Preventing plagiarism in scholarship papers

Presenting someone else’s work as yours is considered plagiarism. This may be done intentionally or by accident, but it won’t matter because the implication is the same. Many universities have a policy against plagiarism, and the consequences are usually severe. 

As a scholar, you can’t avoid referring to other people’s work because that’s where you draw inspiration. You should, however, not just copy and paste without acknowledging the source.

Use plagiarism checker

Thanks to many plagiarism-checking tools, you can ensure your work is in good standing. It doesn’t take much time and effort to get your work through a plagiarism checker. Your thesis supervisor will still pass your work through the checker, hence the importance of doing it on time to avoid the consequences. 

Many students face the risk of losing their marks or being discontinued for not following plagiarism guidelines. Most universities have a policy against plagiarism, and it is important to follow it as stipulated. You can check for plagiarism online on the FixGerald tool to ensure your work is crystal clear and free of plagiarism. The site has a plagiarism checker with percentage that ensures your scholarship paper meets the academic standards and guidelines. 

Write in your own words

This is the simplest way to avoid plagiarism when writing your scholarship paper. This saves you from complications of incorrect citations and the difficulties with paraphrasing. To do this efficiently, write down your ideas explicitly without looking at other sources or material. 

The difficulty with this is that sometimes you may lack information. This requires you to widely read and research on the topic your intent to write on. If you have to refer, just paraphrase a sentence two but not more than a paragraph. 

Don’t copy and paste

This is the easiest path to plagiarism. You shouldn’t even be reminded of this fact. It is so lazy to copy and paste other people’s original work and claim credit for it. This is why plagiarism is illegal and has severe consequences. 

Copy and paste plagiarism simply involves directly getting information from a book, website, or article from another person’s work without acknowledging it. You may be subject to litigation if you don’t correctly cite your sources or get permission from the original author. It is intellectual property, and it will amount to joyriding, which goes against copyright laws. 

Paraphrasing

Paraphrasing is a legit way to get information from other sources. It is about rewording another source’s ideas and words but in your understanding and wording. This will help you avoid plagiarism a great deal. 

To get through easily with paraphrasing, you can read the original material, set it aside, wait for a minute and start writing what you got from the information. You can also write down more than two versions of the same sentence and pick one that is completely different but retains the relevant meaning. Remember to use proper integration and avoid using quoted words. 

Be careful with internet sources

Google is very efficient when it comes to finding information. It has made research easy as you can work on your paper anywhere and anytime. There is a plethora of resources of information for your scholarship paper. While this has become the preferred option for many students, this has led to a great deal of plagiarism. 

Remember, the information on the internet will is not free. You still have to acknowledge the authors of the ideas you want to use in your scholarship paper. Just because you found relevant information on a blog doesn’t exclude you from correctly citing it as a source. 

Add a reference page

This is also another way students avoid plagiarism when writing their scholarship papers. Include a reference page at the end of the paper, as it will play a great role in assuring the readers that you did not just copy. 

To ensure you make a proper reference page, don’t wait until you finish the paper, rather note down in each step the important point. You will use these points on the reference page at the end of the paper. This also helps you not to forget the important point and save time finding them after they have piled up.

Review and proofread

This is important to ensure your work is only free from grammar errors but also ensures you haven’t done the wrong citations or accidentally copied someone else’s ideas and work. You can make use of online resources to review and proofread your work before presenting it. 

You can also get the help of a colleague or a professional proofreader to assist you. It seems like a lot of work, but it pays greatly in the end to avoid your paper being canceled for not meeting plagiarism standards. You may end up missing marks or a whole course because of a simple plagiarism mistake. This is worse if you didn’t do it intentionally. 

Conclusion

Plagiarism is defined as using someone’s else ideas as though they are your own. It may also include your previously published work without properly citing it. You can simply avoid plagiarism in your scholarship paper by writing in your works, acknowledging and properly citing your sources, and also using a plagiarism checker just to be sure. These tips will help you avoid the consequences of plagiarism. 

Author’s Bio:

Judy Nelson works for a digital agency as a content developer, where she handles corporate clients. Besides that, she loves to help students who need essay or thesis help and resumes. Her free time is for learning German language, playing video games and reading the latest lifestyle magazines.