How to avoid plagiarism
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Ibrahim Akturk
- September 15, 2023
In any type of academic paper, it is critical not to plagiarize in your work. Otherwise, you risk failing your academic paper, or even being suspended from your academic institution. So avoiding plagiarism is very important in the academic context.
Read our how-to guide to learn more about plagiarism and how to avoid it by citing sources correctly.
What is plagiarism?
Plagiarism is when you take someone else’s words or ideas without recognizing or citing (in APA & MLA) their work. This term applies to ideas, words, and unique structures found anywhere—in a book, on a website, or in an email.
In other words, when you take others’ ideas for your paper, you must recognize the source and give a reference. It tells your reader where you got this information. If not, you’re guilty of plagiarism!
When writing an academic paper,
The basic act of copying and pasting may seem innocent in our tech-savvy world, but it has severe repercussions in academic and professional contexts. You must do your best to avoid plagiarism.
Plagiarism has important consequences, so make sure to follow these steps for any type of paper you write.
Step 1: Keep a list of sources you used
One of the reasons why students commit plagiarism is that they forget where an idea came from and present it as their own unintentionally.
So keeping a note of sources to use is a smart idea. When you outline your essay, you’ll come across many sources. Simply list them somewhere on your PC or notebook.
During writing or even when you finish, go back to your writing to make sure that you’ve correctly referenced the outside information. So the key takeaway of this step is:
- Keep note of all the sources you use, including websites, magazine articles, and videos, in addition to books and journal articles.
Step 2: Use quotations or paraphrase!
Suppose you intend to write an idea or a piece of information from another source during your writing process. In that case, you must either quote the original text paraphrase.
Using quotations
Copying a piece of text word by word is known as quotation. So quotations must be written exactly as they appear in the source.
To show that the words aren’t your own, use quotation marks around the text. And make sure to include a source citation so that readers can see where the quote came from.
Let’s have a look at the quotation example below:
Quotation example
The ancient Greeks never felt the necessity to justify battles fought outside the city state’s boundaries. In her book On Revolution, Hannah Arendt argues that “…we must turn to Roman antiquity to find the first justification of war, together with the first notion that there are just and unjust wars” (12). Quotation example However, the Roman view of a fair war differs significantly from current notions.
Pro tip
Unless you're writing a literary piece where you need to add "to much exact text from source", don't include too many direct quotations. Generally, 1-2 direct quotation per page is ideal.Paraphrase when necessary
Presenting thoughts and facts in your own words while recognizing where they come from is known as paraphrasing. You can use a paraphrasing tool for this.
In other words, you’re still making use of outside information but writing this information with your own words.
Let’s have a look at paraphrasing example below.
Paraphrasing example
| Original Text | Paraphrased Version |
|---|---|
|
"The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) was established on 16 November 1945." |
UNESCO, founded in 1945, is an international organization dedicated to promoting education, science, and culture (UNESCO, 2019). |
- As you see from the example, you need to reference the source at the end of the sentence even though it's paraphrased.
- The key to successful paraphrasing is to use as few words from the source text as possible.
- As you paraphrase, be careful not to change the meaning of the original source.
When to use quotation or paraphrasing
You should use quotation when…
- You can’t paraphrase the original material without distorting the author’s meaning.
- Your attempts to paraphrase the source content are clumsy or considerably longer than the original.
- You feel the author's original words are memorable or exceptional.
You should paraphrase if…
- You want to highlight the points that are most relevant to your research paper.
- You need to make complicated arguments, phrases (see common phrasal words), or language (see UK, US English, passive voice, verb tenses, etc.) easier to understand.
- You need to translate technical or particular information into language that is understandable to your target audience.
Step 3: Cite your sources
Citation examples (APA and MLA)
According to Smith (2019), APA citation example climate change is a pressing global issue.
In a study by Johnson et al. (2020), APA citation example it was found that exercise can improve mental health.
The study found that "women who consumed more than three cups of coffee per day had a 21% higher risk of cardiovascular disease" (Jones et al. 24). MLA citation example
The report suggests that "the use of artificial intelligence in the workplace may lead to significant job displacement" ("AI in the Workplace" par. 4). MLA citation example
Citation best practices
- It is not necessary to cite common knowledge facts. For example, “Berlin is the capital of Germany” is a well-known and undisputed fact. Therefore, you don’t need to provide a citation for it.
- Cite if you use material from a previous paper you've written. It is self-plagiarism if you use something you’ve already published without citing it.
- Add the in-text citation every time you quote or paraphrase.
- Each in-text citation must be followed by a full reference in your paper’s works cited list or bibliography. This explains where the material originated from in detail, allowing your readers to go down the source on their own.
- To manage and cite the sources you used in your paper, you can use a citation software such as MyBib or Scribbr,
Step 4: Use a plagiarism checker tool
So you’ve kept a list of the sources, paraphrased or used quotations, and finally added in-text citations. Before handing out your paper, it’s a good idea to check whether it’s still plagiarized or if you’ve missed out something to reference.
You can check how much of your work is plagiarized using a variety of plagiarism detection websites such as EasyBib, Plagiarismchecker.ai or Grammarly.
Plagiarism checkers are used by most institutions to identify plagiarism in student papers. This technology analyzes your work and compares it to a large database of publications and websites, highlighting parts that are too similar to other sources.
- This can help you see the parts where you’ve forgot to cite something, omitted quotation marks, or inserted a paraphrase that's too close to the original text. Then you can quickly correct any instances of possible plagiarism by following the steps above.
Key takeaways for avoiding plagiarism
- Understanding what plagiarism is and why it's important to avoid it is crucial for all writers.
- Properly citing sources through in-text citations and bibliographies is essential for avoiding plagiarism.
- Paraphrasing, summarizing, and quoting sources accurately can also help prevent unintentional plagiarism.
- Utilizing plagiarism detection tools like Turnitin and Grammarly can assist in identifying instances of plagiarism in your writing.
These tips can help you prevent plagiarism in your essay or research paper. Learning how to avoid plagiarism, in addition to being more aware of what causes plagiarism, requires regular practice. So, keep working.
