Where Can I Upload My Essay For Free To Make Sure I Am Not Plagiarizing

How to Avoid Plagiarism | Mutual Mistakes & Tips

Published on October x, 2021 by Tegan George. Revised on March 17, 2022.

Plagiarism means using someone else'southward words or ideas without properly crediting the original writer. Sometimes plagiarism involves deliberately stealing someone'south work, just more often it happens accidentally, through carelessness or forgetfulness.

When you write an academic paper, you build upon the work of others and use diverse credible sources for information and testify. To avert plagiarism, you need to correctly incorporate these sources into your text.

Plagiarism tin go an outcome at various stages of the writing procedure. You can avert plagiarism past:

Keeping track of the sources you consult in your research
Paraphrasing or quoting from your sources (and calculation your own ideas)
Crediting the original author in an in-text commendation and in your reference listing
Using a plagiarism checker before y'all submit

Even accidental plagiarism tin have serious consequences, and then take care with how you integrate sources into your writing.

Keeping track of your sources

One of the virtually common ways that students commit plagiarism is by simply forgetting where an thought came from and unintentionally presenting information technology as their ain. You lot can easily avoid this pitfall by keeping your notes organized and compiling a list of citations as you get.

Clearly label which thoughts are yours and which aren't in your notes, highlight statements that demand citations, and advisedly mark whatever text copied direct from a source with quotation marks.

In the example below, ruddy indicates a claim that requires a source, bluish indicates information paraphrased or summarized from a source, and green indicates a direct quotation.

Example: Inquiry notes

Notes for my newspaper on global warming

Global warming is drastically altering our planet every year
- Greenhouse gas emissions trap heat and enhance global temperatures [cite details]
- Causes more than severe weather: hurricanes, fires, h2o scarcity [cite examples]
These changes take large impacts not but on humans only also on other species
- Animal habitats across the world are under threat from climate modify [cite examples]
- Just this year, 23 species have been declared extinct (BBC News 2021)
Global warming has even led to changes in animal behavior and physiology
- "Animals are changing shape… some are growing bigger wings, some are sprouting longer ears and others are growing larger bills" in order to cool off (Zeldovich 2021)

Managing sources with the Scribbr Citation Generator

To make your life easier afterward, make certain to write downwards the full details of every source y'all consult. That includes not simply books and journal manufactures, but likewise things like websites, magazine articles, and videos. This makes it easy to go back and bank check where yous institute a phrase, fact, or thought that y'all want to use in your paper.

Scribbr'southward Citation Generator allows you to start building and managing your reference list as you get, saving time later. When you're prepare to submit, simply download your reference listing!

Fugitive plagiarism when quoting

Quoting means copying a slice of text discussion for word. The copied text must exist introduced in your own words, enclosed in quotation marks, and correctly attributed to the original author.

In general, quote sparingly. Quotes are appropriate when:

You lot're using an exact definition, introduced by the original writer
It is impossible for you lot to rephrase the original text without losing its pregnant
You're analyzing the use of language in the original text
Yous desire to maintain the authority and style of the author'south words

Original text

"Arts and civilisation undoubtedly flourished in the '20s as a shared American popular civilization emerged thank you to the advent of radio dissemination, widely circulated magazines and movies" (Thulin, 2021).

Quoted incorrectly

In the 1920s, arts and culture undoubtedly flourished in the United states of america due to the advent of radio dissemination, widely circulated magazines and movies.

Quoted correctly

In the 1920s, "arts and civilisation undoubtedly flourished" in the Us due to "the appearance of radio broadcasting, widely circulated magazines and movies" (Thulin, 2021).

Long quotations should be formatted equally block quotes. But for longer blocks of text, it'south usually ameliorate to paraphrase instead.

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Avoiding plagiarism when paraphrasing

Paraphrasing means using your ain words to explicate something from a source.

Paraphrasing does not mean merely switching out a few words from a copy-pasted text. To paraphrase properly, y'all should rewrite the writer's indicate in your own words to bear witness that you accept fully understood it.

Original text

"Plastics harm wildlife in myriad ways, many of which scientists are merely beginning to grasp. When birds, fish and other larger animals eat plastics, the fabric can get tangled up inside their bodies and cause damage; plastics can also brand animals feel falsely full, and then they stop eating" (Dzombak, 2021).

Paraphrased incorrectly

Plastics hurt animals in a lot of ways, many of which scientists are merely starting to understand. When birds, fish and other bigger animals swallow plastics, the substance can get tangled up inside their stomachs and crusade damage; plastics can besides make animals experience artificially full, then they cease eating.

