So What?
Whether a person is writing for school, work, or ministry, plagiarism is a serious offense. Plagiarism may happen intentionally or unintentionally. Even unintentional plagiarism will negatively affect a writer’s reputation, and depending on the situation, both types of plagiarism can lead to serious consequences. Therefore, it is important to know how to avoid plagiarism.
Summarized Explanation
- Plagiarism can be intentional or unintentional.
- Plagiarism can involve published or unpublished work.
- Plagiarism has many forms.
- Plagiarism must be avoided.
Detailed Explanation
It is typically expected that a writer will support his/her ideas with perspectives from others. Incorporating others’ ideas into a text can be a great way of substantiating one’s claims. However, a writer must do so responsibly. Plagiarism occurs when a writer borrows information, whether published or unpublished, from another person without crediting him/her. Thus, plagiarism is dishonest and unprofessional. There are many types of plagiarism, and all must be avoided.
Tips for Avoiding Plagiarism
- When gathering support for a written text, take detailed notes about each source so that it is clear what information corresponds to which source.
- Always accompany quotes and paraphrases with original thoughts, and make a clear distinction between others’ ideas and your own by fully integrating support.
- Avoid copying and pasting large chunks of text unless you are purposely and accurately including a block quote.
- Know how to effectively paraphrase.
- Give credit where credit is due, even for unpublished work.
- Do not recycle even your own writing unless it is first approved.
- Accurately follow formatting guidelines for in-text citations/references or footnotes/bibliography entries.
- Never allow another person to write something for you and then pass it off as your own.
- When writing, try to record your own original thoughts before incorporating relevant support from others; trying to think originally while simultaneously referring to others’ work can lead to unintentional plagiarism.
- Before submitting a written text, run it through a plagiarism checker, such as Grammarly.
