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Cheating and plagiarism

Plagiarism is often the result of insufficient knowledge about academic writing and source use. On this page, you will learn how to use and reference sources correctly in order to avoid plagiarism. To avoid plagiarism, you need to understand what it is and be aware of the rules that apply at KTH.

Upcoming events on how to avoid plagiarism

What is plagiarism?

Plagiarism means submitting someone else’s work, or parts of someone else’s text or code, as if it were your own.

There are also other forms of academic misconduct besides plagiarism, such as using unauthorised methods or aids to gain an advantage — for example, exchanging information with another person during an exam.

Examples of plagiarism include:

  • Using someone else’s text, material, or ideas without citing the source and without processing the content.

  • Using someone else’s practical work — such as code, calculations, design, or experimental results — without acknowledging it.

  • Copying someone else’s text verbatim without quotation marks and a reference to the source.

  • Translating a text without citing the source.

  • Copying another student’s written or practical work and submitting it as your own.

Video on how to avoid plagiarism

KTH Library and Centre for Academic Writing and Rhetoric have made a video to help you be aware of and avoid plagiarism.

Collaboration with other students

Most teachers encourage students to discuss their work with classmates. Collaboration has value in itself, as it often leads to new ideas and insights. It also reflects how teachers collaborate with one another, and how you, as a student, will work with colleagues after graduating from KTH.

Despite this, the university requires each student to individually demonstrate that they have achieved the learning outcomes of the course. If you collaborate so closely on individual assignments that your work and results become identical or nearly identical, this is considered unauthorised collaboration. However, the boundary between collaboration and unauthorised collaboration is not always clear-cut.

Things to keep in mind in design work

If you are designing new products as part of your studies, you will naturally draw inspiration from other people’s ideas and creativity. However, your final design must be your own work. This means that you must modify, develop, or change the ideas that inspired you so that the result becomes something original.

AI tools in your studies

Before using AI tools in your studies, you need to check whether there are any guidelines for their use in your specific course. As a general rule, you should never submit work as your own if you have not completed the essential parts of it yourself. For the sake of transparency, it is good practice to specify which tools you have used and how.

At KTH, there is a report on how to promote learning and prevent academic misconduct, which also discusses the use of AI tools in studies. The report is primarily aimed at teachers but can also be a useful resource for students who wish to understand more about how AI tools are viewed in academic work.

Read the report Promoting learning and preventing cheating

When using AI tools for information searching, it is important to be aware of how these tools work and how their functioning affects the results. You can read more about this on the page AI and information retrieval .

Generative AI and academic writing

If you are considering using generative AI tools, you need to know whether – and if so, how – their use is permitted in your assignments. If use is permitted, you must find out in what ways, that is, what is allowed and how specific AI tools may be used. Guidelines for each course are usually available in Canvas or the course syllabus.

You also need to know what to cite and how to describe your working process – that is, how you went about the task and exactly how you used AI.

The primary purpose of academic writing is to reason based on information sources, to formulate your own arguments, and to develop new knowledge. If the use of AI is permitted in your assignments, it is useful to reflect on the following questions before you begin writing:

  • Why is generative AI needed for this assignment?

  • How does the language model (LLM) I am using actually work?

  • What am I using the language model for?

  • Would I have written these sentences in this way myself?

  • How can I, and my reader, know that the content is accurate?

  • Whose words am I using, and am I the author of the text?

Regardless of how you use AI tools in academic writing, you must always provide a citation for any information presented.

Academic writing and referencing to avoid plagiarism

A key to success in university studies is being familiar with academic writing and referencing, and understanding the principles you need to apply when submitting assignments. The ability to write academically and handle sources correctly gives you the tools to avoid plagiarism.

Fundamental principles of academic writing and referencing include:

  • Use your own words as much as possible, except for technical terms.

  • Include enough supporting details and factual information for a clear description.

  • Avoid paraphrasing specialised terminology or technical terms.

  • Focus on the content of the source.

  • Ensure that summaries are coherent and easy to read.

  • Use sufficient linking words and supporting information to create logical flow.

  • Include in-text citations wherever you use information or ideas from others — it should be clear when a statement or fact comes from another source and when it is your own reasoning or result.

  • Include a reference list at the end of your work that contains all sources you have used, following a specific citation style. Common styles at KTH include IEEE, Vancouver, APA, and Harvard.

More information on referencing can be found on the library’s page Write references .

Further information about academic writing and presentations can be found on the page Academic writing and rhetoric .

Reference management software

Writing and formatting references can be time-consuming. Reference management software can help you collect, organise, and format your references.

Basic functions available in most reference management tools include:

  • Collecting references from databases, library catalogues, and the web.

  • Organising references in your personal library.

  • Inserting references into text documents such as Word, Google Docs, or LaTeX.

More information about different reference management software and how to use them is available on the library’s page Reference management software.

Getting help with academic writing and referencing

At KTH, students can receive support in academic writing and referencing, as well as develop their existing skills. The KTH Library offers seminars, workshops, guidance, and digital resources on writing, presenting, information searching, and source management. The Centre for Academic Writing and Rhetoric (CAS) is also part of the library and provides excellent guidance both online and through consultations with CAS writing tutors.

Book a consultation

Suspected plagiarism or misconduct

Students who use unauthorised aids or in other ways attempt to mislead during an examination, or when a study performance is to be assessed, may face disciplinary action.

Read more about disciplinary cases and how they are handled