The Definition of Plagiarism: Key Things to Know about Writing Academic Papers

Posted by Laura Buckler on March 19th, 2018

Every university has an academic handbook aimed at helping students avoid plagiarism in their work. There’s a reason why such resources are being offered – plagiarism is a serious offense, probably one of the biggest infractions in the academic world.

On occasions, it is possible to commit plagiarism involuntarily because you’re not aware of its precise definition. Reading more about it or getting coursework writing help can help you avoid serious repercussions in the future.

What is Plagiarism in the Academic World?

Academic plagiarism is a vio0lation that involves taking somebody else’s work and presenting it as your own.

Whether you take an entire paper written by somebody else or you paste a few sentences in your essay, you will be committing plagiarism. The size of the plagiarized text doesn’t really matter – this is a very serious offense that could have a detrimental impact on your academic future.

It doesn’t really matter whether the author consents to you presenting their work as your own or not. Unless you have created the text on your own and via the provision of proper attribution, you are committing an act of plagiarism.

Keep in mind that plagiarism has several forms. Cutting and pasting somebody else’s text in your own is just one of the possibilities.

The lack of a clear acknowledgment at the end of the paper is also considered plagiarism. You have to provide references every time you include somebody else’s ideas or quotes in your own text. Even if you paraphrase the work of somebody else, you will still have to attribute. If you don’t, you’re essentially appropriating somebody else’s work and delivering it as your own.

The Common Knowledge Exception

To be on the safe side, you have to attribute all ideas that you feature in your academic work. The good news is that an exception does exist.

Information that is considered common knowledge doesn’t have to be attributed. These are generally facts that most people know and that cannot be traced to a single original source.

The context of the paper itself is also important when it comes to determining whether something is common knowledge or not. If you say that lung cancer is going down due to prophylactic measures and anti-smoking campaigns, you generally don’t have to provide a reference. Whenever you provide a specific number or a percentage reduction in annual lung cancer diagnoses, however, you will need to include the source of information in your paper.

Not only does the reference protect you from eventually being considered a plagiarist, it also strengthens the argument. If you use reputable, verifiable sources, chances are that your academic work will perform better.

How to Avoid Plagiarism in Your Academic Work?

The simplest way to avoid plagiarism is to present original ideas as much as possible and to include solid references to everything you’re either quoting or paraphrasing.

If you are still uncertain about the originality of your work, you may want to try anti-plagiarism software. Most professors already use such programs to make sure that their students haven’t copied a text written by somebody else.

There are free of charge plagiarism checkers you can find online.

These will often provide surprising results, even if you haven’t copied somebody else’s work. When looking at reference materials and doing research, you can easily be influenced by the writing styles of different authors. Thus, you may eventually adopt their style or replicate entire phrases without even realizing.

When in doubt, don’t attempt to paraphrase. Quote the original and tell the reader who the author of the quote is. This is a safe approach and it can be a powerful paper-crafting tool. This is particularly true for brilliant quotes that can’t be rephrased without losing some of their original strength.

A final thing you may want to do is read the sources to understand the subject matter and write down your own notes on the topic. When you complete this preliminary process, you can avoid looking at the reference material while writing. Focus on your notes and the ideas that you have managed to develop. By doing so, you will avoid the risk of being influenced by the writing style of the source materials.

In the end, always check your footnotes and the list of references. Stick to the style (AP, Chicago) that the respective professor asks for. Remember that you may get in trouble if your bibliography isn’t presented accurately. Double check and make sure that all of the important information is present.

If you are diligent about your coursework and you attempt to craft papers on your own, there’s really no reason to worry about plagiarism. Do your best, cite your sources and be sparing with the use of quotes. Following these examples and

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Laura Buckler

About the Author

Laura Buckler
Joined: March 14th, 2018
Articles Posted: 1