Advantageous Tips To Avoid Plagiarism

Imagine that after writing a paper and feeling proud of it, you find that it has been labelled as plagiarized. Unbelievably, this occurs more frequently than you may imagine. Plagiarism is a major issue. Furthermore, by tarnishing your reputation, an accidental stealing of someone else’s thoughts or words might negatively impact your academic or professional career.

However, plagiarism is more complex than just copy-pasting. It is also, not crediting ideas that were borrowed from someone else. Since society appreciates uniqueness, there are numerous reasons to master writing original papers. In this blog by All Assignment Help, you can find tons of useful advice and strategies to keep your work plagiarism-free.

Understanding Plagiarism

Plagiarism can be defined as using an exact copy of any work. However, the term also refers to borrowing somebody else’s ideas, findings, expressions, or statements without making any reference. In addition to that, plagiarism can be unintentional. Either way, it is a significant issue that may lead to disastrous results.

Why plagiarism is a serious offence?

If students understand why plagiarism results can be so severe, they will never risk writing an unoriginal paper.

Academic consequences

First, educational institutions are serious about plagiarism issues. A student who is found to have plagiarized work faces several consequences, ranging from a failing mark on the assignment to being sentenced to academic expulsion. In addition, the student’s academic records will detail all misconduct committed during their education, which will have an impact on their entire future academic experience. Most universities have special codes of honour and policies for dealing with plagiarism.

Professional consequences

In the professional world, plagiarism can be fraught with severe reputational implications, legal consequences, and even loss of one’s job. For writers, researchers, and professionals of all sorts, their original work is the focal point of their credit, and if they get caught stealing it, they risk losing their stakeholders’ trust and damaging their reputation. In fact, in such areas as journalism, law, or academia, plagiarism can ruin one’s career immediately.

Ethical considerations

Plagiarism entails a wide range of ethical issues in addition to the job and study penalties that are specifically mentioned. Firstly, it is a blatant disregard for the original work of another person and, generally, their property. It also devalues the genuine work, creativity, and learning process. In an academic context, it is considered an attack on the ethics of scholarship. In a professional context, it is associated with deceit and dishonesty.

Also read: How to Create Plagiarism-Free Assignments?

How to Avoid Plagiarism?

To avoid plagiarism, the source must be properly cited and paraphrased. Moreover, one must have a solid understanding of when and how to include it. If you are a university student, researcher, scientist, or professional writer, you must be aware of the positive citation practices for your own ideas, discoveries, and other works. The following strategies will help you with this.

Use proper citation methods

One of the most effective ways to avoid plagiarism is correct citation. Each time you grab somebody’s ideas, writing, or research, make sure you give them which credit they deserve. You should be aware of the specific citation style used by each field.

Overview citation styles: Be aware that different fields use different formats for citations; for example, the social sciences use APA, the humanities often use MLA, and history uses Chicago. Each of these styles specifies the rules of citing books, articles, websites, and other sources. Make sure to learn what citation style is required by your field, and adhere to its rules correctly. Moreover, if it is complex, you can seek guidance from an online homework help service to help you with the citation.
When to cite and how to paraphrase: You must always cite anything from a source that you did not know before you read it, as well as any fact, opinion, quote, theory, or unique perspective that is not already common knowledge. It can become easy, especially in the process of paraphrasing someone else’s ideas and opinions, for your text to end up quantitatively quite similar.

Paraphrasing techniques

In general, the paraphrase is a slightly complex approach to include information from the source without exactly quoting it.

Re-wording without changing the meaning: Paraphrasing implies more than simply changing words in the source. To effectively use this method, completely understand the content you want to include and present it in words as if this were unknown to you. At the same time, the version you developed should also reflect the individual voice and writing style.
Balancing your original voice and information from the source: When you paraphrase, it is essential to blend the source with your own paper. This will demonstrate that, as a writer, you move beyond the simple proof that the information exists and you tried to access it. You will show that you can interpret and add to this information, creating a balance between your ideas and those of somebody else.

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Using quotation marks with a direct quote

A direct quote is the second strategy to avoid plagiarism. You are not copying ideas but somebody’s exact words. Still, in this case, you should be careful with the format. Nevertheless, you must cite any outside material you incorporate in your work by enclosing it in quotation marks.

Plagiarism checkers

In contemporary times technology gifts us with increasingly more tools for various purposes. One such tool for writers both novice and experienced helps to check for plagiarism in their text.

How to use plagiarism detectors?

Using a free plagiarism checker is rather simple. To do so you must simply upload the document you have prepared, and the tool will check all of it and search for identical or closely similar phrases elsewhere. Though immensely useful, these tools are not infallible, and thus you should not stop after checking the document. You must Read all the signs of plagiarism and familiarize yourself with your text thoroughly. In conclusion, these tools will help you to uncover any accidental plagiarism you could make in your document, but you should never treat them as a panacea.

How to Make Your Content Original?

It is important to understand that original content is not merely non-plagiarized but new and unseen ideas and points. Regardless of whether you are writing a college paper or a presentation for work, it is significant that you contribute something new to your discussion or presentation. There are several strategies to do that.

Critical thinking and analysis

To produce original content, one of the best ways is often applying critical thinking and analysis to the information you come across. Instead of becoming a mere summary of what is already known, developing an original thesis necessitates questioning, evaluating, and synthesizing ideas.

Developing a unique viewpoint or thesis: You may develop new theories, argue against the existing paradigms, or try to find a new approach to an old problem. In any case, your content will be fresh by default, and your audiences will be encouraged to think about something new.
Getting information from various sources: Synthesizing information from multiple sources, you create a new narrative, which reflects your personal interpretation and approach. Synthesis implies close comparison of various viewpoints, identification of gaps in the existing research, and interweaving these ideas in a way that generates results new in principle.

