Plagiarism is a practice of using someone else’s idea or work and presenting it as one’s own. Claiming material straight from someone else is a serious offense.
Even students with high academic skills can plagiarize if they forget to reference citations.
Common Reasons Why Students Plagiarize
Usually, scholars plagiarize when they have a lack of understanding of what they research. Sometimes they consider plagiarism the easiest way out. Another reason can be a free access to all Internet resources.
How to Check Your Paper For Plagiarism
Plagiarism detection is not as simple as it seems first, because its signs may not always be obvious, but there are some issues all professors will definitely pay attention to.
- Observe your writing style.
- Observe citations throughout your work.
- Observe the font used in your work.
Learn How to Avoid Plagiarism. Main Writing Steps
The following steps will help you avoid plagiarism in your research.
- There is a large number of citation styles (APA, MLA, Turabian, Chicago, Harvard, etc.): your task is to check out what your professor wants you to use.
- When writing your paper, collect all resources in order to cite them.
- Learn how to paraphrase; it takes practicing but is not so difficult. Simply read, think about the material, and restate it in your own words.
- Know your subject: if you were not assigned with the topic, choose something you are familiar with.
- Diversify your references. It is recommended to have several references and not to use any as the primary one.
- Use a plagiarism checker. There is a large number of online plagiarism detection software. Choose only reliable and trustworthy ones. Review your plagiarism report and do not panic if it shows that you have a high percentage of duplicated content. Carefully compare your paper with a report, and change your work a bit.
The Information You Will Need to Cite:
- Authors’ names.
- Titles of the works you use.
- A date they had been published.
- A publisher (anorganization or a person responsible for the information).
Summarizing, Quoting and Paraphrasing
Summarizing
Summarizing involves including main ideas and main points into your own words. Summaries are shorter than paraphrases, as they take a broader overview of the chosen source.
Quotations
They must be identical to the original content, match word for word, and be attributed to the original article’s author.
Paraphrases
Paraphrased material includes a passage from original content by your own words. Paraphrases must be shorter than original passages, and they should be attributed to the original content.
Reasons of Using Paraphrases, Summaries and Quotations
- You highlight a striking passage, sentence or phrase by quoting the original.
- You provide examples of different points of view concerning your topic.
- You attract your readers’ attention to the point you want to agree or disagree with.
Online Plagiarism Detection. Use Free Online Tools
Below you will find some plagiarism detection sites that will help you check your work for plagiarism. Simply upload your paper or paste your text into text area:
- http://www.plagium.com/
- http://www.dustball.com/cs/plagiarism.checker/
- http://plagiarism-detect.com/
- http://www.duplichecker.com/
- http://www.plagiarismchecker.com/
- http://smallseotools.com/plagiarism-checker/
- http://www.plagscan.com/seesources/search.php?PlagSessID=bv4bulmndudrj8ukaifth5cf60
- http://plagiarisma.net/
- http://www.copyscape.com/online-plagiarism/
Good writing takes time, no matter if you have good or poor writing skills. You will need to brainstorm, plan, pre-write, draft and revise your material carefully. You will have to do everything possible if you want to avoid plagiarism in your paper. As a result, these recommendations will help when you have some doubts concerning your paper’s originality.