How to Avoid Plagiarism

chillibreeze writer — Kalpana Sanyasi

What is plagiarism?

Writing, in essence, is an art; to be more precise, it is a creative art. But original writing alone can be confidently termed an art. If a piece of writing lacks originality, it is far from qualifying as artistic.

Plagiarism is the demon that hinders the originality of a written material. Plagiarism can range from complete ‘copy and paste’ to mere resemblance.

How plagiarism comes into picture?

There is a saying that no story is new. Yes, perhaps nothing can be completely new. Whatever may be the requirement, we often collect information for a specific purpose. From the information base, we organize the details required and present it to serve our unique purpose. It is here that the issue of plagiarism comes in.

When presenting the information based on the researched knowledge source, sentences may be completely copied word for word. This is typical plagiarism and could be either intentional or unintentional. Or, the writer may simply retain some phrases from the source that he/she is referring to.

A writer must take utmost care to ensure that he/she does not simply copy and paste the sentences as it appears in the original source. Instead, writers should try and present ideas in their own style.

Today, there are quite a few software applications that detect plagiarism. Once, a writer has been identified for plagiarism, he/she could lose all credibility as a serious worker.

How to avoid plagiarism?

There is no hard and fast rule to ensure the originality of writing. Nevertheless, certain precautions can be taken to enhance the quality of the writing and present the information in a new tone.

A few tips:

Never copy and paste.
Never use the phrases present in the source word for word.
Do not use the same words that are present in the resource. Instead, look for synonymous words, which convey the same information in a different way.
Never follow the same order of presentation. Formulate your own logical flow for your piece of writing.
Never try to imitate the writing style of a written piece. Just grasp the ideas and present it differently. This way, though the content may be the same, it will certainly seem fresh and original!
Do not rely on just one source. Instead, try collecting information from as many sources as possible and integrate them in a clear manner to write your own piece. It will definitely sparkle with its own genuineness and originality!

Happy Writing! Of course, with no plagiarism!

Chillibreeze's disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not reflect the views of Chillibreeze as a company. Chillibreeze has a strict anti-plagiarism policy. Please contact us to report any copyright issues related to this article.

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—About our writer:

Kalpana says, "Engineer turned writer. Interested in writing for Advertisements and Visual media. Writing is my passion and my profession as well."

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