There is a lot of unpleasantness on this thread- the OP has asked for general advice. They have been quite upfront about the fact that they made an error.

There is a huge difference between poor academic practice and a deliberate intent to cheat (e.g. buying essays on the internet). I do not know where this lies, but the fact that the OP remains in the programme suggests it wasn't a deliberate intent to cheat. As for the fraud issue, no such accusation seems to have been made against the OP.

There is also a huge difference in the way that depression affects people- some people live with it relatively well, some commit suicide, others do stupid things. It is ridiculous to say that just because depression didn't affect me in x way, then it would not have that effect in anyone.
If this is an allowable point in mitigation then it is right that the OP refers to it.

At the university where I work, the most common decisions are a reduction in marks or a requirement to re-submit for a capped mark. I am confused by how a score of 0 can be given without an opportunity to re-submit as if they don't meet the requirements for the module, they will not attain enough points for the award.

I must admit, that is the first time I have ever heard anyone attempt to describe multiple instances of entire chunks of plagiarism within the same submitted piece of work as "poor academic practice".

Plagiarism is generally described within student guideline documents, quite rightly, as cheating unless there is some very compelling reason for it and depression should never be used as a mitigating factor for cheating.

Cheating is fraudulent behaviour. Hence my use of the word "fraud".

I am genuinely surprised that your first thought is to look to defend the OP rather than their fellow students who didn't cheat. Is there a reason for that?

It depends on the software used to detect plagiarism. At my university most people in engineering scored up to 20% and the department followed up at 40% plagiarism. Some of the software is pretty clunky and if several people write in the same poor academic fashion, the system thinks you all cheated. They look for word associations and if you do the " the equation clearly shows .... which means .... resulting ..." they will see similarities and flash plagiarism.(I have had lots of fun reverse engineering plagiarism software (I earned my 2:1 without cheating!!!)) The OP has still not said what he/she did (and i hope they don't for anonymity sake) or even what section it is in.

There can also be methodology sections that if lifted verbatim with referenced, that get seen as plagiarism. It is easy to sub-consciously copy someones introduction when sleep deprived. Also if the software is badly configured references get flagged. What I am trying to say plagiarism is not cut and dry. And that the OP deserves some advice on how to save his degree.

pm133, I am an eternal optimist (until my PhD at least) and want to see good in people. Unless they do clearly do something wrong, I give people the benefit of the doubt. It is has occasionally failed me but it has done me alright as a whole. Also, I would rather be treated by a doctor who has made mistakes before but learned from them, than a doctor who claims to be perfect. So giving people second chances even if they did do it on purpose, is the way to go. Would you not want to be treated the same?

Thanks to the people who have offered advice and support. I know what I am going to do and it's up to the university to make that call.

I understand why some people have been quite aggressive in their attitude, but I think it's unfair to take such a strong stance when you don't know the situation, or the piece of work in question. I asked for advice, not to be told off.

The penalty was rescinded and I have been allowed another uncapped attempt.