5. Plagiarism checks

Plagiarism is defined as presenting someone else’s work, in whole or in part, as your own. Work means any intellectual output, and typically includes text… - Academic Misconduct Policies

All extended written work needs to be checked for plagiarism, using the plagiarism checking software TurnItIn. Extended written work will be particular assignments from across various OCA course units such as critical reviews, essays or written reports, or pieces of creative writing such as prose, poetry and script (please note that this does not include learning log entries or written evaluations).

The Assessment Team will carry out the plagiarism checks on students behalf by uploading their work to TurnItIn - see the How do I submit? chapter in the Submitting your work section for more details. To help students understand whether or not their work requires a plagiarism check, we have made the following list of units that will have a requirement:

Stage One (HE4)

  • All Creative Writing course units (CW4) - Final drafts of selected assignments for assessment (please note there is no need to send original drafts, annotated copies or tutor reports for plagiarism checks).
  • CA4CAT - Final drafts of selected assignments for assessment.
  • CA4ECA - Final draft of 1000 word Critical Review.
  • AH4UVC - Final drafts of all assignments for assessment.
  • DR4EDM - Final draft of the 500 word Critical Evaluation.
  • PT4DFP - Final draft of 1000 word Critical Review.
  • PT4UPM - Final draft of the 500 word Critical Evaluation.
  • PH4APH - Final draft of 1000 word Critical Review.
  • PH4CAN - Final draft of the essay for assignment 4.
  • TX4IAP - Final draft of the essay for assignment 4.
  • TX4ITP - Final draft of 1000 word Critical Review.
  • VC4IVC - Final draft of 1000 word Critical Review.
Stage Two (HE5)

  • All Creative Writing course units - Final drafts of selected assignments, and the final draft of the creative reading commentary for assessment (please note there is no need to send original drafts, annotated copies or tutor reports for plagiarism checks).
  • All other OCA course units at Stage Two (HE5)* as each of these course units requires the production of a critical review / essay / written report or other form of extended academic writing.
*Textiles 2: Contemporary Context is the only course unit exempt from this check as there is no requirement to produce an essay / critical review.
Stage Three (HE6)

  • All Creative Writing course units - Final drafts of selected assignments, and final draft of the creative reading commentary for assessment (please note there is no need to send original drafts, annotated copies or tutor reports for plagiarism checks).
  • All Contextual Studies / Research / Visual Research course units at Stage Three (HE6) as each of these course units requires the production of an extended piece of academic writing (often referred to as a dissertation).
  • All 3.1 course units - Depending on how you have approached your studies on 3.1, and your course unit's own requirements, you may need to submit for plagiarism checks. If you have chosen written options instead of presentation options for the Critical Review or Dissertation proposal and literature review, then you will need to submit these.
If the course unit you are preparing for assessment does not appear in this list, you do not need to submit for plagiarism checks.