What is plagiarism 

The word Plagiarism comes from the Latin language “plagiarius” which means “kidnapper”. 

Copying someone’s work or paraphrasing someone else’s work, without giving them credit can be considered Plagiarism. Plagiarism can occur unintentionally if you are referring to online sources but forget to credit them. 

In a world where everyone uses copy and paste It is very easy. Students commit plagiarized content without even realizing it. Regardless of whether the plagiarism is intentional or unintentional, it is unfair and unethical.

Plagiarism can be a very serious offense in academic essays and reports. Students are responsible for their plagiarized projects. They may face serious consequences. Also, students may get suspended or even expelled from their institute for the act of plagiarism.

There are 2 types of plagiarism in nature:

• Cyber Plagiarism

Copying partially or entirely articles and essays from the internet and not providing appropriate credits falls in the range of cyber plagiarism.

• Image Plagiarism

Downloading or using an image or video without permission or proper credit is considered Image plagiarism.

Why We Should Avoid Plagiarism

All academic institutes around the globe consider plagiarism an offense. Also, students that found plagiarism in their projects receive grade penalties. The penalties are not restricted to negative marking students can even get an F in the course. Under the guidance of many universities, students may get suspensions or even get expelled for plagiarism.

7 Tips to Avoid Plagiarism 

Since now you are aware of the consequences of plagiarism, let’s discuss some tips to avoid it. One of the best ways to avoid plagiarism is to plan your writing. Make sure you understand the content from your online sources. Here are the 7 best tips and tricks to avoid plagiarism in your academic projects and essays.

• Don’t Just Copy

Don’t copy the content blindly. In your essays and report, if you are referring to other people’s ideas or results make sure to credit them. Also, having a section solely for creating the resources in your project is a good idea. Avoid using Ctrl + C and Ctrl + V as this encourages you to copy the content you read online.

• Paraphrase Properly

Paraphrasing is not just switching out or re-writing a few words and sentences. Changing words is not enough to make your assignment plagiarism free. The correct paraphrasing includes insightful reading and understanding of original content. Creating and writing your own assignment with the knowledge gained can be considered paraphrasing. If you are unsure about your paraphrasing skills, compare your work with your researched content.

• Quote Your Sources Correctly

When there is a sentence of the quote which can not be paraphrased and needs to be quoted directly. Make sure to quote the source in a proper manner. Make sure not to use too many direct quotes in your projects. Since too many direct quotes have a negative impact on your project or essay. Moreover, the motive of projects is to check your knowledge and understanding of the topic.

Quoting your source correctly is mandatory if you want to avoid plagiarism in your project. Plagiarizing someone’s work without acknowledging the source can affect your grades.

• Make a Reference Page

Often students forget to provide proper credit to their resources in their projects. One way to avoid plagiarism is to include a proper reference page at the end of the project. Learners Just need to make a list of credits as they research on their topic. Try to form a list during working on your assignment, because it is easy to miss out on something important in the end.

• Use Plagiarism Checker

Make sure to check plagiarism after completing your homework. There are plenty of paid as well as free tools available online that can help you to check your essay. You need to upload the content to a plagiarism checking tool. The tool will find out the percentage of plagiarized content in your assignment. Also, it will highlight the plagiarized content for you. There are also multiple websites that provide writing services to students in need. They make sure the content is 100% unique.

• Using a Citation Style

Before you start writing your essay or report for your project, it is essential for you to choose the most suitable styles of formatting.

There are many styles of formatting. Each one has advantages and disadvantages, rules and regulations. If you are not familiar with them, you could accidentally break the rules. These mistakes can be the reason behind the plagiarism in your content. Also, it can lead you into trouble.

The 2 most common styles used by students are MLA and APA.

6.1 APA (American Psychological Association)

The American Psychological Association establishes a style known as APA. Originally it was used in psychology and the social sciences.

The APA style originated in an article-1929 published in Psychological Bulletin. This article laid out the fundamental rules and guidelines of the style.

By using the APA style, students write their assignments to communicate the information about their ideas and experiments in a well formed consistent format. Using a consistent style allows the professors to know what and where to look. 

6.2 MLA (Modern Language Association)

The rules and guidelines of MLA style were developed by the Modern Language Association. MLA is the most popular among the students for their academic projects. MLA is different from other writing styles, such as APA. Beginners should pay attention to details in MLA Style.

Using MLA Style properly makes it easier for the professors to navigate and evaluate your work. Many institutes worldwide encourage their students to use MLA style 

• Choose Online Writing Service

The requirement of having good writing skills has drastically increased in the last couple of years. Furthermore, with the addition of multiple genres, such  

• Creative content
• Essays writing 
• Academic assignments
• