Plagiarism is when you use someone else’s ideas or words without giving them credit. Avoiding plagiarism involves respecting the work of others and not passing it off as your own. You want readers to trust that your work has credibility and this won’t happen if you aren’t transparent about your sources. Here are some of the ways to prevent plagiarism in your academic writing.
Keep track of your sources and cite them correctly
When doing your research, you must keep track of your sources. This can help you to avoid unintentionally using someone else’s work without acknowledging it. Keeping track of the author’s name, date of publication, page numbers of the articles you consulted, etc. facilitates accountability in your writing. Citing your sources correctly is a way to acknowledge the effort that went into creating the original work. The way in which you cite a source will depend on the style guide you have to follow. Common styles include APA, MLA, and Harvard style. Today you can use reference management software to organize your citations. You will need to include all your text citations in your reference list too.
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Include quotation marks
If you want to know how to avoid plagiarism in academic writing one of the most obvious ways is to use quotation marks. Putting quotation marks around text indicates that the words aren’t your own.
- You can use quotation marks if you want to avoid changing technical or subject-specific terms in your source text.
- An appropriate quote from an expert should reinforce your ideas. It shouldn’t substitute for your ideas or overshadow them.
- The quote must integrate well into the sentence. It must be accurate in both the wording and the attribution.
- If you quote directly from a source you should also cite it so readers know who it comes from.
Paraphrase and rewrite
If you want to know how to stop plagiarism, you won’t ever copy verbatim from an original source. You have to rephrase the material in your own words while retaining its meaning. When you have a thorough understanding of the material, it becomes easier to paraphrase. You can learn how to paraphrase by reading the source text, understanding its meaning, and then rewriting it in your own words.
After rewriting it, see if there are words you could change that are too similar to the original text. Do not use synonyms or words that are close to the original one just for the sake of it. When you rewrite, you have to be careful not to lose the original meaning. As you are using someone else’s ideas, you will need to include a source citation.
Present your original ideas
Your own ideas and your original voice probably count most when trying to avoid plagiarism. The ideas of other authors and their research can give context to your argument but the reader wants to know what you think. What original thoughts do you have to contribute? You should also try to avoid ‘self-plagiarism’ which is when you repeat your own words or ideas.
Use a plagiarism checker
Using an online plagiarism checker can help you to identify any plagiarism issues in your essays. It uses algorithms to compare your text with a vast database that includes websites, journal articles, etc. This can be helpful in picking up unintended plagiarism. You can rewrite flagged content and check it again to make sure it clears in the plagiarism checker. Universities expect you to use a plagiarism checker to avoid plagiarism in your work.
Conclusion
A charge of plagiarism can have an adverse effect on your career and the reputation of your university. It is a form of intellectual theft. This is why universities have such strict policies about plagiarism. You need to avoid plagiarism to ensure academic integrity and respect the work of others. Plagiarism prevention methods include citing your sources correctly, including quotation marks, paraphrasing, giving your unique ideas, and using a plagiarism checker.
Gloria Delgado is a writer who believes that perseverance and versatility are the pillars on which the writing rests. She has implemented this in her career which has helped her to be a top-ranker in the academic world. To break monotony and have a relaxed mind, she loves to play with her pets and watch movies when she’s not writing papers.
