Plagiarism is a serious offense that can damage your reputation and credibility as a writer or content creator. It is essential to avoid it by ensuring your work is original and properly cited. Plagiarism is using someone else’s work, ideas, or words without giving proper credit or citation. There are five types of plagiarism. They include:

• Direct plagiarism occurs when a person copies and pastes someone else’s work without giving proper credit to the original author. It is the most obvious type of plagiarism.
• Paraphrasing plagiarism: This occurs when a person rephrases someone else’s work in their own words without giving proper credit. While the words may differ, the original work’s ideas and structure are still the same.
• Self-plagiarism: This occurs when a person submits work that has already been published or submitted elsewhere without acknowledging that fact.
• Mosaic plagiarism: Also known as patchwork plagiarism, it occurs when a person takes phrases, sentences, or paragraphs from someone else’s work and incorporates them into their own without giving proper credit.
• Accidental plagiarism: This occurs when a person unintentionally uses someone else’s work without giving proper credit. This can happen when someone is unaware of how to cite sources properly.

How to avoid writing a plagiarized content

Here are some tips on how to avoid writing a plagiarized content, along with examples: 

Thoroughly research topics

To avoid duplicating ideas and paraphrasing content from a single source. It is vital to conduct thorough research from multiple sources and websites. Take the time to deeply understand the subject matter, and support your views with evidence from numerous sources. This approach will ensure that your content is unique, well-informed, and it will help you to learn more about which technique is helpful in avoiding plagiarism.

Cite your source

Whenever you reference an idea or wording that is not yours in your essay. It is crucial to provide a citation that includes the full name of the source, the publication date, and any other citation details that are specified by the citation guide you are following The citation formats can either be MLA, APA, or Chicago. This ensures that you give proper credit to the original author. 

Example: 

Original content – “According to a study by Harvard University, exercise can improve your mental health.”

Plagiarized content – “Exercise can improve your mental health.”

Non-plagiarized content – “According to a study by Harvard University, exercise can improve your mental health (Smith, 2019).”

Present your unique idea

Rather than simply repeating the ideas or words of a source, aim to develop your own perspective or point of view when incorporating their ideas into your writing. Consider how you can contribute a unique perspective that is entirely your own. However, it’s important to remember that if you reference a source’s ideas or words to frame your point, you still need to apply the above guidelines to avoid plagiarizing.

If you are writing on the same topic for multiple assignments, reusing some of your previous work may be tempting. However, this practice, known as “self-plagiarism,” can be just as damaging as plagiarism from other sources, particularly if you do not have permission from the publisher or instructor to reuse your own work. Therefore, producing fresh, original content for each new writing project is vital.

Paraphrase

It is acceptable to paraphrase another person’s content when writing, but this does not mean simply rearranging the author’s sentences or substituting words with synonyms. Effective paraphrasing requires a thorough understanding of the source material and the ability to produce the point in your own words while correctly summarizing the original content. Additionally, it is important to include quotes or unique phrases from the original source when appropriate. It is also good to provide a proper citation to avoid any potential plagiarism issues. 

Example: 

Original content – “The benefits of exercise are numerous. It can improve your physical health, mental health, and overall well-being.”

Plagiarized content – “Exercise has numerous benefits such as improving physical health, mental health, and overall well-being.”

Non-plagiarized content – “There are many benefits to exercise, including improvements in physical health, mental health, and overall well-being.”

Use a plagiarism checker

Anti-plagiarism tools, also known as plagiarism checkers, are designed to quickly compare your written work to other web pages and generate a report on potential plagiarism. To use a plagiarism checker, simply copy and paste your text into the software, which is readily available online, with many free to use options. Several popular tools that offer plagiarism-checking features include Grammarly and Small SEO Tools.

Plagiarism should be avoided at all costs to maintain your personal and professional integrity. The most effective way on how to prevent plagiarism is to educate yourself about its various forms and how to avoid them. By reading this blog, you have taken an important step towards protecting yourself from the potential consequences of plagiarism, whether intentional or accidental.