3rd LOI 

                                                     Ways to avoid plagiarism 

Plagiarism is defined as the use of another person's words or ideas without properly attributing the original author. Plagiarism can occur intentionally by taking someone's work, although it is more typically the result of carelessness or forgetfulness.

When you write an academic paper, you build on the work of others and employ information and evidence from a variety of trustworthy sources. You must appropriately include these sources into your essay to avoid plagiarism.

Keeping a record of the sources you use in your study

paraphrasing or citing your sources (and incorporating your own views)

In an in-text citation and in your reference list, give credit to the original author.

Using a plagiarism detector before submitting

Even unintentional plagiarism can have major effects, so use caution when incorporating sources into your writing.

"There are numerous ways to avoid plagiarism, including developing good research habits, time management skills, and accepting responsibility for your own learning." Here are some particular recommendations:

Do not put off your research and homework.

It takes time to conduct thorough study. Procrastination increases the likelihood that you may run out of time or be under undue pressure to finish. This type of pressure frequently leads to shoddy research practices and poor judgments. Plan your research ahead of time, and request assistance from your lecturer, librarians, and other campus support workers as required.

Take meticulous notes at all times.

As you prepare your paper or conduct your research, and as you begin to draft your paper. One useful technique is to explicitly designate your own thoughts (write "ME" in parenthesis) and ideas and words from others (write "SMITH, 2005" or anything to indicate author, source, and source date) in your notes. Keep detailed notes of the sources you use and the ideas you get from them. If you're writing a paper, you'll need this material for your bibliographies or references cited list anyhow, so proper organization will help you from the start.

Make a commitment to doing your own job.

Talk to your lecturer if you don't comprehend an assignment. Don't take the "easy way" out by asking your roommate or pals for copies of previous assignments. Group work is a distinct part of this. Some classes on campus have a lot of group projects, but not all of them. Make sure you understand when your professor says it's okay to collaborate on assignments and submit group work on assignments, and when assignments and papers must represent your own work.

Make a commitment to completing your own tasks.

If you don't understand an assignment, speak with your lecturer. Don't take the "easy way" out by requesting copies of past assignments from your roommate or friends. Group work is an important component of this. Some classes on campus, but not all, have a lot of group projects. Make certain that you understand when your professor says it is acceptable to collaborate on assignments and submit group work on assignments, and when assignments and papers must represent your own work.

Recognize good paraphrase.

Simply using synonyms or scrambling an author's words and phrases and then using these "rewrites" in your work without credit is plagiarism. Good paraphrase requires that you truly grasp the original material, that you use your own words to summarize a point or concept, and that you include any unique words or phrases from the original source in quotes. You must also credit the original source when paraphrasing. Anything less puts you in danger of being accused of plagiarism."

Plagiarism Avoidance

Understanding what plagiarism is is the best approach to avoid it. Then we must avoid both accidental and intentional plagiarism. However, before we define plagiarism, we define three other terms: quotation, paraphrase, and summary.

A quote must utilize the exact words of the source or ellipses if any are omitted. If the citation is brief (less than three lines or forty words), the words must be contained in quotation marks. As an example,

According to Steven Strang, "contrary to some popular notions, most writers do not have full-blown ideas popping out of their heads like Athena" (48).

The quotation is introduced ("As Steven Strang points out"), the precise words are surrounded by quotation marks, and the page number appears (here, in MLA format).

A bibliographical record at the conclusion of the paper would include the author, the title of the source, the publisher, the date of publication, and so on.)

Longer quotations appear in block form (for example, see the quotes from Ed White and John Edlund further in this section).

To paraphrase is to put the ideas in a paragraph into our own words, generally in the same order as they appear in the original. All key concepts are covered. A paraphrase is frequently shorter than the original; nevertheless, a paraphrase that specifies terminology or concepts may be lengthier. Any paraphrase must be cited in the same way as an exact quotation.

There are just three legitimate reasons to paraphrase:

Technical content is translated into easier language for a lay audience.

"Translating" a poem into simpler language to identify where the ambiguities are (and this form of paraphrasing rarely makes it into our papers)

A summary translates the main idea(s) of a piece into our own words and drastically shortens it. We must once again attribute the ideas to their original source.

Guidelines for Avoiding Plagiarism

Avoiding plagiarism necessitates strong writing abilities. Although comprehensive advice on writing skills is beyond the scope of this module, you will find some writing tips below to get you started on the right track.

Learn the fundamentals of excellent writing so that you may communicate your thoughts in your own words. Unintentional plagiarism is often as a result of poor writing abilities.

Discover how to paraphrase a source using your own words. Set it aside when you've finished reading it, write it in your own words, compare it to what you read earlier in the original text, and enhance your writing. Make sure to cite your sources.

Learn how to correctly reference sources. Choose a citation style appropriate for your discipline (such as APA, MLA, or Chicago) and get well acquainted with it. You may also locate examples of citation formats in publications relevant to your field.

Learn the principles of effective writing so that you may express yourself in your own words. Unintentional plagiarism is sometimes the result of inadequate writing skills.

Learn how to paraphrase a source with your own words. When you've finished reading it, set it aside and write it in your own words, comparing it to what you read earlier in the original text to improve your writing. Remember to cite your sources.

Learn how to properly cite sources. Choose a citation style suited for your discipline (for example, APA, MLA, or Chicago) and become familiar with it. Examples of citation forms can also be found in publications relevant to your subject.

