Welcome to the Indiana University Plagiarism Tutorials and Tests

Learn how to recognize plagiarism, test your understanding, and earn a certificate.

To begin, watch this brief video of a teacher meeting with a student who has committed plagiarism. Click on the one-minute video below.


Why is it important to avoid plagiarism?

The academic community highly values the acknowledgment of contributions to knowledge. When you properly acknowledge the contributions to knowledge made by other people, you are showing respect for their work. You are giving credit where credit is due. You are not misleading the reader to believe that your ideas and words are solely your own.

The disciplinary consequences of documented plagiarism at Indiana University (IU) can be severe. As a student you could receive a failing grade or be expelled from the university. In extreme cases, your degree could be revoked if plagiarism is discovered after you have graduated.

Thus, avoiding plagiarism is important -- both in writing and speaking. This instruction will help you to understand and recognize plagiarism.

How much time does it take to learn from this instruction and to take tests?

Expect to spend about 2 hours learning from this instruction and taking Certification Tests. Successful students typically divide their learning into several shorter sessions, viewing an average of 109 pages altogether. Completing a Certification Test usually takes 5 to 10 minutes. If you do not pass, feedback is provided about the kinds of mistakes you made. You can take as many new Certification Tests as you want. Each randomized test will be different, and there are trillions of unique tests. You are highly unlikely to pass a test solely by guessing.

Why did we develop this online instruction?

We initially developed these online learning resources for our own students. Our original goal: to help students better understand plagiarism when starting their degree programs in Instructional Systems Technology (IST) at IU.

Since 2002, usage of these online resources outside of IST has increased dramatically. See this news article. Many instructors worldwide have adopted these resources, often expecting their students to pass one of our Certification Tests and submit their Certificate. We provide these resources free of charge, and have no control over how others may use them. For further information, see how we:

Click the link below to continue.

Next Page: Organization of this Instruction