Academic Integrity and Online Assessments: a reminder for students

Academic regulations

LSE Code of Good Practice

School’s plagiarism and assessment misconduct regulations

School’s on-line assessment Procedures for Candidates

Academic Integrity statement

When you submit an assessment, you will be asked to indicate your agreement with LSE’s academic integrity statement, the text of which is as follows:

By submitting this work to the School I confirm I will abide by and uphold the School’s Code of Good Practice [https://bit.ly/codegpa21], Ethics Code [https://bit.ly/ecodeweb ] and academic integrity as outlined in the School’s Regulations on Assessment Offences [https://bit.ly/AORegsJ22] and relevant department guidance and I also confirm that: 

  • the work in this assessment is solely my own; and 

  • I have not conferred or colluded with anyone in producing this specific assessment*; and 

  • I understand the use of AI tools to help with any part of my assessment is strictly prohibited unless some use is permitted as defined by the Department responsible for the assessment (see Departmental guidance); and 

  • where necessary, I have clearly cited and referenced the work of others appropriately to make clear which parts are my own work; and 

  • my submission does not re-use substantial/verbatim materials I have previously submitted to the School or elsewhere. To note, in some cases expanding on earlier formative or summative work may be permitted as defined by the Department responsible for the assessment (see Departmental guidance) and; 

  • I understand the School has the right to ask me questions about the originality of my work if deemed necessary 

*It is acceptable to consult with LSE LIFE for general study skills questions but not questions specific to the content of a particular assessment. 

Guidance on how to submit

Student support

LSELIFE offers good advice and one to one sessions prior to your assessment to prepare yourself for the online assessment period, you can find out more on the  LSELIFE Moodle page.

Student Wellbeing Services also offer online one to one sessions and have collated helpful advice to stay well and healthy while working and studying remotely.

The Digital Skills Lab offers online self-study in Microsoft Office, web design, coding and more.

If you experience any problems during submission, please follow the advice provided on the Moodle page to email your file(s) as soon as possible to the relevant Departmental staff. Please note that you are subject to incurring late penalties if you submit your assessment late.

General advice

Before every assessment:

Read the assessment instructions

Be aware that instructions may differ between courses, even within the same academic department. Instructions may also differ from previous years’ question papers, mock assessments or formative work. You should receive the assessment instructions in advance or posted on the course Moodle page. Pay particular attention to the assessment release and submission date/time, assessment instructions including word limits and recommended time/effort to be spent on the assessment, permitted materials, whether you are allowed to draw on formative work in your answer(s), and referencing requirements.

Seek clarification about anything that appears unclear

If you are unclear about any aspect(s) of the assessment instructions, contact the course convenor, or the designated member of professional services staff in the department teaching the course. 

Assemble your permitted materials

Only gather the materials you are allowed to use, which may include lecture slides and recordings, your own class notes, marked homework and their solutions, academic literature, or other specified materials. Unless otherwise stated, you are not allowed to use any other student’s course notes or work. Put any materials that are not included on the permitted materials list for the assessment out of reach to prevent confusion during the assessment.

Make sure you know how to correctly cite and reference any material you use

If you are required to provide references in your answer(s) you should make sure you are familiar with your department’s preferred referencing method and can access guidance on it (if needed) during the assessment. You can also find information about citing and referencing on the LSELIFE Moodle page.

Decide where you are going to complete your assessment

Unless group work or collaboration is expressly permitted, you should take your assessment completely alone. If you are in a hall of residence, cohabiting or live with family, you should find a quiet space where you will not be disturbed, such as your bedroom. To reduce interruptions, let your friends and family know when you will be unavailable.

During every assessment:

Re-read the assessment instructions

Assessment instructions may differ between courses (even within the same department) so this will help ensure that you don’t inadvertently commit academic misconduct.

Check whether you are required to submit any additional assessment components and plan your work accordingly

Some assessments may require you to submit additional components (which do not contribute to the grade) to help demonstrate authorship. Any components will be clearly listed in every set of assessment instructions, but may include rough work, notes, plans, calculations, or a justification of sources. Ensure that you are aware of any such requirements so that you can plan your work, and format your submission document, accordingly.

Do not show or discuss your assessment with anyone else

Unless group work or collaboration is expressly permitted, you should not consult any other person about the content of your assessment. Consider putting your phone on airplane mode while you are working (so that you cannot send or receive messages or phone calls) and sign out of social media accounts or disable notifications.

Do not seek external input or assistance

Do not ask any other person to edit or proofread your work; or submit any ideas or phrasing from another source unless they are appropriately cited. For quantitative assessments, make sure any resources you use (e.g. calculators, specialist software) are allowed for that particular assessment.

Do not reuse your own work

For essay-based assessments, you cannot include any parts of your previous work if it has already been submitted for a different summative assessment. You can only reuse formative work (topics/cases/argument/phrases) if expressly permitted in the assessment instructions.

Add references / citations at the same time as including any external sources

Unless otherwise specified, all essay-based assessments will require you to reference any ideas that you have included from other sources. Add your references in line with the department’s preferred referencing method as you include them in your answer and ring-fence time to double-check them at the end. This will help ensure you do not run out of time to add your references afterwards and get accused of plagiarism if they are missing.

Complete your integrity pledge (if required when submitting your assessment)

You will be asked to accept/tick the academic integrity statement when submitting your assessment. This is to confirm that you have not received any outside help with your assessment and that the work you are submitting is entirely your own.

Make sure to submit all of the required components

Once you have finished your assessment, make sure to submit all of the required components. This may include rough work, notes, plans, calculations, or a justification of sources. All assessment components will be outlined in your assessment instructions.

After every assessment:

Ensure that you remain contactable throughout the summer online assessment period

Some courses may conduct selective or randomised interviews to check that you were the author of your submitted assessment. Monitor your LSE email account at least once a day so that you are prepared to take any further action that may be requested from you. It may also be useful for you to keep any notes or plans you created during the assessment until you have received your results.

Please always save your work to cloud based storages (e.g. OneDrive) as a backup.