There are numerous writers worldwide, so if you want to establish yourself as a writer, you must stand out. And the only way a writer can attract an audience is by providing original and unique content.
You can take any field of writing, be it academic, creative, or content writing; the only way you can strive in them is by owning the writing completely. So, the first step you need to take to enhance your writing is to ensure that your article is free of plagiarism.
Plagiarism is taking someone else’s work as your own without giving proper credit. Even though it is not a violation of intellectual property rights, plagiarism can affect the writer’s reputation. This is why it would be best to ensure that you do not encourage plagiarism. You can also use the free plagiarism checker to prevent plagiarism.
What is Considered Plagiarism?
To prevent plagiarism, you first need to understand what is considered plagiarism.
- Copying Others Content on the Whole: Few writers might sometimes copy the entire work of other writers on the whole. This is called complete plagiarism and is not encouraged in society.
- Not Crediting the Original Author: You can take inspiration from other writers or include small parts of their work. But you should remember always to give the required credit. Failing to credit the author is considered plagiarism.
- Self-Plagiarism: Sometimes, you might use your own content from previous writing. Even doing so is considered a type of plagiarism. Self-plagiarism mainly affects the engagement of your reader and the ranking of your website in the search engine.
- Accidental Plagiarism: This is the most common type of plagiarism among writers. At times writers may not notice that they have plagiarized the content. As a writer, you must thoroughly check your content to ensure that you haven’t committed any accidental plagiarism.
Why does Accidental Plagiarism Occur?
When you look on the internet, you will find numerous articles and content online. So it becomes difficult to avoid plagiarism.
This occurs when the writer does not know enough about the content to express it in their own words. So, they tend to borrow the content from the source leading to accidental plagiarism.
There can also be instances where you misquote or miscredit the original works; even such incidents tend to be considered accidental plagiarism. This type of plagiarism usually occurs in academic and fictional writing, but these are fields of writing where plagiarism is not tolerated.
How to Prevent Accidental Plagiarism?
Now that you have understood how accidental plagiarism occurs let’s look into the ways we can prevent it.
- Understand the Topic
We have already seen that most accidental plagiarism occurs due to the lack of knowledge on the particular subject the writer is working on.
So, the best way to avoid plagiarism is to understand the topic properly. By getting all the information you can on the topic, you will have enough details to write about the topic. Hence, there will be no need to take multiple references for inspiration.
- Have Your Own Ideas
When you look at a topic, you might get some unique ideas about it. Then, work on how you can express those ideas in words.
By putting your ideas to work, you can ensure to give new information to your readers and, at the same time, avoid plagiarism.
Moreover, this increases the chances of your idea getting a broader reach among the readers, making you popular as a writer.
- Give Your Voice to the Content
The key feature of every accomplished writer is their writing style. It is the uniqueness of their writing that captures the reader’s attention.
So if you want to enhance your writing and grow as a writer, you should give your voice to the content.
Adding uniqueness to your writing forms a close bond with your readers, so they enjoy reading your content. In addition, it is the best way to stay away from plagiarism.
- Paraphrase the Content
It is not wrong to paraphrase, but you should ensure that you are not copying the original content completely.
While paraphrasing, you can take the idea from the original content, but it should be explained in your original words to avoid plagiarism.
When it comes to paraphrasing, Google is your best friend; you can use it to find synonyms to keep the uniqueness of your content. Additionally, you can opt for Plagiarismpro to check that your paraphrased content is original and free of plagiarism.
- Give Proper Credits
Specific facts and information cannot be changed; in such cases, it is not possible for the writer to give their own opinion or to paraphrase the content.
So, such content will probably be the same as the original content. When stating facts or quotes, always cite the work’s original author.
By citing, you are giving credit to the author; therefore, using their content will not be considered plagiarism.
Sometimes, you might have a lot of references, so note them down to ensure that you don’t miss out on citing any of them, preventing accidental plagiarism.
- Always Proofread
Every writer should incorporate the practice of proofreading. We might miss out on some mistakes, so when you give it to another person for proofreading, they can identify it.
In fact, the more times you proofread the content, the better the article will be. It will also help determine if there is any plagiarism in your content.
For example, the proofreader will be able to tell you if you have misquoted any content or if you have failed to give proper credit.
- Use a Plagiarism Checker
We cannot tell how valuable a plagiarism checker is for a writer. Despite proofreading, it is only possible for us to find out some of the errors. So the only way to deliver 100% unique content is by using a plagiarism checker.
Plagiarism checkers also show plagiarism sources, so if you have missed citing any of them, you can use the results to give proper credit. You can try out Plagiarismpro to deliver plagiarism-free content and ensure its credibility.
Wrapping Up
Accidental plagiarism can occur to anyone, but if you want to grow as a writer, it is best that you avoid it. You can easily prevent it by supporting your writing with your own words. Do you want to enhance your writing with plagiarism-free content? These tips can surely help you out.