Paraphrased well

Scientists are all the same learning the extent to which plastics harm animals. According to Dzombak (2021), ingesting plastic can lead to internal damage if it gets tangled when swallowed, and tin can likewise lead animals to feel falsely full. Both prevent them from getting the nutrients they demand.

Citing your sources correctly

Every time you quote or paraphrase, you must include an in-text or footnote citation conspicuously identifying the original author. Each citation must correspond to a full reference in the reference list or bibliography at the end of your paper.

This acknowledges the source of your data, avoiding plagiarism, and information technology helps your readers locate the source for themselves if they would like to learn more than.

There are many different commendation styles, each with its own rules. A few common styles are APA, MLA, and Chicago. Your instructor may assign a detail style for you lot to use, or y'all may be able to choose. The most important thing is to apply one style consistently throughout the text.

The examples below follow APA Way.

Citing a single source

In-text citation	The novel'south central theme is voiced past Cersei Lannister: "when you play the game of thrones you win or yous die. There is no middle ground." (Martin, 2002, p. 403).
Reference list	Martin, Grand. R. R. (2002). A game of thrones (Reprint ed.). Runted.

Citing multiple sources

If you quote multiple sources in 1 sentence, make sure to cite them separately and so that it's articulate which cloth came from which source.

In-text commendation	Martin'southward narrative can exist read equally a classic "zero-sum game" (Morgenstern and von Neumann, 1980, p.98), where players in the "game of thrones" either "win or die" (Martin, 2002, p. 403), with no other outcomes possible.
Reference list	Martin, Chiliad. R. R. (2002). A game of thrones (Reprint ed.). Bantam. Morgenstern, O., & von Neumann, J. (1980). Theory of games and economic behavior (3rd ed.). Princeton University Press.

To create correctly formatted source citations, you can utilize our costless Commendation Generator.

APA Citation Generator MLA Citation Generator

And if you lot're citing in APA Way, consider using Scribbr's Commendation Checker, a unique tool that scans your citations for errors. It can find inconsistencies betwixt your in-text citations and your reference list, also as making sure your citations are flawlessly formatted.

Using a plagiarism checker

Most universities use plagiarism checkers to detect potential plagiarism. Plagiarism checkers work by scanning your document, comparing it to a database of webpages and publications, and highlighting passages that appear similar to other texts.

Consider using a plagiarism checker yourself before submitting your newspaper. This allows you to identify bug that could plant accidental plagiarism, such as:

Forgotten or misplaced citations
Missing quotation marks
Paraphrased material that'southward too like to the original text

And so you can hands fix any instances of potential plagiarism.

There are differences in accuracy and safety betwixt plagiarism checkers. To assist students cull, we conducted in-depth research comparison the functioning of 9 checkers to see which performed best.

When using someone else's verbal words, I have properly formatted them as a quote.
When using someone else'south ideas, I have properly paraphrased, expressing the idea completely in my own words.
I take included an in-text citation every time I use words, ideas, or information from a source.
Every source I cited is included in my reference list or bibliography.
I accept consistently followed the rules of my required commendation style.
I have not committed self-plagiarism by reusing whatever function of a previous paper.
I have used a reliable plagiarism checker as a terminal check.

Complimentary lecture slides

Are you lot a teacher or professor who would like to educate your students about plagiarism? You tin download our gratis lecture slides, available for Google Slides and Microsoft PowerPoint.

Open Google SlidesDownload PowerPoint

Oft asked questions

Can plagiarism exist accidental?: Accidental plagiarism is one of the most mutual examples of plagiarism. Peradventure you forgot to cite a source, or paraphrased something a bit also closely. Maybe yous can't retrieve where you got an thought from, and aren't totally sure if it's original or not.

These all count as plagiarism, fifty-fifty though yous didn't do information technology on purpose. When in doubtfulness, brand sure you lot're citing your sources. Also consider running your piece of work through a plagiarism checker tool prior to submission, which work by using advanced database software to browse for matches betwixt your text and existing texts.

Scribbr'due south Plagiarism Checker takes less than 10 minutes and tin help you plow in your newspaper with confidence.
How is plagiarism detected?: Plagiarism tin be detected by your professor or readers if the tone, formatting, or style of your text is different in different parts of your paper, or if they're familiar with the plagiarized source.

Many universities also utilise plagiarism detection software like Turnitin'due south, which compares your text to a large database of other sources, flagging whatsoever similarities that come.

It can be easier than y'all think to commit plagiarism by accident. Consider using a plagiarism checker prior to submitting your paper to ensure you haven't missed any citations.