Plagiarism is one of the greatest sins in academic writing… well, in any kind of writing, really. In academic writing, however, it’s difficult to avoid it because you have to rely on multiple resources to write a project.
How to Avoid Plagiarism: Important Things to Know
Many students mistake plagiarism for copying someone else’s work from word to word. Yes, of course, hat’s plagiarism. You mustn’t copy someone else’s words without giving them credit. However, the plagiarism in academic writing can be much subtle than that. Plagiarism is deliberate or accidental representation of another author’s words, ideas, or thoughts as your own. You see, even the ideas and thoughts can be plagiarized. That occurs when you present them with your own words, but don’t give credit to the one who thought of them first. Knowing that you go through tons of ideas before writing a paper, how can you avoid plagiarism?
It’s not as easy as it seems. There are ways to prevent plagiarism, but you need to be aware of them before you start writing. That’s what XpertWriters.com is here for – teaching you the things you have to know about academic writing.
How Do You Avoid Plagiarism? Here’s Your Step-By-Step Guide
In order to learn how can plagiarism be avoided, you need to understand the different types of plagiarism first. Then, we’ll go through few tips that will help you produce 100% original work every single time.
1. Understand the Types of Plagiarism
Direct plagiarism means copying another author’s work, word for word. Marine Le Pen’s speech during the French presidential campaign is quickly becoming one of the most famous examples of plagiarism.
Accidental plagiarism means forgetting to provide citations for all ideas that inspired you, misquoting a source, or forgetting to give credit to the sources you paraphrased.
Mosaic plagiarism means forgetting to put the quotation marks when you’re quoting another author. Even if you mention the author in your text, you have to separate the quote from your own words.
Self-plagiarism means submitting a previous paper for a new assignment.
In academic writing, you have to avoid all of these.
2. Take Notes When Doing Research!
You have to know where your ideas are coming from. When you’re doing the reading, take notes of the ideas you can use in your paper, but don’t forget to note what source they came from. You can’t remember these things.
3. Find Your Ideas First!
Brainstorming is an effective practice that can help you avoid accidental plagiarism. Before you start going through different resources, list your own ideas regarding the topic. What do you think about it?
4. Don’t Forget the Outline
When you have an outline, you’ll know exactly where you’ll put the quotes and where you’ll express your own ideas.
5. Always Cite Your Sources
Pick only authoritative sources to use in your papers and never forget to cite them! Use the citation style your professor recommended and implement its rules to the tiniest detail.
What Is Plagiarism and How Can You Avoid It? Now You Know!
Now that we exposed the best strategies to avoid plagiarism, it’s time for you to change your writing practice. If you’re used to stealing other people’s ideas and presenting them as your own, you’re not getting the benefits academic writing has to offer. Each essay you write is important because it helps you learn how to identify your original ideas and expose them. You’re learning how to support your ideas with facts and arguments. You don’t develop that skill when you plagiarize.
Needless to say, you can’t get a good grade if you plagiarize. Your teachers have already seen the authoritative resources you rely on. They will easily spot another author’s idea in your essay and they won’t like it if you don’t give that author the credit they deserve.
What did you notice in the tips we listed above? The most important thing is to avoid the so-called blind writing. You have to know where your sources are coming from, and you need to plan your approach before you start writing the paper. Otherwise, it’s easy to confuse someone else’s ideas with your own and you won’t even know you’re getting into the dangerous area of plagiarism. Remember: by the definition of plagiarism, accidents are not excused. Your professor won’t forgive you for forgetting to cite a source. You can’t leave things to chance.
There’s another important thing to keep in mind: your work will always be 100% free of plagiarism when you collaborate with XpertWriters.com.