WRITING / Academic Integrity

Academic Integrity

Academic Integrity is a productive approach which entails a focus on promoting the positive values of honesty, trust, fairness, respect, responsibility, and courage as the intrinsically motivated drivers for ethical academic practice.

The lesson

This is a speaking lesson that involves defining ‘academic integrity’, looking at how other universities address academic integrity, and understanding some of the key principles associated with the term. The lesson is designed to promote the positive values of honesty, trust, respect, responsibility and fairness within the academic community.

What is ‘academic integrity’ ?

Here are a range of university definitions on the key principles and values of academic integrity:

When considering academic integrity, the discussion tends to revolve around cheating, plagiarism, dishonesty, fraud, and other academic malpractice and how best to prevent these behaviors. A more productive approach entails a focus on promoting the positive values of honesty, trust, fairness, respect, responsibility, and courage as the intrinsically motivated drivers for ethical academic practice. (International Center for Academic Integrity, 2019).

Plagiarism is submitting someone else’s work, ideas, or words as your own, irrespective of your intent to deceive.  This means that even unintentional plagiarism through poor notetaking or inattentive referencing may be penalised.  Understanding what plagiarism is, and learning techniques to avoid it, is an essential part of your academic training. (Cambridge University, 2019) 

Academic honesty (Integrity) means always giving full credit for any other people’s contributions to our own achievements (i.e. by full and correct referencing) and never falsifying the results of any research. Academic honesty is fundamental to the values promoted by the University and no student should be allowed to obtain for themselves, or for someone else, an unfair advantage as a result of academic dishonesty, whether this is by plagiarism, collusion with another, cheating, or other means. (Exeter University, 2019)

You practise academic integrity in your academic writing by working with the five values in mind, and particularly by using correct and accurate referencing. This shows that you can: be accurate in transcribing details; be honest about which ideas were derived from others; act fairly by not taking credit for others’ work; take responsibility by finding out what is required of you and how you should carry it out; and show respect for others by acknowledging the part they have played in building your knowledge and understanding. (Reading University, 2019) 

Academic misconduct is any type of cheating that occurs in relation to a formal academic exercise. The University takes all reported incidences of academic misconduct seriously and seeks to ensure that they are dealt with efficiently and appropriately. Examples are plagiarism, collusion, falsification, cheating, deceit, personation. (Edinburgh University, 2019)

Academic Misconduct: Kinaesthetic Activity.

One part of the download lesson includes using these cards for students to discuss what it is and give appropriate examples. This is then followed up with a writing activity to define these terms. 

Professional Proofread.

The final part of the lesson examines what is acceptable and not acceptable for a professional proofread. 

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Plagiarism lesson – webpage link

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Dictogloss: What is plagiarism?

This is a nice way to begin this lesson through asking students what they know about academic plagiarism at university. This is then followed by a dictagloss activity where learners are required to construct a short text (3 sentences) by listening and taking notes. In small groups they try to reconstruct the text. There are many key skills used in this type of lesson; listening, note-taking, communication with other students, grammar and vocabulary development.

More information on Dictogloss lessons: go here

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