Things you should know about not writing a plagiarised paper

By on August 20, 2016
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The very first time when you start your work on an independent research, you should abide by guidelines on how you should avoid plagiarism. However, not everyone is sure what a plagiarised paper is. In simple terms, Plagiarism is a “practice of taking someone else’s work or ideas and presenting them as one’s own” (UK Quality Code for Higher Education, 2005). Now the question arises, can some steal someone else’s ideas? The US law affirms it that it is possible. According to the US this law is universal to several countries who protect intellectual properties.

Thus in a research, you should write your own words based on your understanding. Also you should note that plagiarism is not restricted to only one form of expression. Plagiarised work can account for:

  • Computer codes
  • Technical designs
  • mathematical expressions
  • Statistical findings etc.

Cracking the code of a non plagiarised paper

One should understand the importance of an original research work and creativity. While working on an assignment, the main motive is to show your understanding about the research topic. Thus, in a plagiarised work the sole purpose of the assignment is defeated. By copying from someone else’s work you are not expressing your own ideas. You will plagiarise your work:

When you use other people’s work without giving due credit

In order to avoid plagiarism one needs to understand the idea presented by the author and then present same as per your own understanding. However, in this case as well, you need to reference the idea. Therefore, when you do not reference or cite original author’s idea then that accounts for plagiarism.

When you copy within your own document

It has been observed in cases when you write conclusion to your paper. Since you have already done the research in the former part of the paper, it may seem logical to simply copy the findings as the conclusion. Conclusions should be a summary of all information presented in the paper. Know more about how to prepare a conclusion.

While paraphrasing or re-phrasing

There are times when you are unable to understand the essence of the statement, which is when you may try to paraphrase by either changing the sentence from passive voice to active voice or vice-versa. In some cases you might change few words to avoid plagiarism. However, it will still be considered as a plagiarised work as the idea has been taken from someone else.

When you copy work from your colleague without their knowledge or agreement

When you have not fully understood the requirement of the assignment or you do not have the time to complete your assignment on time you might simply copy from your colleagues. This is considered as unethical and your work will be considered plagiarised.

When you copy from your previous work

In cases when you try to resubmit your accepted work,  it will account for plagiarism.

When you focus on cheating the plagiarism software

Your research paper should focus on meeting the objectives of your study rather than just focusing on the how to cheat plagiarism checking softwares.

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