Plagiarism - Different Ways How You Can Avoid Plagiarism

By Suryaratna Chandrashekar
Plagiarism is the process of copying a person's idea or written work and claiming it as their original. This is just one definition for it, but at the core of it is cheating. In most countries, it is considered illegal. It can easily be avoided by citing the sources and writing your own work.

How to Prevent Plagiarism:

1. Be mindful that plagiarism happens.
2. Know the different types of its occurrence.
3. Quote the experts and then provide your own reasoning and point of view.
4. Ask for assistance. For editing or additional knowledge, a teacher, mentor or boss can assist you with the specifics.
5. Avoid the use of "common knowledge" unless the common knowledge can be followed up with facts. For example, Barrack Obama is the 44th President of the United States is a common knowledge; how many soldiers died during the war, is not.

There are a few examples of plagiarism:

a. Copying an article, essay, etc on the internet and posting it on a websites.
b. Removing the name of the author and changing it to your own name.
c. Getting the exact phrases from another person's work.
d. Copying or grabbing another person's photo, ideas, or work without their permission.
e. Presenting research in your own words without giving the reference.
f. Obtaining another person's text and using it as your own.
g. Showing the ideas in the same way as someone else, with the same research source.

Types of plagiarism:

a. The Self Stealer - The writer takes from his earlier work that has originally been used someplace else, like a college student taking an old high school paper and using it in college.
b. The Photocopy - They copied important portions straight from one source.
c. The Potluck Paper - The writer attempts to cover up plagiarism through copying from more than a few resources and rephrasing it.
d. The Poor Disguise - Important matter of the content has been retained but the writer altered it through changing key words and phrases
e. The Labor of Laziness - Paraphrasing many sources and joining them together to place it in a single work.

Ways to avoid plagiarism

1. Paraphrase - Be sure not to use someone else's words, alternate ways to say the same thing or just rewording the sentence is not going to work, it is still considered plagiarism. Write your thoughts in your own words based on your own comprehension. It is advisable to go through the needed reading material, study it then put your own spin on it to make it totally yours.
2. Quotation Marks - When you need to use someone else's writing as a basis for your article, it is advisable to put them in quotation marks.
3. Cite Sources - It is safe to put "According to doctor or professor", and a link to provide the website can.
4. Manage your time - If a deadline was given to you, it's best to work earlier so that there is an ample time to investigate or evaluate your research and write again if necessary.

No matter how you might think about it, plagiarism is stealing. You are using someone else's hard work and calling it your own. Take the time needed for what you are trying to do, and make the work your own. Then you do not have to worry later on that someone will find out that you did not do the work and cause you a lot of grief, possibly losing your job, college degree, reputation or a good friend.