‘I didn’t realise I was cheating’: Take a few minutes, do this quiz

We all know cheating is wrong, but uni life can get complicated and stressful. At times, you may feel pressured to cut corners or be unsure you’re doing the right thing. Things like referencing and knowing when you can work with others can sometimes be confusing.

When completing your university assessments, it’s important you always act with academic integrity by:

• acknowledging others
• doing your own work
• being honest
• taking responsibility.

How confident are you that you’re studying with academic integrity? Take this short quiz.

Here’s three scenarios. Can you tell which are a breach in academic integrity?

With only a few days before his essay was due and other assessments piling up, Alfred was exhausted and overwhelmed. That’s when he saw a service on social media offering to help complete his assessment for him. Desperate for a solution, he accepted and submitted the essay they provided. He then uploaded one of his own older assessments to the service when asked.

Emma stayed up late completing her essay. Having stared at the words for hours, she worried she may have made some spelling mistakes. Her friend offered to look over it while Emma rested. In the morning, Emma discovered her friend had rewritten and restructured some paragraphs and added a couple of new references. Because it was still mostly her own work, Emma submitted the assessment with her friend’s changes.

Gerald heard a lot about ChatGPT and other AI tools on the news and from friends. He thought he’d try it out to help come up with some ideas and places to start for his assessment. He made sure to find and cite any sources he used, including anything generated by the AI, checked the accuracy of all information himself, and made sure the final submitted piece was his own work. 

How did you go? If you didn’t get everything correct, don’t stress – there’s lots of helpful information available on our academic integrity website. Even if you scored 100%, we encourage you to check out this info.

We also encourage you to become familiar with our Student Code of Conduct and Student Academic Integrity Policy.

Seek help the right way

We understand studying can be difficult at times. We’re here to offer you help completing your studies the honest way.

• We offer heaps of study support here at Deakin, so make the most of these resources. The best source of help is your Unit Chair or teaching team – they’re here to answer your questions and point you in the right direction.
• If it’s alleged you’ve breached academic integrity, contact DUSA’s Student Advocacy and Support Service for a free confidential appointment with an advocate. They’ll assess your situation and discuss possible courses of action with you.
• If you’re a commencing student, please complete your compulsory Academic Integrity unit – it takes about two hours and is available in DeakinSync under ‘Current units’.