Imagine if someone takes your published content and claims it to be their work. You would feel devastated by such action, and indeed, you would proceed to take some action against the content thieves.
Similarly, if you feature plagiarized content in your website or academic work, the assigned evaluators are bound to take action against you. From hefty fines to permanent penalization, you can face troublesome circumstances.
Plagiarism is not only bound to stealing the exact arrangement of words and ideas, but it also covers any tables and images if you copy them directly from a credible source.
In this article, we will discuss some practical strategies to avoid plagiarism. These strategies are effective in both digital marketing and academic niches.
By following these strategies, one can improve their quality of writing and build a reputation for professionalism in their work.
#1. Give credits to the source
You must credit its original authors if you think it’s necessary to feature a certain kind of definition in your writing.
People often tend to copy the exact definitions considering them to be the standard piece of information. Yet, it can become a part of plagiarized content if you don’t cite that definition’s exact source and writer.
This technique is followed under defined rules and regulations by educational institutes. Students should mention references related to the in-text citations in their work submission.
This practice ensures that an individual has put effort into research to gather information from an authentic source.
Educational institutes define guidelines on referencing by stating a standard referencing style for assignments and research papers.
#2. Paraphrase the original text
Many writers follow this technique to present unique content with the least or no plagiarism. A writer has to enhance their abilities to become a proofreader and paraphraser to produce a piece of information in their own unique words.
In general words, paraphrasing is all about changing synonyms, and forms of the verb, changing active voice to passive voice and changing the sentence structure.
But one has to be very careful while applying these changes to an original text. Paraphrased content should be readable with engaging delivery of the idea for the readers.
Poorly paraphrased content usually lacks the original idea. Changing word order sometimes changes the whole sense of a passage.
#3. Follow good writers and topics
Unique content is based on your efforts in researching authentic information. Almost everyone uses search engines and the internet to gather information regarding a specific topic.
If you write about a particular niche, it’s ideal to follow relevant topics and writers who publish content related to your content’s category. This technique can help you remain in touch with the shifting trends in a specific line of work.
You can further quote information from these writers and topics in your content to support its authenticity and credibility. You can improvise your writing style to produce legit content by following professional writers.
#4. Create unique headlines
Even if you have to follow the most mainstream topic, the headline can make the difference.
By performing in-depth research, you can produce creative headlines that can grab readers’ attention. Moreover, these headlines would differ from what’s mentioned in your competitor’s web content.
#5. Use quotation marks
The easiest way to avoid direct plagiarism is by using quotation marks in the beginning and end of a sentence. This impression states that words or sentences between the quotation marks are not your own.
This technique is pretty effective in essay writing or if you want to support your content with a credible sentence. Words mentioned in the quotation marks also require a reference to the original author’s direct readers.
While mentioning quotations in your writing, make sure not to exceed more than one or two lines. Copying a whole paragraph and putting it under quotation marks won’t help avoid plagiarism. Plus, it is also against the formatting or quotation.
#6. Develop a unique writing style
While performing research, one comes across various sources with credible information. But we cannot just copy-paste this information. Sometimes, copying your competitor’s structure or writing style can also land you in trouble for plagiarism.
Writing unique content using the same headers and subheadings as your competitor won’t help avoid plagiarism. Your work should be more outstanding than what’s already published online.
The best practice is to create your format with new headings and bullet points. You can change the writing style of your titles by adding questions to them.
#7. Proofread your article
Proofreading is a great practice to highlight any errors or mistakes in your work. If you are supposed to write multiple articles on the same topic, proofreading can be very helpful in this case.
You can compare your previously written content and freshly written content side by side to look for any similar content.
Self-plagiarism is not usually intentional, but it’s pretty recognizable if a writer often has to write about the same product or service. If you want to save some time, you can rely on plagiarism checking tools to instantly check your written content.
#8. Practice to make it perfect
If you’re a beginner-level writer, you may find it pretty challenging to gather information and apply it in your own words. Manage your time to spare sufficient proofreading and editing duration before submission.
But if you resist the urge to copy pasting and build courage to type in your own words, you can easily avoid plagiarism in your content.
You can take an idea from another source or a website and present an expanded version of it that contains more authentic information. It’s a healthy practice for academic writers and students to improve their reading and writing skills.
Conclusion
Web content writers, digital marketers, and students always look for new strategies to produce unique content.
By following the techniques mentioned above in various areas of their content, writers can easily avoid the allegation of plagiarism
Nowadays, various tools provide these services at just a click away. Many of these services are available for free, making them accessible.
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