To avoid plagiarism, writers need to understand the definitions of plagiarism and explore how to avoid them to write a non-plagiarized paper 

Finding information for most research papers is as easy as a blink of an eye but putting them down on your word is not that easy without falling into the plagiarism trap. But this has been a thing that can be avoided. Many will wonder how, but you don’t have to worry because in this article you are going to learn how will you save a few hours writing an original paper.

For you to avoid plagiarism entirely in your writing, you need to know and understand well what plagiarism is. Once you know it, you can proceed to learn how to avoid it.

Multiple definitions of plagiarism 

As mention earlier, for you to save a few hours and write a plagiarism-free paper; you need not only to know the meaning of plagiarism but also understand well what it is. You should be mindful of several types of plagiarism. According to Frank, Plagiarism occurs when a writer uses someone else’s ideas or words but does not give the original writer credit and instead passes off the material as his or her own. When you use another author’s views, you must give him or her credit and show that it’s someone’s ideas and not yours.

Passing someone’s ideas as your own is also considered to be plagiarism.  If you mention some information or express it in your own words, it is not regarded as plagiarism. According to professors, if a student copies directly from another student or from a published article, normal or any source this form of piracy is inexcusable.

Similarly, if you use another author’s ideas and mistakenly cite an incorrect source, that is yet another kind of plagiarism.  Professor may understand it as a mistake, but it remains a serious offense.  Some students try to cite non-existing sources which are termed as severe cheating, and if you are caught doing so, you will face the consequences.

Other definitions of plagiarisms are; “Plagiarism is purposely using another person’s writing as your own. You cannot present as your own another person’s words, music, or drawings without providing a citation to that person” (Lester and Lester, 2005), Plagiarism is failing to acknowledge your sources used.

When you look at these definitions keenly, you will notice that they all entail the act of writing. As a student, you will do more academic writing throughout your academic career.  Most of the time as you do these writings you rely on other sources to obtain information hence you should give credit where necessary.

Other forms of plagiarism

Using maps, illustrations and tables can also be plagiarism if you fail to acknowledge materials or ideas from sources that are not yours. You need to make appropriate acknowledgments of the authors you quote, both in your talk and in the slides that you use.

How Much Plagiarism Is allowed in writing?

Copying someone’s ideas and presenting them as your own is a serious crime a student can ever commit. You can be sued or get your result canceled and end up wasting your time and tarnishing your name.  It is a fact that many students with no ideas on how to change specific ideas without plagiarizing keep on asking their professors how much copying is allowed.

The absolute answer that comes immediately from them is ZERO. Nothing is surprising! You should be able to paraphrase and rewrite. Teachers assign your assignment to see how good you are or you have the necessary skills when demonstrating your own opinions basing them on someone’s ideas.

Copying and pasting are doing nothing other than frustrating your professor and violating Copywrite. Plagiarism can be avoided by paraphrasing. Borrow someone’s opinion and write in your own words such that no one can recognize where you have taken them from. This is the best way to mitigate it.

When using quotes remember that it should be less than twenty percent, if you have found a quote that fits best your research paper or beginning of your paper begins with a citation.

Not all academic writing is original

To be honest, all scholarly papers are just ideas from other documented sources but put students put them down in their own words.  Do you think you can come up with a new approach now yet people have been writing over the years? The answer is no! And if you come up with your original idea, it will be automatically considered as wrong or irrelevant.

Professors who give you assignments need the existing thoughts paraphrased appropriately.  So before you start writing your paper, you first need to find a valid journal or book.

By saying valid I mean written in the last three years and it is a scholarly or peer-reviewed source. Scholarly sources are those sources whose purpose is to be used by students and academics. Magazines and news publications are not professional journals to be relied on.

Six steps to avoid plagiarism

1. Give Yourself Plenty of Time to Complete an Assignment

Rushing to complete your assignment is the primary cause of plagiarism. When a student is behind time, he/she will be tempted to copy directly such that he or she can beat time. Don’t let temptations lead you into troubles that can be avoided, plan your time well to meet the deadlines scheduled.

Plan your time earlier by starting doing your assignment immediately you are given. Since writing an original paper is a step-by-step process set your deadlines for each step along the way and make sure to provide yourself with more than enough time to finish everything.

2. Use plagiarism checker software

You can use Turnitin or any other sophisticated software to detect plagiarism easily. This software is easy to use, and it saves time also. Note that it is not advisable to copy someone’s work because you know that you will pass your work through this software, it is not a good idea sometimes since this software might show zero even if you have stolen all your ideas from other documented sources.

3. Paraphrasing

Put the same thoughts down but with your own words. Make sure that the same meaning maintains. Rewrite summaries and paraphrases in your own words and style; don’t just rearrange sentences or use synonyms.

4. Use quotation marks

If there is a particular sentence that you cannot do without, use quotation marks to acknowledges people’s work. Make sure to use the correct citing format that is accepted or depending on the format style you are using; for instance “Plagiarism is the failure to acknowledge your sources or the act of making it appear that someone else’s work is your own” (Pearson Education, 2006).

5. Give a Citation

For the general knowledge information that is commonly available in many sources, you need to include a citation, regardless of whether you are quoting directly from the source, paraphrasing it, or giving a summary.

6. Make a reference list

Avoid plagiarism by making a list of references at the end of your research paper. This is to ensure that any source used is acknowledged. This also assures your teacher that you had no intentions of stealing.

With no doubt, I believe this will help you write your academic paper free from plagiarism. You have to make sure that you cite the entire sources you have used, either by summarizing them, paraphrase, or quote them. If you list a reference, make sure that you have the in-text citation.

To prevent plagiarizing work, it is possible to ask a custom writer to give a helping hand. It is better to submit a work written by a professional writer in his or her own words than copying a book and submit it to your professor. Trust the work done by professional, writers instead of breaching Copywrite regulations.

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