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February 4, 2025
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February 4, 2025
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Types of Plagiarism and How to Keep Your Work Authentic
Home > Blogs > Types of Plagiarism and How to Keep Your Work Authentic
February 4, 2025
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By
February 4, 2025
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Recently Updated on February 4, 2025
Types of Plagiarism and How to Keep Your Work Authentic
Taking credit for someone else's work is not something new–it's as old as history itself. Back then, people copied to appear smarter than others or perhaps because of their sheer desperation to impress an audience. No matter the reason, they sought to "borrow" ideas or words for personal gain without credit. The act of plagiarism hasn't changed much from ancient history to today. Whether driven by ambition, desperation or reputation, the temptation to steal remains the shortcut to temporary success. Plagiarism continues to be a big issue in academics, as many of you are unaware of how serious the consequences are. Plagiarism, in academia, is a serious offense with many grave consequences. Due to this, it is crucial for you as students to understand the different types of plagiarism and how to prevent them.
In this blog, we will examine the importance of discovering various types of plagiarism and how to avoid them to produce authentic and original assignments.
Why Is It Important To Understand Plagiarism In An Academic Setting
Interestingly, the word plagiarism is derived from the Latin word "Plagiarius," which means kidnapper. Yes, it means to steal or kidnap someone else's ideas, thoughts and words and claim them to be yours. Not cool! Plagiarism is not an act that is as excusable as a late submission. As a university student, you must uphold honesty, fairness and academic integrity, which, once you perform plagiarism, goes against all these values.
Maintains Academic Integrity
Universities and colleges are committed to ensuring that you, as a student studying in their institute, uphold honesty and foster values that will make you a responsible and ethical individual.
Respects Intellectual Property
Respecting intellectual property is important. Think about how you would feel if someone took words verbatim from the research you spent months working on. It's frustrating and upsetting. That's why preventing plagiarism is essential, as well as showing respect to the person who puts hard work into producing their research.
Prevents Serious Penalties
Plagiarism is a serious academic offence; therefore, the consequences are grave. By preventing plagiarism, you can avoid serious penalties like suspension, lower grades, or even legal action.
Fosters Learning and Originality
Avoiding plagiarism is not just about following guidelines but also developing your intellectual abilities. You are enrolled in a university to acquire skills and build yourself by writing your own words and developing original ideas that foster learning and growth.
10 Common Types of Plagiarism And How You Can Avoid
You might be surprised to learn that plagiarism isn't just about copying and pasting words. There are various kinds that go beyond simple duplication. You might have slipped up with these in high school but in university? It's no joke. So buckle up, and let's discover ten common types of plagiarism :-
Direct Plagiarism
Direct plagiarism is the most common and obvious form that involves copying and pasting without any quotation or attribution and claiming it to be your own.
Example: Download an article from the internet for an essay or research and paste it into your assignment without making any changes.
How To Avoid Plagiarism:
Use Quotation marks
Phrase it in your own words
Verbatim Plagiarism
As the name suggests, verbatim plagiarism is copying word to word without crediting the original author. Even if you change a few words here and there, it is still plagiarised because the content will be recognisable.
Example: Copying a sentence or a paragraph directly and pasting it in your paper without quotations or paraphrasing.
How To Avoid:
Use quotation marks
Paraphrase and cite the source
Self-Plagiarism
You probably thought using your previous assignment was fair game since you are the one who wrote it, after all. Wrong! You commit self-plagiarism when you submit your previous work or mix the last coursework with the current one without permission. While this might seem harmless, it's unethical and may harm your grades.
Example: Using a chapter or a paragraph you submitted for the previous assignment in your new paper without your professor's permission.
How To Avoid Plagiarism:
If you must, ask your instructor for permission
Create new content for every assignment
Mosaic Plagiarism
The list of types of plagiarism only gets more peculiar. Take mosaic plagiarism that occurs when you sneak in phrases, sentences and tones from the source onto your paper– like a patchwork quilt. It almost always happens involuntarily, but it is still considered an offence if you do not cite the source.
Example: Take phrases from different sources on the same topic and patch them into your paragraph without acknowledgement.
How To Avoid Plagiarism:
Always cite whenever you use someone's words or ideas
Use your own words and thoughts to blend people's words and ideas.
Accidental Plagiarism
Accidental plagiarism is the casual "oopsie" moment when you fail to cite a source, misquote or unknowingly paraphrase someone else's information without proper credit. It might not be intentional, but it still counts as plagiarism.
