Plagiarism can not only result in the loss of precious points but also in the formation of a negative impression on your teachers that will follow you throughout your academic career. The good news is that there are some simple and fundamental ways to steer clear of plagiarism. Before you can even begin to consider the different ways in which you can make your assignment more original, you first need to find out what the bare minimum percentage of originality that is acceptable is, as well as which programme you should use to analyse the document in order to get an accurate indicator. In the following sections of the text, we will go into further detail on this topic.
What Is Plagiarism?
Plagiarism refers to the practise of using the work of another person without providing credit to the author or creator of the original work. It doesn’t matter if you do it on purpose or by accident; either way, it can make your life much more difficult in terms of your academic pursuits. When you copy the work of another person, it does not always mean that you have committed plagiarism. It is also possible for it to occur when you copy from an earlier piece of your own work. Plagiarism can take several forms in various contexts. Have a look at the most typical ones that follow.
Why should you try to prevent plagiarising others’ work?
Plagiarism is an ethical problem at its most fundamental level. Plagiarism is an act of theft committed with the intention of profiting from one’s dishonesty, and a writer who submits stolen work is guilty of this crime. This holds true regardless of whether you are submitting a paper for a grade in school or working as a writer for a living and anticipating financial reward. As a writer, avoiding plagiarism is of the utmost importance because doing so puts your credibility in question. It is possible that you may lose the respect of your mentors as well as your peers, which will prevent you from gaining future career advancement and vital professional referrals. If you are still enrolled in school, plagiarising someone else’s work could result in the loss of financial aid or the opportunity to take on a leadership role. Also, it takes credit or money away from the original author, which could make things harder if the source decides to sue you.Several strategies for preventing the use of plagiarism in your writing
Please cite your sources.
Include a citation in your writing that identifies the full name of the source, the date it was published, and any other citation element that is required by the style guide you’re adhering to when alluding to an idea or wording that is not your own. This should be done whenever you make reference to an idea or wording that does not belong to you.
Paraphrase
To rephrase something means to rewrite the thoughts or facts of another source using your own language while preserving the original meaning. However, you must exercise caution since, if not done properly, paraphrasing can easily turn into plagiarism. There is a certain dance that needs to be performed in order to successfully paraphrase without plagiarising. Your text should be reworded and formatted in an original fashion, and you should make an effort to avoid using too many words or phrases that are similar to those found in the source. The challenge here is to achieve this without compromising the original sense of the concept being discussed. Keep in mind that you are still using the concept of another person, so you will be required to include a citation to the source.
Put up an idea of your own.
Explore what you have to say about it rather than simply repeating the ideas or phrases that the source provided. Consider what unique perspective or point of view you can bring to your work that is entirely and completely unique to you.Remember that even if you make a passing reference to the thoughts or words of another source in order to illustrate your own point, you should still follow the criteria that were presented earlier in order to avoid being accused of plagiarism. It’s easy to fall into the trap of “self-plagiarism” when you’re required to write on the same topic for numerous different assignments. This practise refers to recycling some of the words you’ve already used. If the publisher or your teacher did not give you permission to use your old work in a new project, you run the same danger of being accused of plagiarism as if they had.
Utilize a tool that checks for plagiarism.
When you are performing research on a subject, it is possible that certain phrases or sentences can stick with you so strongly that you will unwittingly use them in your work without properly crediting the source. Before handing in your work, employing a tool that checks for plagiarism online might be helpful in identifying any problems like these that may exist in it. In addition, Grammarly provides a free plagiarism checker that examines the content of your text to identify any instances of copied material. These programmes will let you know if any parts of your writing are plagiarised, and some of them will even indicate the particular words or sentences that need to be addressed and tell you where the text was originally sourced.
It is well worth the effort to follow these tips because they can assist you in preventing plagiarism in your work. In addition to having a better understanding of the elements that go into the act of plagiarism, finally figuring out how to avoid it calls for consistent practise.
