How To Avoid Plagiarism
By: Erica Wilson and Gabrielle Hernandez
You are browsing the internet, searching for some information on a research paper you were assigned last week. You’re reading an article, and there it is: the perfect sentence; the words taken right out of your mouth. There must be no harm in taking a sentence or few, right? But there is and there are many who find out the hard way the consequences of such acts. Plagiarism is known as the infringement or theft of words or ideas that are not your own, but rather someone else's. Which means that plagiarism is not restricted to one field. The most common is simple English assignments such as this and that--although you may be unaware of plagiarizing--you are still liable for its consequences. The act of plagiarizing any type of information is frowned upon and punishable by suspension and possibly expulsion in many high schools and universities. |
One must be mindful that plagiarizing occurs in all fields such as “music, images, written words, video, and a variety of other media”. In many circumstances, people may not intend to plagiarize others works. For instances, there are billions of people in the world, so chances are at least one or two of those people are going to have the same idea as you and that is fine. However, plagiarism is when you deliberately duplicate someone’s work without properly referencing them as a source in order to avoid using your own mind and ideas. Although some people may think it is difficult to avoid plagiarism, it can be very simple. |
Ways To Avoid Plagiarism:
Once you understand the rules of plagiarism you will be able to identify the necessary steps to circumvent it. If you are planning to use someone else’s words or ideas it is necessary that you cite it and quote the author’s words. Don’t confuse the author’s words for common facts such as “July fourth is Independence Day in the United States or CD stands for compact disc”. It’s also important to keep track of what you have researched and where you have obtained the information from, to compare the sources of knowledge to be able to determine which words are your own and which aren’t. Make sure to cite when you paraphrase if all else fails and use legitimate sources to ensure that your information is reliable. For example, Purdue Owl is a reliable source to assist you in your research and proper documentation.
- Paraphrase if you need to. Try your best to use your own words.
- Cite or reference any information you use from someone else. (i.e. quotations, footnotes, in-text citations, Purdue Owl Online Writing Lab; https://owl.english.purdue.edu/)
- Also, use legitimate reliable sources. For example, articles, Google Scholar, or any other credible website where you are guaranteed that the information you use is correct and dependable.
Once you understand the rules of plagiarism you will be able to identify the necessary steps to circumvent it. If you are planning to use someone else’s words or ideas it is necessary that you cite it and quote the author’s words. Don’t confuse the author’s words for common facts such as “July fourth is Independence Day in the United States or CD stands for compact disc”. It’s also important to keep track of what you have researched and where you have obtained the information from, to compare the sources of knowledge to be able to determine which words are your own and which aren’t. Make sure to cite when you paraphrase if all else fails and use legitimate sources to ensure that your information is reliable. For example, Purdue Owl is a reliable source to assist you in your research and proper documentation.