When utilizing citations from secondary sources, ensure that they exist and that you understand what was really delivered in those mentioned sources so that you are not replicating someone else's misconception.

When using large portions of an author's text, obtain permission from them and give them proper credit in your writing.

Use the university's Writing Centre, internet resources, and, of course, your course instructor for assistance.

When in doubt, place the material in quotation marks and attach citations.

When utilizing citations from secondary sources, ensure that they exist and that you understand what was really delivered in those mentioned sources so that you are not replicating someone else's misconception.

When using large portions of an author's text, obtain permission from them and give them proper credit in your writing.

Use the university's Writing Centre, internet resources, and, of course, your course instructor for assistance.

When in doubt, place the material in quotation marks and attach citations.

When using citations from secondary sources, make sure they exist and that you comprehend what was actually said in those sources so that you are not repeating someone else's mistake.

When utilizing big chunks of another author's content, get their permission and give them full credit in your writing.

For assistance, consult the university's Writing Centre, internet resources, and, of course, your course instructor.

When in doubt, surround the information with quote marks and include citations.

Plagiarism is not only a problem in academics; it may also be a problem in any sort of writing, including blog writing, journalism, sales copy, and even technical or medical writing by writers who created an idea.

What can I do to avoid plagiarism?

Giving acknowledgment is the greatest method to avoid plagiarism. This entails giving credit to your sources for what they said, wrote, emailed, drew, or inferred. You must provide acknowledgment if you use something that is not your own content; here is a summary of some of the most common sorts of things that must be cited:

Words and ideas from a book, article, film, website, lecture, letter, advertising, song, television show, or other kind of media

Words and thoughts from interviews you've performed (in person, via phone, email, or other means)

Diagrams, graphics, charts, images, or other items that you republished or altered Any precise phrasing or unique words that you took from anywhere other than your own

What isn't necessary to mention?

Obviously, not everything must be mentioned. You can use the following content without attributing it and not be accused of plagiarism:

Writing about your personal experiences, insights, views, and ideas

Your own unique artwork, photography, film, music, or other material derived from your own experiments

Common knowledge (includes folklore, common sense observations, urban legends, and exceptionally well-known historical events) Well-known and widely accepted information held by the broad public

What precisely is general knowledge?

Because common knowledge does not need to be cited, it is critical to understand what "common knowledge" is. You can consider something to be common knowledge if you discover the same undocumented information in at least five trustworthy sources. It may also be common knowledge if you believe the information you are sharing is something your readers already know or can easily discover in general reference sources. Cite anything if you're not sure if it's general knowledge. It is preferable to cite excessively than to cite insufficiently and be accused of plagiarism.

Writing paraphrases and summaries: Paraphrasing is the process of restating a concept in your own words, although not always the complete text.

Summarizing allows you to grasp the major concepts more clearly and in your own terms. Here are a few pointers to get you started:

Give credit to your source anywhere in the summary/paraphrase. As an example:

According to evolutionary scientist Dan Dennett..." Compare your paraphrase or summary against the source text for correctness and to confirm that you have used your own words.

Put quote marks around any unique phrases or words from the original that you do not wish to modify.

Writing direct quotations: A direct quotation uses the words from the original source precisely as they appear, with quotation marks and a citation. Here are a few pointers:

Keep the name of the source author in the same sentence as the quote.

Mark the quote with quotation marks if it is a shorter quote, or separate it apart from your text in a block quote if it is longer (block quotations are decided by line or word count depending on the format style being used). Do not quote the full paragraph if you simply need to cite a small word or sentence.

Writing about another person's thoughts: It might be tough to write about another person's ideas without plagiarizing. Here are a few things to keep in mind:

To give the original individual credit, include the name of the concept's creator in the sentence or throughout the paragraph explaining the idea.

Citations should be used to direct readers to the source material.

Use quote marks around essential phrases/words used by the concept's creator to characterize the idea.

Finally, proofread and cross-check your paper with your notes and sources to ensure that anything from an outside source is properly cited.

If you are unclear if anything should be referenced, cite it. It's better to be cautious than sorry!

If you have any citation questions, ask your teacher well in advance of the due date so you have ample time to make any necessary changes to your citations.

Work cited

"Avoiding Plagiarism." Internal Resources Texas A&M University-Commerce, Texas A&M University, inside.tamuc.edu/academics/colleges/humanitiessocialsciencesarts/departments/literaturelanguages/documents/firstyearwritingprogram/Avoiding%20Plagiarism.pdf.

"Avoiding Plagiarism." MIT Comparative Media Studies/Writing, 6 Apr. 2021, cmsw.mit.edu/writing-and-communication-center/avoiding-plagiarism/.

George, Tegan. "How to Avoid Plagiarism | Tips on Citing Sources." Scribbr, 5 Aug. 2022, www.scribbr.com/plagiarism/how-to-avoid-plagiarism/.

Lieback, Ron. "How To Avoid Plagiarism: Don’t Devastate Your Writing Career." Search Engine Journal, 24 Jan. 2023, www.searchenginejournal.com/how-to-avoid-plagiarism/476806/.

"Research Guides: Citing Sources: How to Avoid Plagiarism." Research Guides at UCLA Library, 1038, guides.library.ucla.edu/citing/plagiarism/avoid.

"Tips on Avoiding Plagiarism | Academic Integrity Tutorial for Students | Northern Illinois University." Northern Illinois University, www.niu.edu/academic-integrity/students/plagiarism/tips-on-avoiding.shtml.