You know the feeling when you write something on your own, a blog, a research journal, or an assignment, and it turns out to be plagiarised. It feels terrible.
Plagiarism is a broad subject. This is the reason many of us don't know its whole story.
However, not after reading this article.
I bring you the most comprehensive guide that explains plagiarism and how to get rid of it. The guide is simple, easy, and straightforward. Anyone can read it.
So, hang tight and get ready to save yourself from plagiarism!
What is Plagiarism?
So, what exactly is plagiarism?
“Plagiarism is about copying other people's work and presenting it as your own. The work can range from words to sentences, verses to poems, paragraphs to essays, or anything worth copying. There is no limit.”
However, there are different types of plagiarism that exist. To give an idea about plagiarism types, we list them below:
-
The form of plagiarism that involves copying a complete passage or text and claiming it as your own is called Global Plagiarism.
-
The form of plagiarism that involves simple copying of words from another work and claiming it as one's own is known as Verbatim Plagiarism.
-
The form of plagiarism that involves paraphrasing or changing the language of someone else’s text but keeping the ideas the same is referred to as Paraphrasing Plagiarism.
-
The form of plagiarism that involves putting together ideas from other sources and creating a new text from them is known as Patchwork Plagiarism.
There are many other forms of plagiarism. However, we have mentioned the prominent types of it. Now, we will discuss why it is a problem and how to avoid plagiarism.
Why is Plagiarism a Problem?
Plagiarism is a form of theft — and most severe of all, stealings.
You take away someone else's work, and using it under your name (claiming it to be yours) is a lethal crime in today's knowledge-based economy.
Due to plagiarism, the writer who strives for originality and authenticity loses his incentive. And, he is left with nothing — No money, no honey.
Likewise, because of plagiarism, the one who copies other work and uses it creates mistrust among readers. When they read a plagiarised work, they question whether the writer actually believes in what he has written or not. In most cases, they answer “No,” considering the writer has no personal involvement in the respective matter.
This is the reason plagiarism is problematic. It takes away integrity and harms the field of writing overall. So, learning how to avoid plagiarism becomes important.
How to Avoid Plagiarism?
Dealing with plagiarism requires a number of steps to be taken while writing. These steps mainly revolve around citing sources, quoting other people’s work, and avoiding problems while writing. We mention essential steps to deal with plagiarism.
Learn about Plagiarism:
Attempting to remove plagiarism, it is important to first understand what plagiarism is. Commonly, plagiarism occurs when certain words and lines match existing literature.
However, plagiarism also occurs due to uncited sources.
So, learn what plagiarism is, how to identify it, and how to avoid plagiarism (all types of it).
1. Cite Sources Properly:
It is true that when working with sources, a writer can avoid plagiarism if he follows the right guidelines. As Simple as We put it, “If you know how to cite sources, you know how to avoid plagiarism.” Every word that you take from any other source requires citation (Here, citation refers to adding the source name in the endnotes and bibliography of the paper).
Also, in writing, the cited lines end with the source name in parentheses. This process is important as it tells the reader that the lines are not from the author and are from other sources, supporting the author's point.
For citation of sources, there are three styles( APA, MLA, Chicago) that you should refer to. These are accepted citation models worldwide, and every author follows them. Keep the manuals of these styles while writing and follow them every time you cite. So, if done properly, working with sources, a writer can avoid plagiarism — most of it.
2. Add Quotation Marks:
Often, the writer, while writing a research paper, quotes a passage from someone else’s work as it is and cites it in footnotes. Having the source cited in footnotes, the writer thinks that the credit is given to the original author, and they have avoided plagiarism.
But, in reality, it is still considered plagiarism as the reader may consider the lines to be from the primary source. In such cases, it is mandatory to add quotation marks around the passage to notify readers and avoid plagiarism. Otherwise, the passage will be considered plagiarised.
So, use quotation marks whenever there is a need to cite a passage, lines, or words in their original form.
3. Gather Multiple Sources:
One way that confirms plagiarism is limited readership followed by fewer cited sources.
Consider a writer who hasn't studied the topic widely and is confined to few sources. How can they write on the topic uniquely? They will have limited ideas and, as a last resort, will try to reiterate the same lines again and again. This way, the chances of plagiarism become twofold as the element of uniqueness gets minimised.
Thus, how to avoid plagiarism in this case?
So, avoiding plagiarism requires a wide readership of the subject. The writer must grasp various sources that explain the different dimensions of the topic. Only then is the paper worth reading and without plagiarism.
4. Keep Track of Sources through Footnotes:
Footnotes are essential in keeping track of your sources. Many times, the authors forget the sources of their writings, thinking they will add them in the final draft. They keep on writing their first draft by using letters instead of direct sources in footnotes and ultimately forget them.
Therefore, if you want to know how you can avoid plagiarism, always try to cite sources in footnotes as you write. This way, the writer will not forget any source in the final draft and will better manage the whole writing process.
5. Paraphrase Text Carefully:
Paraphrasing is difficult, yet it is considered the easiest online task. The purpose of paraphrasing is to restate the author's ideas in one’s words without deviating from the topic.
However, while paraphrasing, two things happen: either the paraphraser deviates from the author's viewpoint, or the writer commits plagiarism with the same lines, style, and language as the author.
Hence, it is recommended to use different sentence structures, synonyms, and different tones of writing so that the lines appear to be yours instead of the author's.
Also, you can use rewriting tools to avoid plagiarism. However, you still need to review the content because of him.
6. Sharpen Your Writing Skills:
If you want to know what's the best way to avoid plagiarism? The answer is to sharpen your writing skills.
Poor writing skills lead to plagiarism. A writer with poor writing skills adds unnecessary words and lines in conveying his message and creates chances of plagiarism.
Furthermore, when paraphrasing, the writer with limited writing skills finds it difficult to convey the original message of the source in his own words. That additional frills are also a cause of plagiarism.
Therefore, the way forward of how to avoid plagiarism lies in better writing. With better writing skills, the writer can be precise in what they say or paraphrase. There will be no additional frills or errors, mitigating the chance of plagiarism. This way, you can avoid plagiarism.
7. Use a Plagiarism Checker:
The plagiarism checker helps in dealing with plagiarism. These online tools detect plagiarism and highlight lines and words that show similarity. They are based on internet databases and scan billions of web pages. When undergoing a search, the tool scans billions of web pages online and matches them with the searched content. These tools can serve a lot in detecting and removing plagiarism.
Copy Checker is a tool that works best for plagiarism checking. It works for free and offers unlimited service by allowing as many scans as the user wants. The Copy Checker answers “How to avoid plagiarism?” in three clicks.
8. Ask before Citing:
Unauthorised citation is also a problem in modern research. Some authors have been penalised for citing sources without permission from the source owner. Therefore, if you are quoting some work, you must take permission from the source. Mostly on high-impact research, such types of permissions are required. But, it is preferred to take permission.
9. Write Your Own Opinion:
The sole purpose of any research is to add to the existing knowledge. Neither is it to reinstate the knowledge nor reproduce what has already been produced.
However, most of the research journals and articles are just copies of other research done elsewhere. This is plagiarism — the most detrimental one as well.
So, in this context, how to avoid plagiarism and how to write better?
To avoid this, you must add your perspective in writing. You must add your views that are developed after reading the sources. This way, you add to the existing knowledge.
Conclusion:
Plagiarism is unethical, and how to avoid plagiarism is a matter of extra care. Thus, ensure you avoid shortcuts and follow every right way to cite sources in your work. Also, don’t forget to take the help of Copy Checker’s plagiarism tool to remove plagiarism in your content.
