Academic integrity sits at the heart of the IB. The Diploma's reach — across cultures, languages and disciplines — depends on the trust that every student's work is genuinely their own. For most IB students plagiarism is unintentional: a missed citation, a paraphrased paragraph that should have been quoted, a self-referenced earlier essay. But unintentional or not, the consequences are the same.
This guide covers what plagiarism actually means in the IB context, the six types you need to know, the tools your school uses to detect it, and the citation discipline that keeps you safe.
What plagiarism is
Plagiarism is using another person's ideas, words, images, sounds or creative expression as your own — without proper attribution or acknowledgement. It applies to anything you submit: Internal Assessments (IAs), Theory of Knowledge (TOK) essay and exhibition, Extended Essay (EE), and externally-assessed coursework.
The IB's Academic Honesty in the IB Educational Context policy treats this as a serious offence. Confirmed plagiarism in a Diploma submission can result in no grade being awarded for that subject — which can mean no Diploma overall.
The six types you should know
Most IB plagiarism cases fall into one of these categories. Knowing the names helps you check your own work.
| Type | What it means |
|---|---|
| Global plagiarism | Reproducing someone else's work entirely as your own. The most serious form. |
| Mosaic plagiarism | Combining ideas from different sources into your own writing without citation. Very common; often unintentional. |
| Self-plagiarism | Submitting your own previous work — say, a Year 11 essay reused in a Year 12 IA — without declaring it. |
| Paraphrasing plagiarism | Rephrasing someone else's ideas in your own words without crediting the original source. |
| Verbatim plagiarism | Copying a passage word-for-word without quotation marks or citation. |
| Incorrect citation | Citing a source but missing necessary information (author, year, page number, URL) so the reference can't be verified. |
The trickiest is paraphrasing plagiarism. Many students believe that rewording a sentence makes it "theirs". It doesn't — the idea is still the original author's, and it still needs a citation.
What schools use to detect it
Most IB World Schools subscribe to professional plagiarism-detection tools. Knowing how they work helps you understand what they catch.
Turnitin is the dominant tool used across IB schools. It checks submissions against:
- Academic publication databases
- Internet sources
- Other students' submissions (across schools)
Your school uses Turnitin to scan your IAs, TOK essay and EE before they go to the IB. Most schools also let you run a self-check before final submission.
Scribbr uses the same underlying engine and database as Turnitin, but is sold direct to students rather than institutions. Scores from a Scribbr self-check are usually close to what your school's Turnitin run will produce.
iThenticate — a sophisticated Turnitin product used primarily for academic publishing — is sometimes used by IB World Schools to detect self-plagiarism against scientific databases.
A common rule of thumb: submissions should ideally come in under 5% similarity, excluding bibliography and citations. Anything above that triggers a closer look.
How to actually avoid it
The single most powerful habit is cite as you write, not afterwards. Set up your bibliography from day one of the project. Every time you take a fact, a number, a chart, a phrase or an idea from a source, add the citation immediately.
Concrete checklist for every IA, TOK essay or EE:
- Quote when you copy. If three or more consecutive words come from a source, use quotation marks and cite the page/paragraph.
- Cite when you paraphrase. Even fully reworded ideas need attribution.
- Use a single, consistent citation style. MLA for languages and humanities, APA for sciences and social sciences — check what your subject teacher specifies.
- Don't reuse your own past work without telling your teacher.
- Run a self-check before final submission. Most schools allow at least one run on Turnitin.
- Keep your draft trail. If a question is ever raised, the version history of your Google Doc or Word file proves you wrote it.
Citation done well
Good citation isn't a defensive chore — it strengthens your work. Each citation tells the examiner "I read this, I evaluated it, and I'm building on it". IB examiners reading a well-cited TOK essay or EE see a student engaging seriously with their evidence. That's exactly what high marks reward.
Want examiner feedback before you submit?
Our IB Examiner tutors review IA, TOK and EE drafts every week — with the same criterion-by-criterion approach used at the real moderation. We'll flag any citation gaps, paraphrasing issues or self-plagiarism risk before your school does.