Academic integrity is extremely important and an integral part of coursework at the
Virtual University of Pakistan. Plagiarism is a serious offence to academic integrity; it is
academic theft and dishonesty. It is essential that academic integrity procedures and
policies are respected and practised at all times.
As a student of Virtual University
· Do share ideas with one another
· Do consult books, journals, magazines, internet sources as much as possible
· Do take care in downloading sources and taking notes
· Do use sources wisely and fairly
· Do take great care to distinguish your own ideas and knowledge from information
derived from sources
· Do place quotations properly within quotation marks and cite them fully
· Do acknowledge paraphrased material completely
· Do expect to make mistakes managing and citing sources. Do expect to correct
them
· Do learn the myriad rhetorical purposes that including and citing sources can
serve
· Do have fun with sources, think of using them as weaving, building, playing with
blocks, or any other metaphor that you associate with "taking what's at hand and
making something of it”
· Do discover an argument so you have a distinctive voice in your own
assignment/paper, and are not overwhelmed and intimidated by sources
· Do develop and assert your own ideas and beliefs – to think for yourself. But at
the same time do engage the thinking of others, to place your own writing within
the context of academic discourse by using and criticizing arguments from that
discourse
· Do use the word processor to help you manage sources (for example, put sources
you are quoting or paraphrasing in a different font and font color until the final
draft so you don't accidentally forget they came from some other writer)
· Do observe the practice of careful record-keeping. Always write down the author,
title and publication information (including the URL and other identifying
information for web pages) so you can attach names and dates to specific ideas
later while writing your assignment or paper
· Do learn to like your writing; even when it is bad, hand it in any way, and know
we will always find something to like about it.
· Do learn how to write in your own style. Writing is a valuable exercise that tests
your ability to explain a topic
· Do consult your instructor if you are in any doubt about the preparation of
academic work before the work is prepared or submitted
· Do consult us (i.e. your instructors) whenever you have a question about the
course, are feeling overwhelmed, or unhappy with an assignment or your work;
we can discuss and find a way to make things work

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