Ways to Detect Plagiarism and Other Forms of Academic Misconduct, such as the Use of AI:

• Stylistic shifts that become noticeable through the partial use of particularly sophisticated wording.

• Spelling or grammatical errors that occur frequently only in certain sections of the paper.

• Citation styles that change within the same paper.

• Inadequate referencing, indicated by very long text passages without any citations.

• Inclusion of non-existent sources or incorrect source details.

• Exclusive use of “old” literature that does not go beyond a certain publication year.

• A very uniform text flow and structure, characterized by equally sized paragraphs, similarly long sentences, superficial generic phrasing, and hardly any errors (such as typos, punctuation mistakes, or grammatical inaccuracies).

During the Course and When Supervising a Thesis

You can take several steps during your course and while supervising a thesis to prevent plagiarism and other forms of academic misconduct. The following suggestions are intended to support you in this process.

Address the issue directly: Inform students at the beginning of the course or when taking on thesis supervision that adherence to good academic practice is of central importance and that the originality of a student’s work is a key criterion in writing academic papers. After submission, verify the student’s actual level of knowledge (e.g., through a defense). WU also implements a range of measures to detect plagiarism and other academic misconduct, such as mandatory checks using plagiarism and AI detection software.

Communicate expectations: Often, the length of the paper is secondary—what matters is the quality of the content. Clearly communicate your expectations regarding assignments and written work, and encourage students to ask questions if anything is unclear. This helps reduce anxiety about high demands and lowers the likelihood of academic misconduct caused by student overload.

Consider the WU Policy on Quality Standards for Bachelor Theses:
This policy defines uniform quality standards for bachelor theses at WU and applies to all individuals authorized to supervise and assess such work. Supervisors are obliged to inform students about good academic practice in their discipline and ensure, through regular contact, that the misuse of aids is prevented.
(Link: WU Policy for Quality Assurance of Bachelor Theses)

Use the WU List of Permitted Tools:
The WU list of permitted tools / WUPOL Hilfsmittelverzeichnis establishes uniform transparency and documentation standards for seminar papers and theses. The labeling required by this policy applies to all tools used, regardless of whether they are AI-based. We strongly recommend using this list in courses as well. There is also a template that students can attach directly to their work.

Vary thesis topics:
Changing thesis topics each semester can help prevent plagiarism and other forms of academic misconduct. You can also require early submission of position papers or a mandatory reflection chapter to discourage students from simply copying or using AI tools.

Design work as a process portfolio:
Structuring written work as a “process portfolio” is another way to make plagiarism and AI use more difficult. Process portfolios generally support learning better than traditional seminar papers and include documentation of individual work steps (submission of an exposé, annotated outlines, critical evaluation of sources, etc.).

Include AI usage in the syllabus:
Before the start of each semester, the course instructor must specify the permitted tools in the syllabus (§ 10 para. 1 of the Examination Regulations). This includes stating whether any use of AI is considered an unauthorized aid or whether AI may be used for certain purposes.