Strategies To Avoid Plagiarism



By Bobby Miller on October 27, 2010
Category: Health Magazines

Student plagiarism is on the rise because it takes little effort to copy and paste from internet sources. Online writers often have their content stolen from website owners who may not understand how serious the consequences can be. Some individuals unknowingly plagiarize while others know what they are doing. Some students fear the accusation because they are not sure about their writing and research skills. Here are some things to keep in mind.
Plagiarism Penalties
Consequences can be serious. In 2006, an engineering student at Ohio University was preparing to write his thesis. While reading the theses of past students, he found many instances of plagiarism. Forty past students were reported and were threatened with losing their degrees if they did not revise their theses.
Sometimes the penalty might be losing a grade for a paper, but for more serious cases, an entire degree might be forfeited. Plagiarism can sometimes lead to lawsuits or even arrests--and as was demonstrated at Ohio University, a person's literary indiscretions can threaten a career many years later.
Check Paper For Plagiarism
Merriam-Webster states that to plagiarize is: "to steal and pass off (the ideas or words of another) as one's own : use (another's production) without crediting the source." Many high schools and colleges are using powerful tools to check papers for plagiarism. Sometimes institutions give students access to these tools in order to check their own papers. Also, students can open their own accounts if this is not available at their high school or college. Teachers and professors are often trained in detection, and they also learn to recognize their students' writing voices and often suspect cheating before a tool is used.
Entrepreneurs tempted to steal content should be aware that authors have access to tools that help find stolen content online within just a few hours. Authors who have to deal with content thieves can create a resource to share with them that discusses plagiarism and provides links to articles that can be purchased online.
So although the internet has made it easy to copy and paste, it has also made it a simple matter to find the perpetrators.
Avoiding Plagiarism – Strategies & Resources
One of the best ways to avoid plagiarism is to Improve writing and research skills. A writing tutor can help, and there are many good academic writing tutors available online. A good local and free resource is the reference librarian. Although the librarian usually is thought of as helping students find references, he or she can also help with research skills, writing formats and citing references.
People are sometimes surprised when they are accused of cheating. High school and college students may not have not mastered certain writing skills like summarizing and paraphrasing. Sometimes students think that finding synonyms for words in a paragraph is appropriate. However, this is known as "mosaic plagiarism." Comprehension and paraphrasing strategies can help a student avoid the plague of plagiarism. However, only a very small percentage of your paper should be paraphrases. These sections should be attributed to the author by using appropriate citations. (ex.: According to author's name .....)
Other skills that should be pursued include:
research note-taking skills;
how to gather bibliographic information;
how to quote direct quotes;
how to cite;
how to synthesize two or more references;
how to develop a writing voice;
how to recognize which ideas are common knowledge and which are unique to a writer.
These skills take time to learn, but will repay the learner for a lifetime.
Although there are free resources available, nothing beats the one on one help of a writing tutor who can give specific feedback to the writer. It is a worthwhile investment because what is learned will prevent frustration and temptation throughout the academic career. Online tutoring services make learning writing skills more convenient than ever. Once the basic writing and research skills are mastered, free online resources can serve as references.
A good resource for institutions and teachers to help them plan prevention programs is The Center for Academic Integrity: Rutland Institute for Ethics. This is an organization that promotes academic integrity in high schools and universities.
Don't Buy Research Papers!
Giving in to the temptation could have serious consequences, especially if another student submits the same paper.
Avoiding plagiarism is possible. Although not everyone will become a polished writer, anyone can learn to write a decent research paper or essay. It's important to avoid "mosaic plagiarism" and other common writing errors. There are many other mistakes that can lead to a student or writer being accused of pirating another author's work. The best way to avoid this problem is by:
remembering the possible serious consequences;
learning essential writing and research skills;
accessing important resources; and
utilizing the services of a tutor and/or a reference librarian.
A teacher or writer can use the great tools available online; and develop material to help students or the entrepreneurs that have plagiarized.

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