The mere mention of the word plagiarism will send shivers down the spine of even the best writers. So much has been written about plagiarism – its dos and don’ts – that when you Google (synonym to search) the word, it will present enough material to keep one occupied for days.
While the internet is a boon for the world, 21st-century writers find the going more difficult as the same internet exposes plagiarism, particularly in academia. The only way a person doing research can avoid plagiarism is to be prepared to put in the long hours and do all the hard work that it demands.
There are a handful of tips to avoid plagiarism in your research paper or any piece of writing you’re doing. This post will walk you through some of the best tips to ensure a plagiarism-free research paper.
How to Avoid Plagiarism in 2023
1. Start early, don’t procrastinate
Whenever you receive a task, especially you are given a date (deadline) by when it has to be submitted. This is when you should set yourself a deadline, and this should be at least two days before the given date.
It allows you to plan out different areas of the paper – and the time it needs for research and writing. The more you give yourself time for writing projects, the more is the likelihood of avoiding plagiarism.
2. Stick to your deadline
Once you have set your deadline, you should ensure you are proceeding in your task at a pace you meet your deadline. Setting deadlines and meeting them is an entrepreneurial journey that you can start from the early stage of your career, even from school.
Ryan Robinson, a renowned US-based blogger, and entrepreneur talks about why deadlines are important to achieve more in life. This would help you deliver an exceptional piece of content – and certainly, you’ll stand out in the competition.
3. Start your research – and go the extra mile
Consult books, access the internet to gather all the information on your task. Make notes about the author, the book, and the relevant page on which your information appears. This data is to be quoted regularly in your paper so that your work is not labeled as plagiarised.
It always pays to do additional research on your topic. This extra effort will give you additional input and information about your topic. This will put you in possession of extra details that will grant you further insight into the subject that is under your study. In the long run, this gives you an added advantage as you have acquired an in-depth understanding of the topic that you have studied.
4. Track your source and bookmark them
During the process, you’ll gather a lot of information from the internet and third-party sources. In case some of the data you have presented has been acquired from the internet, please make sure that you have tracked it down to the original source of information. This also needs to be mentioned to make your work an original effort.
You can compile a list of citations for your research paper. It comes in real handy to avoid plagiarism in your content. Always keep track of every source you take reference from. Remember, every piece of information matters – and the right reference to it makes your writing more credible.
5. Paraphrase and quote
After you gathered all the information from different sources, it is now time to turn the ideas and research into actual content.
This is the point at which you have to understand that you have to write as much as you can about your research topic. At this point, it does not matter if some of your efforts may seem redundant or you think it is a case of information overload.
Do not worry; you still have time to fix things and polish your work to make an outstanding effort. Here is a piece of advice: don’t try to make your copy “the best” in the first round. Just focus on writing – and fine-tune it at a later stage.
And Quotation –
It’s a common practice amongst writers to add quotations in the research paper. It refers to copying a text word-by-word from the original content. To avoid plagiarism while using references from external sources is rewrite it in your own words. However, it is advisable to use quotation marks and attribute them to the original author.
While writing, it is important to focus on the context of your writing. We’ve put together a list of recurrent grammar mistakes that majority of us make.
6. Do additional reading
Now for the last and final time, put in that little additional bit of effort. Commit yourself to conduct yet another but a final round of research. Who knows, you may just come up with novel input that serves as the crowning glory of your effort.
Experts believe that additional reading is one of the many ways to avoid plagiarism. And of course, it’s always good to give your writing a fresh eye – as it can bring more ideas to the table.
7. Work on the final draft
This is the point at which you make a critical appraisal of your research effort. You now have to ensure that there are no loose ends. Every fact and every detail that you have presented has been checked and double-checked. Make sure there is no error. The citations are in a place where they should be present. Remember the citations in the correct place and with the requisite interpretations that you have paraphrased will make your research effort note-worthy and garner praise.
In addition, your work – in turn – will qualify as the latest expert input on the subject and be cited in its turn. But hold back the self-congratulations and the pat on the back. Two more hurdles need to be overcome.
8. The ultimate check – use plagiarism checker
It is time to submit your paper, research work to the hundreds of plagiarism checking tools that specialize in checking submitted work for plagiarism. We don’t encourage you to use all the plagiarism softwares but stick to a few as using many could bring a lot of confusion.
We endorse Scribbr, Grammarly, and PlagScan as the best plagiarism tools to use before submitting your content for review. If you have put in all or most of the recommendations mentioned above, then you deserve Congratulations! Your work has passed the test.
Want to become an exceptional writer? Spend some time and read our creative writing tips guide to join the premium club of writers.
And that brings us down to the end of this article. We hope all aspects of becoming a good writer are covered – and steps you can follow to avoid plagiarism in your next project. Please share your feedback in the comment section below – and let us know which tool you have used and what score you have got!