning experiences in uni! 

Please keep us updated! 

 
 
 
 
bob78
bob78Posted 29-03-2017 11:35 AM

Hi missep,

 

Thank u for the support, I am going in for the committee meeting tomorrow.

 
 
 
 
 
missep
missepPosted 29-03-2017 07:11 PM

Hi @bob78!

Best of luck, don't be too scared okay? These things happen to students often! 

We're here if you want to talk about it afterwards!

 
 
 
 
 
bob78
bob78Posted 29-03-2017 10:45 PM
Thanks missep
 
 
 
May_
May_Posted 07-03-2017 03:35 PM
@bob78 a friend of mine went through it a few years ago and from what they said if it was accidental - which yours was - then it will all be ok 🙂 particularly so if you are in first year in the discipline and not too sure how things work yet
 
 
 
 
bob78
bob78Posted 29-03-2017 11:36 AM
thanks May_ appreciate it
 
 
 
SmileMonkey
SmileMonkeyPosted 07-03-2017 03:22 PM

Hey @bob78

It is great that you have spoken to the student union and they are willing to represent you. I have not known anyone personally to have gone through this process, but as @safari93 has said, it is important to just be as open and honest as possible when you have your hearing.

 
 
 
 
bob78
bob78Posted 29-03-2017 11:38 AM
Thanks Smile
 
 
 
 
 
N1ghtW1ng
N1ghtW1ngPosted 29-03-2017 06:55 PM
Good luck tomorrow @bob78 🙂
 
 
 
 
 
bob78
bob78Posted 29-03-2017 10:46 PM
thanks N1ght

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