Plagiarism Policy |
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Definition of plagiarism
Academic plagiarism means the copying or downloading of work which is then submitted for assessment. Plagiarism may occur in a range of ways:
Academic plagiarism means the copying or downloading of work which is then submitted for assessment. Plagiarism may occur in a range of ways:
- whole texts may be copied
- paragraphs of work may appear verbatim
- notes, phrases, or sentences may appear in undigested or unassimilated form
- it may sometimes be deliberate, when a student knowingly submits work that is not their own.
- it may sometimes be inadvertent, where a student produces a piece of work over a long period and loses track of notes, quotations and additional material, or fails to footnote and reference adequately.
However it occurs, in whole or in part, deliberately or inadvertently, academic plagiarism is not acceptable at Tallis. It is cheating; it is immoral; it places the school’s reputation at grave risk. It is a behaviour which we will not accept.
Contrariwise, writing or writing critically about the ideas of others is central to academic debate, and should be encouraged. But such citation must always be cited, footnoted, and referenced properly.
We need our students and their parents to be clear that plagiarism isn’t acceptable.
How we will share our view that plagiarism is not acceptable
So Tallis staff will approach plagiarism in three ways.
- We will teach students to cite work correctly, quote from authorities, and how to paraphrase ideas derived from reading. This is the responsibility of each teaching subject in the sixth form. Each subject must teach students about the requirements of academic writing in the subject and as part of this process must explain the plagiarism policy of the school to each student.
- We will make it clear that plagiarism is unacceptable. This will happen in a number of parallel ways. We will make it clear to students as follows:
- At the start of each year the pastoral leadership of each year group will discuss the matter in assembly and explain the school’s policy clearly.
- At the start of each year BTEC Subject leads will write to the parents of all BTEC students about plagiarism and other matters, and will make it clear what the plagiarism policy is.
- This policy will be posted to the website.
- At the start of each year and prior to each piece of substantial coursework individual subject teachers will remind students about our plagiarism policy.
- We will make it clear to parents that plagiarism is unacceptable by:
- Explicitly covering academic plagiarism in the induction meeting for new sixth form parents.
- Making our plagiarism policy easily available on the school website for reference.
How we will treat students who plagiarise work
Thomas Tallis operates a ‘two strikes and you’re out’ rule.
Stage 1: Verbal Warning
In the first instance, if a staff member thinks a student has submitted plagiarised work for assessment, this will be discussed with the student and the student’s parents, usually by calling home. The plagiarism policy will again be drawn to the attention of both the student and the parents, and the parties warned that the student’s place is at risk for calling the sixth form into disrepute. An opportunity will be given for work to be revised where this is possible. In some cases, it will not be and the assessment component will simply be omitted.
Stage 2: Written Warning and exclusion
In the second instance, a meeting will be called between the Head of Year, the parents, and the Head of Sixth Form. The plagiarism policy will again be drawn to the attention of both the student and the parents. A written warning that the student’s place is at risk for calling the sixth form into disrepute will be issued and the student excluded for a fixed term. An opportunity will be given for work to be revised where this is possible. In some cases, it will not be and the assessment component will simply be omitted.
Stage 3: Permanent Exclusion from the Sixth Form
In the third instance, it will be assumed that the student is continually and wilfully defying the norms of conduct for the sixth form and the Headteacher will therefore move to permanently exclude the student concerned.
Note concerning timing of discovery of plagiarism
- Sometimes work is submitted by a date decided by teaching staff in order to manage student and staff workload, and not marked or moderated until later. If plagiarism is discovered at a later stage, it may not be reasonable to allow work to be redrafted and resubmitted, for example because a coursework submission deadline to the exam board is very close. In such cases, work will be withdrawn from examination.
- Sometimes large amounts of work may be found to be plagiarised during final moderation or marking processes. Where such a breach of the school’s plagiarism policy affects a substantive range of work e.g. across several modules of a BTEC course, the school may, at the Headteacher’s discretion, move to permanently exclude a student for flagrantly cheating in blatant defiance of our standing instruction not to do so.
Revised 7.2020 JB