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Plagiarising my own work?

Hi,
I studied Edexcel GCSE Geography last year, and as part of my coursework, we had to do a study of tourism. I received a very high A* grade on this as it had taken me weeks to complete.

I am now studying OCR A Level Geography at college and have to complete an almost identical piece of field work for the coursework. Could i just use the piece I completed last year?

The word count isn't an issue - I wrote 9,000 words compared to the OCR recommended limit of 3,000-4,000, so could i just use my coursework from last year? Or could it be seen in some way as plagiarising?

Any replies would be greatly appreciated,
Many Thanks
George
You should be able to reuse the work though check the requirements to make sure that you're addressing all that needs to be in the piece of work.
Reply 2
Avatar for Tootles
Tootles
21
Original post by wellsy2000
Hi,
I studied Edexcel GCSE Geography last year, and as part of my coursework, we had to do a study of tourism. I received a very high A* grade on this as it had taken me weeks to complete.

I am now studying OCR A Level Geography at college and have to complete an almost identical piece of field work for the coursework. Could i just use the piece I completed last year?

The word count isn't an issue - I wrote 9,000 words compared to the OCR recommended limit of 3,000-4,000, so could i just use my coursework from last year? Or could it be seen in some way as plagiarising?

Any replies would be greatly appreciated,
Many Thanks
George
Yes, you can get in trouble for plagiarising your own work - it happened to me at one point. Likewise, you can get in trouble for referencing your own prior work too.
Reply 3
Avatar for Luneth
Luneth
12
Original post by wellsy2000
Could i just use the piece I completed last year?

No.
In general, you shouldn't be using anything that isn't original work for that assignment. Some T&Cs outright tell you that it's considered to be plagiarism because the work has already been written, plus you may be able to produce something better anyway. If you did a study and gathered data, you could reuse it but ONLY if you explicitly say it's old data and if you're comparing it to a new set of data which you've gathered. It's ok to take ideas from how you did a previous assignment, but you should never outright resubmit a piece you've done for something else.
Reply 4
Avatar for UWS
UWS
21
Original post by Tootles
Yes, you can get in trouble for plagiarising your own work - it happened to me at one point. Likewise, you can get in trouble for referencing your own prior work too.


This is true. If i hadn't asked my lecturer, I would have been in serious trouble.

Self-plagiarism is a real thing, google it. It might sound stupid but you can get into trouble for plagiarising your own work and not citing it properly in your report/essay.

Because both reports are submitted using Turnitin (I assume?) or some other plagiariser checking software, it will most likely be picked up and you could get into trouble.

Not worth the risk OP, write a new piece of work.
Original post by Tootles
Yes, you can get in trouble for plagiarising your own work - it happened to me at one point. Likewise, you can get in trouble for referencing your own prior work too.


Original post by Luneth
No.
In general, you shouldn't be using anything that isn't original work for that assignment. Some T&Cs outright tell you that it's considered to be plagiarism because the work has already been written, plus you may be able to produce something better anyway. If you did a study and gathered data, you could reuse it but ONLY if you explicitly say it's old data and if you're comparing it to a new set of data which you've gathered. It's ok to take ideas from how you did a previous assignment, but you should never outright resubmit a piece you've done for something else.


Original post by UWS
This is true. If i hadn't asked my lecturer, I would have been in serious trouble.

Self-plagiarism is a real thing, google it. It might sound stupid but you can get into trouble for plagiarising your own work and not citing it properly in your report/essay.

Because both reports are submitted using Turnitin (I assume?) or some other plagiariser checking software, it will most likely be picked up and you could get into trouble.

Not worth the risk OP, write a new piece of work.


Guys you're referring to uni level work. This is a GCSE student!
Reply 6
Avatar for Luneth
Luneth
12
Original post by alleycat393
Guys you're referring to uni level work. This is a GCSE student!


It's A Level, but this kind of thing shouldn't be promoted. If I was a Uni recruiter and heard that the candidate was lazy enough to reuse an essay, I wouldn't want them at my Uni. There's no reason to not write a new piece unless you're too lazy to do it.
Reply 7
Avatar for UWS
UWS
21
Original post by alleycat393
Guys you're referring to uni level work. This is a GCSE student!


I get that but isn't it safer to not try it? I personally don't see why we should be introducing such practices to people just because they're at GCSE/A-Level.

OP is concerned that it might be seen as plagiarising, so the best thing to do is not attempt it. That way, they get to actually complete a brand new piece of work and there's no risk of getting caught (if they do at that level).
Original post by Luneth
It's A Level, but this kind of thing shouldn't be promoted. If I was a Uni recruiter and heard that the candidate was lazy enough to reuse an essay, I wouldn't want them at my Uni. There's no reason to not write a new piece unless you're too lazy to do it.


I agree it shouldn't be promoted but there is also context. I work for a uni and no we wouldn't penalise someone for reusing work at this level if the requirements and content required are very similar. We wouldn't even check tbh. People actually reuse their PSs when applying again!
(edited 7 years ago)
Original post by Luneth
It's A Level, but this kind of thing shouldn't be promoted. If I was a Uni recruiter and heard that the candidate was lazy enough to reuse an essay, I wouldn't want them at my Uni. There's no reason to not write a new piece unless you're too lazy to do it.


Or you have explored the topic as much as you can already...

But anyway, @OP - you will not get an A* at A Level for an A* GCSE work. Maybe not even an A. You already know many things to consider so just do it again based on this.
Reply 10
Avatar for Luneth
Luneth
12
Original post by yudothis
Or you have explored the topic as much as you can already...

I seriously doubt that at GSCE, you've explored every approach to the topic.
Original post by wellsy2000
Hi,
I studied Edexcel GCSE Geography last year, and as part of my coursework, we had to do a study of tourism. I received a very high A* grade on this as it had taken me weeks to complete.

I am now studying OCR A Level Geography at college and have to complete an almost identical piece of field work for the coursework. Could i just use the piece I completed last year?

The word count isn't an issue - I wrote 9,000 words compared to the OCR recommended limit of 3,000-4,000, so could i just use my coursework from last year? Or could it be seen in some way as plagiarising?

Any replies would be greatly appreciated,
Many Thanks
George


Looking at http://www.ocr.org.uk/Images/223012-specification-accredited-a-level-gce-geography-h481.pdf this coursework will be worth 20% of your final A level grade.

The word count indicates that what you produced for GCSE is not suitable for resubmission for A level - 3 times the length recommended is not a good thing!

Speak to your teachers about whether your previous work was submitted for external examination/shared with a plagiarism detection software and what if anything from your previous work can be salvaged or reused for this piece of work.

It's foolish to risk 1/5 of your grade for the sake of laziness. This shouldn't be about whether you'll be caught or not - it should be about what will get you a mark that reflects your ability.
Yes, you can re-use it if it is your own work. The question is, will you get anything out of it beyond a grade?
Original post by Luneth
I seriously doubt that at GSCE, you've explored every approach to the topic.


Every approach feasible also at A Level? Every approach feasible that is still going to be interesting?
Reply 14
Avatar for Luneth
Luneth
12
Original post by yudothis
interesting


Whether your approach to the question/task is "interesting" or not doesn't matter. You're writing an assessment, not selling a book.
Original post by Luneth
Whether your approach to the question/task is "interesting" or not doesn't matter. You're writing an assessment, not selling a book.


I meant interesting for you. If there is no feasible, different way of approaching the coursework than for the GCSE one he did, I think it is very understandable for him to pretty much do the same thing again.

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