Studying Online;Succeeding through Distance Learning at University

Coping with online assessment 187 
y
A score of zero for the entire module with no opportunity to 
resit 
y
A need to resit the entire semester 
y
A need to resit the entire year 
y
Expulsion from the university. 
As you can see, the typical penalties range from mild to severe. 
For cases of small amounts of unintentional copying, the typical 
penalty would be reduced marks. You don’t want that to happen, 
so avoiding unintentional copying is essential. However, there is 
another important reason. Many universities record instances 
of Academic Misconduct on your “Academic Transcript”. Tis is 
a document that shows all of your marks and achievements for 
each of your individual modules. Tis document is sometimes 
requested by potential employers or other universities if you go 
on to do another degree. You certainly do not wish employers, 
for example, to see that you were accused of cheating in your de-
gree. Tat does not create the right impression. Hence, it is not 
only crucial for the marks on your module to avoid plagiarism, 
but it is also of fundamental importance to your future career 
prospects. 
Take proper notes 
I have investigated many students for potential breaches of ac-
ademic conduct, and in most instances, the issue comes down 
to poor notetaking. Students appear to have no way of knowing 
where they obtained the information they have in their notes. As 
a result, they can mistakenly think the work is their own when it 
is actually copied. Tey only discover this when Turnitin or Co-
pyleaks, for instance, has identifed the original source. To avoid 
plagiarism, make sure you follow the guidance in Chapter 4 on 
taking notes. Also, it is good practice to rewrite your own notes. 
Review your notes and then rewrite them. Tis helps consolidate 
what you have learned, but it also reduces the chances of using 
copied material as you will have rewritten anything you copied 
inadvertently. 

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