Your investigation already has sources, notes, and claims. Today is about the line between using someone else's ideas honestly and presenting them as your own. Plagiarism is easy to slip into by accident, especially when you are tired, rushed, or using AI. Getting this right protects the investigation you hand up, your Something Real project, and your name on the work.
No ready investigation sentence yet? Use one short claim from your existing search log or {{code:sm4_references}}, still tied to your Something Real topic. You will paraphrase that claim later in the lesson.
Here are the two sides, with four traps to avoid:
| Honest use | Plagiarism (needs fixing) |
|---|---|
| Quote in inverted commas with a citation | Copy-paste with no source named |
| Full paraphrase in new sentence shape, still cited | Change a few words, leave no citation |
| Attribute in the sentence (According to…) | Paste AI text and claim you wrote every word |
| Your own observation; no outside source needed | Lift a classmate's wording into your file |
In your head: if you change five words in a paragraph you found online and leave no source, is that still plagiarism? Be ready to say why or why not.
Source claim (imagined for teaching): A Fáilte Ireland page says local visitor numbers rose after a weekend festival and credits the rise mainly to day-trippers from nearby counties.
Weak rewrite (still plagiarism): Local visitor numbers went up after the weekend festival, mostly because of day-trippers from nearby counties.
Why it fails: same facts in almost the same order, no source named.
Strong rewrite (paraphrase + citation): Fáilte Ireland reported that day visitors from surrounding counties drove most of the post-festival increase in local footfall (Fáilte Ireland, festival impact note, date accessed).
Why it works: new sentence shape, clear owner, citation present. Your full reference list entry would still sit in {{code:sm4_references}}.
Same claim as a short quote: "day-trippers from nearby counties" drove most of the rise (Fáilte Ireland, festival impact note, date accessed).
Same claim with attribute built in: According to Fáilte Ireland, visitors from surrounding counties accounted for most of the post-festival footfall increase (Fáilte Ireland, festival impact note, date accessed).
Notice the attribute starter According to… still needs the citation. Attribution helps the reader; it does not replace the reference trail.
Use this short table as a reference while you sort the scenarios. Open it again only if you get stuck.
| Concept | Why it matters | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Plagiarism: presenting someone else's words, ideas, data, or structure as your own, whether you meant to or not. Accidental forms include light rewording, a missing citation, pasting AI text, or reusing a classmate's wording. | Intent does not cancel the problem; assessors need to see what is yours. | Copying three sentences from a Citizens Information page into your investigation with no source named |
| Quote and cite: keep the original wording in inverted commas (or a block quote) and name the source beside it. | Quotes show exact wording when the original phrasing matters. | "Youth unemployment fell in the latest quarter" (CSO labour release, date accessed) |
| Paraphrase: rewrite the idea fully in your own words and sentence shape, then still cite the source. A paraphrase without a citation is still plagiarism. | New wording does not make the idea yours on its own. | See the strong Fáilte Ireland rewrite above |
As a class, sort each scenario into Plagiarism (needs fixing) or Acceptable use. Talk first, then place the cards and check.
| Issue | Solution |
|---|---|
| I only changed a few words, so I thought it was fine | Close the source and rewrite the idea from memory in a new sentence order, then open the source again only to check facts and add the citation |
| I paraphrased carefully but forgot the citation | Add an in-text citation now and match it to a full entry in {{code:sm4_references}}. A clean paraphrase without a source is still plagiarism |
| AI wrote a useful draft and I am not sure what counts as mine | Edit until you can explain every claim aloud, keep the citation trail for any sourced facts, and add a one-line disclosure of what the AI helped with |
| I cannot find the original source of a sentence I already used | Do not keep untraceable wording. Delete it, replace it with a source you can verify, or rewrite from a source you hold in your search log |
Before you touch your own investigation, rehearse the method together.
That close-the-source habit is what you will use on your own passage next. First attempts often cling to the source order; that is normal. Memory first, source second, citation last.
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