How to Avoid Plagiarism: Basic Rules for Writing Homework
Plagiarism is among the worst offenses that a student can commit during his or her course of study. There are several students who have been expelled from various learning institutions due to this malpractice. It is important to learn how to avoid plagiarism from the onset. It beats logic to waste all your years in class because of plagiarism. The good thing is that there are several ways of avoiding plagiarism. Finding information for any research paper is not an uphill task. The challenge is how you will include that information in your research paper without falling in the trap of plagiarism. This article will give you some tips on how to avoid plagiarism. These are very simple steps that will guide you through your research paper so that the product you deliver for review is free from plagiarism.
Is paraphrasing plagiarism?
Now that you understand why it is important to avoid plagiarism, the first tip on how to avoid plagiarism in academic writing is to paraphrase. This comes after you find the right information for your research paper. All you need to do is read through this information carefully and put it in your own words. Be keen not to copy paste verbatim more that two words that follow each other in the text. It is wise to use quotation marks in case if you want to use more than two words in a row. This is the surest way of producing a plag-free document. However, we will be dealing with how to properly place quotation marks within the text.
Avoid plagiarism in academic writing: cite
Other tips on how to avoid plagiarism include citation. Citation is among the most effective ways to avoid plagiarism. You need to follow the right formatting guidelines that your current learning institution is using. Some of the formatting guidelines include Harvard, Chicago, MLA, and APA just to name a few. The citation process entails including the names of the authors plus the publication date and any other similar information. The reader will get to understand the source of that information and hence no one will charge you with plagiarism. Citation is not a very hard thing to do. All you need to do is have all the citation guidelines on your fingertips. It is a grant academic mistake to use the wrong format while doing the citation. The good thing is that students can find all these guidelines online. In fact, not citing your content in the right manner can still amount to plagiarism.
Quoting to produce a no-plag document
Make sure the quote appears exactly the way it is when quoting a source. There is no person who likes being misquoted. Most institution of higher learning frown on quotes or ‘block quotes’ that are more than 40 words. One of the reasons why you should not plagiarize is to avoid victimization. As a scholar, you should be able to paraphrase most of the materials in an effective manner. The process may take you a lot of time but the effort is highly rewarding. Make sure you properly quote so as to avoid any allegations of plagiarism.
Citing Quotes By Students
By now, I believe you understand why plagiarism is important. There is a great difference between citing a paraphrased material and citing a quote. The later practically entails adding a paragraph number of number page whenever you are handling web content. The most important thing is to acknowledge the source of information. Make sure you cite all the quotes in an appropriate manner and no one will charge you with plagiarism.
The student should learn to cite material
May you have used the material you are using for your research paper at some point in your class work. You must learn to cite anything that you have used somewhere else in the course of study. You need to treat the text in a similar manner that another person would. I know this may sound odd to you but the idea of using a material that you have used previously can amount to self-plagiarism. Therefore, you need to understand why plagiarism should be avoided by acknowledging your personal content. No professor will overlook the aspect of plagiarizing your own content in the name of ‘it is my work.’ Learn to acknowledge your own work before you respect that od other authors.
Referencing produces plagiarism-free content
Including a page of works cited or reference page at the end of the research paper is among the most important ways of avoiding plagiarism. Make sure that your reference page meets all the guidelines for formatting documents. These guidelines should also be in line with the requirements of your learning institution. The page should have specific information that appertains the names of the authors, title, publication date, and source. Make sure you carefully follow the direction of this page. It is very important to get the references right.
Use a plagiarism checker
You can be keen with all these tips but still find some instances of plagiarism in your work. You can always countercheck the originality of your work by using a plagiarism check software. This will just make sure that you are safe especially if someone is helping you to work on the assignment. It is wise to subscribe for a premium version because free ones are not always the best. Get a reliable plagiarism checker and use it to conform the originality of your work. In conclusion, I believe you now understand why is plagiarism so important. You don’t want to lose your chance of higher learning y indulging in this academic vise. Submitting a plag-free assignment to your instructor will give you some assurance of passing your exams. It takes a high level of personal responsibility to produce original content. You cannot talk about quality if you don’t acknowledge the source of your information. Learn to appreciate other authors as you expect other users to acknowledge your contribution to the body of knowledge.