Avoiding plagiarism is simple - always properly cite the original source of the ideas and information that you use in an essay or assignment. Most instructors at Bow Valley College require learners to use APA style. For help using APA style, go to the library's APA Style Guide, 7th Edition.
Use this flowchart to help determine if you need to cite a source to avoid plagiarism:
Turnitin is a tool that makes sure everything stays fair by checking students' work to see if it is plagiarized or not.
What does Turnitin do? Turnitin checks your work to see if it is plagiarized or not. When you submit your assignment, it checks it against a huge database of other work. After the check, it creates a report called a "Similarity Report." This report tells you if your assignment looks too much like something already in the database. It's a way of making sure everyone is doing their own work.
Important stuff to know:
1. Not everyone uses Turnitin: Your teacher might or might not use Turnitin for assignments. You've got to ask them to find out.
2. How to get help: If you have questions about the "Similarity Report," ask your teacher. The library can't help with this, but your teacher can guide you.
3. Rewriting help: If you need to make your assignment sound different, talk to your program tutor or the writing coach, who is available at the library.
4. The library has got your back: If you're confused about references and citations, ask the library at ask@bowvalleycollege.libanswers.com. They have a Writing coach that is available from 11 am to 1 pm every weekday, or, you can go to the Writing Centre, which is next to the library.
5. Tech troubles: If you're struggling with submitting your assignment online, check out the tutorials on Student Support in D2L. If that doesn't work, ask a friend or go to IT Support on the third floor of the North Campus building for help.
Remember, Turnitin is there to keep things fair, so don't stress about it – just make sure to do your best work!
"The mere copying of texts has no educational value. Moreover, it involves students in moral compromise and deception. Letting plagiarists incorporate parts of external texts into their works is, of course, not fair on the honest students who do not plagiarize" (Kakkonen & Mozgovoy, 2012, p. 1168).