Estimated study time: 7 minutes

Learning objective: Recognise plagiarism risks and apply practical measures to protect portfolio integrity.

Plagiarism includes copying text without acknowledgement, close paraphrasing without citation, submitting another person’s work, reusing shared material without permission or presenting generated content as personal workplace evidence. It damages trust because the portfolio supports entry to a regulated profession.

Protect your work

• Write from your own understanding and experience.
• Use quotation sparingly and acknowledge it clearly.
• Cite ideas, data, guidelines and external explanations.
• Keep drafts, notes and records of feedback.
• Do not share completed evidence for others to copy.
• Be able to explain every submitted statement and reference.

Templates can structure a reflection or justification, but they should not make every candidate’s evidence identical. The details, decisions, learning and examples must remain personal and authentic.

Learner activity

Review one paragraph from a draft. Highlight what comes from your own practice, what is external knowledge and where a reference is required.

Key points

• Portfolio integrity is a professional issue.
• Close paraphrasing still needs acknowledgement.
• Candidates must be able to defend all submitted work.