Tips to Avoid Plagiarism in Your Writing
Every college and high school student knows that plagiarizing, although extremely easy, is morally corrupt and can result in a variety of adverse consequences in their academic life. However, even if you try your best and don’t simply copy and paste somebody else’s work, there’s still a chance that your school’s plagiarism checker will show a low percentage of uniqueness. If you want to avoid accidental plagiarism in your writing, be sure to check plagiarism tips below and find the best free online plagiarism checker for students to make sure you don’t fail any of your academic assignments.
What is accidental plagiarism?
While there are many different types of plagiarism, today, we will focus on accidental plagiarism. The first step to knowing how to avoid accidental plagiarism is knowing what it is. If you unintentionally fail to reference the original source, which originally presented your ideas or arguments, your work will be marked as copied. Regardless of whether you misquote an original source or fail to paraphrase it successfully, doing so may result in a variety of adverse consequences in the academic context. However, there are a few ways to avoid finding yourself in such a situation, so let’s go over them.
Use plagiarism checkers
The best way to make sure your work is original and not plagiarized is by using a free online checker before submitting your assignment to the professor. While there are many various plagiarism checking tools online, you can find our personal favorite here. By reviewing the plagiarism report prior to submitting your essay or research paper, you can avoid any accidental plagiarism. If any of the sentences are marked as copied, be sure to paraphrase them or quote the original source properly.
Organize your sources properly
When working on a writing assignment, the process of conducting research and knowing what to talk about is extremely important. However, you should keep in mind that if you borrow an idea or a direct quote from somebody else’s work, you should reference the original author. To make sure you don’t miss out on any of the works you’re citing, organize all of your resources before you actually start the writing process itself. One of the ways to do so is by creating an outline with quotes you are planning on using.
Know how to acknowledge others’ work
Unfortunately, many schools fail to explain to their students how to reference others’ work properly, which is why you can sometimes find your writing accidentally plagiarized. First of all, you should know the exact formatting style your professor wants you to use in an assignment; check out the instructions carefully and feel free to ask any questions if necessary. Then, you can either request assistance from your professor or school’s writing center or check out the formatting guidelines online.
Be careful with online resources
One of the reasons you may find specific parts of your work being accidentally plagiarized is that the work you got your information from did not reference the original source. Although the majority of books and peer-reviewed journal articles are strictly monitored and provide an exhaustive list of references and useful literature, such is not always the case with articles published online. If you’re planning on incorporating an online publication is your assignment, make sure that it is properly formatted and references other studies or articles. Although looking for such an article can be a bit time-consuming, it will ultimately be worth it.
When in doubt, give credit
If you’re not sure about whether or not you have to reference a source, we recommend that you stay on the safe side and give credit to the original author. By doing so, you are showing respect to the work you’re referencing, making your writing seem more professional and credible, and lowering the risks of your submission being marked as plagiarized. Plagiarism checker free online will also help you to know whether or not you should quote somebody else.
Accidental plagiarism is something that can happen to every student at some point in their academic life. Luckily, avoiding it is not a complicated task, and hopefully, this article could help you. When working on your next writing assignment, be sure to keep in mind these pieces of advice, and you should be fine.