Example: Using a fact or a statistic and failing to cite the source in the references list.
How To Avoid Plagiarism:
Write down all your sources on your notepad or doc
Review your bibliography before submission
Hired Plagiarism
As the name explains, hired plagiarism is hiring someone else to complete your assignment.
Example: Paying someone to write your coursework and submit it in your name.
How To Avoid Plagiarism:
Do the writing by yourself
Opt for tutoring rather than outsourcing entire assignments.
Collaboration Plagiarism
When two or more students collaborate but fail to attribute each other's contributions, it creates plagiarism in each other's content.
Example: You and your partner work on the same paper, but one of you doesn’t acknowledge the collaboration of the other.
How To Avoid:
Ensure proper acknowledgement when you collaborate.
Outline Plagiarism
If you write the entire content by yourself but plagiarise someone else's outline without crediting them, you are committing outline plagiarism.
Example: Using someone else’s outline to organise your paper without citing the source.
How To Avoid:
Always structure your paper.
If you do outline using someone else’s article for inspiration, cite it.
Secondary Plagiarism
You commit secondary plagiarism when you take someone else's information, not knowing that the content was copied from another source. This happens when you copy the words of a friend or peer.
Example: Copying your classmate's paper without doing your research.
How To Avoid:
Always access the source.
Conduct your research and follow citation guidelines.
Borrowed Plagiarism
Borrowed plagiarism occurs when you slightly alter someone else's content to make it your own. However, the paper is still recognisable and leads to severe consequences.
Example: You find an article and a few words here and there to make it your own.
How To Avoid:
Always credit the original author.
Whether you’re borrowing ideas or words or paraphrasing, cite the source.
Actionable Steps On How To Avoid Plagiarism And Maintain Authenticity In Your Assignments
Here are some actionable steps you can take to prevent plagiarism in your content:-
Cite Your Sources
As the tips above show, citing sources is your primary defence for plagiarism. Research is built upon sources, isn't it? It doesn't escape the professor's attention that you used sources. So, no matter how small the borrowed idea is, always give credit where it is due. Use the appropriate citation format and acknowledge the sources, whether it is a quote, phrase, or idea.
Use Plagiarism Checker Tools
We live in a digitally advanced age, and plagiarism checker tools are readily available at your fingertips. Use tools like Grammarly, Small SEO tools or Copyscape to check your paper for potential plagiarism and prevent the risk of receiving lower grades due to overlooked plagiarism.
Use Quotation Marks
Whenever you need to quote something–a sentence, paragraph or saying, always bracket those words in quotation marks. This clearly indicates that you are using someone else's words and not blending them in as your own.
Attribute Concepts And Ideas, Too
As discussed earlier, plagiarism is multifaceted. It is not limited to copying words but includes thoughts, concepts, and ideas. No matter what idea or concept it is, someone has worked hard to develop it. Therefore, it is necessary to attribute ideas and concepts to their rightful owners.
Professional help
While all the steps mentioned above are great actionable steps to produce originality in content, seeking help from a professional service will nullify any chances of plagiarism entering your paper. Assignment Global offers services for plagiarism removal, ensuring your assignment is free from copied content. Moreover, they provide Turnitin reports to assure you of the originality of content.
These were the actionable and authentic work tips to ensure your paper is plagiarism-free.
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Preventing plagiarism is a necessary and fundamental aspect of academia. By committing plagiarism, you rob yourself of the creative process and limit your learning growth. To avoid going down this road, learn about the types of plagiarism mentioned in this blog and work hard to maintain academic integrity. Doing so will safeguard your grades and the drive for learning. You can take pride in your words because "it is better to fail in originality than to succeed in imitation."
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FAQs
Can unintentional plagiarism also have serious consequences?
No, while unintentional or accidental plagiarism may not have severe penalties, it may result in lower grades and impact your overall performance. To avoid this, ensure proper citation or seek our help.
Does Assignment Global follow all plagiarism guidelines?
Yes, Assignment Global is committed to delivering original and plagiarism-free content, ensuring it meets the guidelines of every university. Additionally, we provide Turnitin reports and a certified plagiarism checker to guarantee authenticity.
What makes Assignment Global stand out in plagiarism prevention?
We are a trusted service, offering high-quality, plagiarism-free content for quite some time. We take plagiarism very seriously, coupled with our reliable plagiarism checkers like Turnitin.