Research and idea generation

You can only create something worthwhile if you know a lot about the subject you are discussing. For that, you need research.

Use a combination of several sources: Read books, scholarly papers, discussions on Quora, and other social networks that cover ideas and topics not discussed in other media. That way, you will have an opportunity to get some inspiration that your acquaintances might not use.
Brainstorming techniques for unique ideas: Some structured brainstorming techniques may help in coming up with something unique. For example, you could try mind mapping, free writing, or the Six Thinking Hats method.

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Adding value to existing ideas

If you struggle to find truly original ideas, consider enhancing what already exists instead. You can still make your writing original by adding value: deepening, expanding, or even challenging what other researchers have presented.

Expand on the current research: If you find a study or an article that is particularly interesting to you, think of a way in which you can develop it. You may choose to imagine the consequences of the research if applied in a different setting, whether they would be the same or different. Or you can conduct the next step of the research that was beyond the authors’ scope. Often adding your own analysis or case studies is enough to convert others’ ideas into your own original writing.
Providing personal insights and real-world examples: One of the ways to ensure a high originality content is by providing personal insights and real-world examples. The information you can share about your own experiences, observations, or case studies cannot be found in academic or secondary sources for which the content can be initially produced. Moreover, writing from your own perspective will help you make the content more engaging and original.

Creative expression and writing style

Your selection of words and writing style contribute to the originality of your writing. Even if your essay is based on an article’s analysis, your word choice can make it unique.

Developing a writer’s voice: A writer’s voice refers to the tone, style, and way of interpreting the world around you. To develop your voice, you must be yourself. If your style is casual, be casual.
Using metaphors, analogies, and storytelling: Using creative devices like metaphors, analogies, and even storytelling is one of the ways to make the content look more engaging and original. Firstly, these tools allow for explaining complex ideas using simple terms. Also, owing to comparisons with some familiar experiences, writing becomes more relatable to readers.

Also read: All You Need to Know About a Plagiarism Checker

Common Pitfalls That Lead to Plagiarism

Given below are some common mistakes that we are likely to commit that leads us to plagiarism.

Not knowing what constitutes plagiarism: It is not just the matter of copying something without giving the original author credit. It is also about borrowing someone else’s ideas while using your own words, or even using your own work without noting that it was written by you previously.
Improper paraphrasing: There is another widespread misconception related to paraphrasing that changing a few words in a sentence is enough. The essence of paraphrasing is to rewrite the idea of the author in your own words while preserving the general concept.
Forgetting to cite sources: Believe it or not, but normally it happens by accident. That is why one of the primary suggestions of this article is to always give credit to the authors, even when you summarize. If you cannot, online proofreading and editing services can help you with the same.
Using too many direct quotes: It is not fine to use too many direct quotes, include them just to meet the necessity.
Failing to distinguish common knowledge from individual ideas: This mistake is common for those, who do not know that common knowledge is information that is generally known and not cited.
Poor time management: Nobody plans to create a hurried and clumsily carried out research, but for one reason or another, students fail to complete it on time.
Thinking it does not need to be cited because it is a paraphrase: Even if you have slightly reordered someone else’s idea and represented it in your own words, it should be cited. Otherwise, this would be a plagiarism.
Self-plagiarism: This is when the student is trying to recycle his own research, essay, or some other kind of paper without a proper annotation. It is better to double-check with your teacher.

Best Practices for Ensuring Originality

Given below are some points that you can consider to write an original content.

Do thorough research: Before you even start writing, spend a significant amount of time researching your topic. Use several scholarly sources to keep yourself informed and include different points of view to inspire your own ideas.
Paraphrase effectively: Avoid switching a few words in a sentence and calling it a day. Try to understand the information you read and rewrite it using your own words. Also, make sure that you preserve the meaning of the original sentence.
Cite all your sources properly: Even if you do not quote a writer directly, provide a properly formatted citation to indicate that the ideas are not original.
Use plagiarism checkers: You can use online plagiarism-checking tools to check for plagiarism.
Maintain a consistent writing voice: To avoid plagiarizing, you should write in your own voice and deliver your original ideas. Do not rely too much on outside sources to ensure your writing style is authentic. Moreover, use free grammar check tools to ensure the quality of your work.
Brainstorm your original ideas: Rather than restating other people’s thoughts, consider a unique angle that has not been discussed yet.
Keep track of sources: When researching, write notes and in-text citations for each source you visit, regardless of whether the document will be included in your final bibliography or not.

Conclusion

Avoiding plagiarism and checking the uniqueness of the text are the conditions of an original work. Moreover, the process of avoiding plagiarism includes the ability to cite properly and the knowledge of how to rewrite the text of another person.

Writing an original paper and using strategies to ensure its authenticity is not enough. It is significant to manage the authors’ voice in the measures applied to reference the sources. In a way, these measures not only provide the necessary protection from plagiarism but also provide the framework to develop instead an engaging and outstanding paper.

Frequently Asked Questions

Question: What is Plagiarism?
Answer: When you do not attribute the creation and use their original thoughts and ideas it is defined as plagiarism. It can occur intentionally or non-intentionally, such as when someone steals another’s work.

Question: Why is it important to avoid Plagiarism?
Answer: When you steal someone else work it is not only unethical but against the law too. Taking credit for the effort done by the other person is not the correct way of taking help from sources.

Question: How can I avoid Plagiarism in my work?
Answer: You can avoid it by; rephrasing the content, using quotations, citing your material, referencing them, and writing your method by understanding the topic well.