Plagiarism is the act of presenting someone else’s work as your own. As a result, it is frowned upon in academic institutions. So, they take preventive measures and strict action against it. 

Students have even been expelled for submitting plagiarized documents, so it is to be avoided at all costs. The following tips will help you craft a paper free of such issues.

Introduction of a thorough research process

It is common knowledge that you cannot write a college academic assignment without any research. Unfortunately, students have the misconception that just skimming over the definition of the topic is enough.

They will not conduct an in-depth analysis and, as a result, fail to write several pages on their own. Therefore, conducting thorough research needs to be an essential part of your writing process.

If you do not have the time to conduct thorough research, you can hire a service for writing plagiarism-free essays. These services employ professional writers to do the research and compose a high-quality assignment, so you do not have to do it. 

If you plan to craft the paper yourself, then you should allocate a generous amount of time for research. The purpose of the research is for you to understand all the aspects and dimensions of the topic. Once you understand it, you can determine what is relevant and how to structure the document. It will enable you to be knowledgeable enough to do it yourself and avoid plagiarism. 

Use your own ideas and thoughts

One of the best tips to avoid plagiarism is to use your own ideas.  At the college level, you need to have faith in your own ideas and skills. You are fully equipped to design new plans and come up with different strategies needed in these assignments. You have the advantage of having your unique perspective, so use it.

Do not be afraid to stray from the conventional methods and ideas used, but rather let yourself be innovative. It will save you from the hassle of rewording my essay when you take ideas from others. You can use the ideas of others for inspiration purposes; there is no issue with that.

Another concept you need to understand is collaboration and collusion. At college, you will have to work in groups for different classes. In group projects, your teammates will discuss and collaborate on ideas. If you use the ideas of your group in the group assignment, then you can write plagiarism free essays. 

However, if you use the ideas of your class fellows in the individual assignment, it is called collusion. A collusion is a form of essay plagiarism. The consequences from the institution will be severe for you and the class fellow. They may be penalized while you run the risk of suspension or expulsion. This being said, you are allowed to discuss the assignment with people from your class, just not permitted to portray their opinions as your own.  

Track all your sources

During the research phase, students will jot down relevant information and facts. Every way to avoid plagiarism will tell you that students will forget to note the sources for these facts. When writing the paper, they will not have the time to find the sources. So, they will have plagiarized without the intention to.  

Furthermore, some students copy without realizing they have. You may write a well-known fact or quote and have an understanding that due to its popularity, everyone will know it is not your work. But, if you have not added a source, you can unintentionally pass it on as your work. 

To write an essay without plagiarism, it will be beneficial for you if you jot down the facts with their sources. The sources can be primary or secondary. They may include books, journals, websites, interviews, and much more. A tip to keep track of your sources is to create an outline. You can list down the different sections of your document. You can note down each fact in the relevant section with the author’s name, date, and book/article/journal/website name. It will organize your notes as well.

Paraphrasing and quotations marks 

Another method on how to prevent plagiarism is paraphrasing. Paraphrasing is the reworking of a piece of work in your own words. It is done to explain, clarify, borrow and expand on the piece of work while avoiding plagiarism. You need to make sure the texts are not too similar. You can explain a concept in a different manner by;

• presenting a different perspective,
• creatively explaining it,
• shortening the elaboration,
• using an example to explain it. 

Another method for plagiarism prevention is using quotation marks when you use quotes from people or do not want to alter the text. The quotation marks indicate that the text used is the work of someone else, and it is the same word from word. An example of how to use a quotation mark in an essay about Winston Churchill is as follows;

“We shall fight on the beaches; we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills. We shall never surrender!” – Winston S. Churchill, 1940s at the House of Commons.

The key to it all: Referencing

The best tip on how you can avoid plagiarizing is to add references. All the sources you noted down are used for references. There are two elements in references;

• In-text citations: This is a short form of reference. In-text citations are added at the end of the statement of fact you have used. Typically, it consists of the author’s name and the year of publication. 
• References or bibliography: This includes the full name of the source, whether a book or a website. References are added at the end of the document.

Every academic document requires both of these elements. References allow you to give credit to the people whose work you have used in your assignment. Another tip to keep in mind is the type of formatting styles you use. There are few styles like APA, MLA, or Chicago.

You can use any of these as long as your professor has not specified a certain type.  It is important to note that all the references must be generated using the same style. You cannot use MLA for in-text citations and use Chicago style for the bibliography at the end. 

Conclusion

Writing essays is difficult for every student. And when you add the stress of plagiarism and looming deadlines into the mix, it becomes a daunting challenge. You can use professional writing services or these tips to help craft an authentic essay and get the best grade.