Important Information on Plagiarism

Plagiarism

Due to an increasing number of cases, let it be stated very clearly. We do not tolerate plagiarism of any kind.

Plagiarism can take many forms:

• Claiming that somebody else’s work is your own
• Copying from someone else
• Paraphrasing someone else
• Translating someone else’s work
• Using and modifying someone else’s work to obfuscate that you copied it (this actually requires criminal energy)
• Using and building on someone else’s work without mentioning the original authors

In some situations (in fact, very often in science), it is necessary to use and build one somebody else’s work. The point is that proper credit has to be given (usually a citation). In any situation where you use work that is not your own, you must provide proper attribution.

In some situations, this will not help you because using others’ work is simply not allowed. For example, in the exercises for a lecture, if you copy from a friend and give proper credits, you will still get no points (but at least you will not get punished for plagiarism).

Consequences

Plagiarism will have serious consequences for you.

• You may get zero points for a task and a warning.
• You may be disqualified from taking an exam.
• You may immediately fail an exam.
• You may be reported to the department’s examination board.
• You may be removed from the study program or the university.
• You may not be able to study at any other university in Germany.
• You may be sued for copyright infringement.

Play it safe! Always mention and cite your sources.

Further information

Please review this document with more information on plagiarism.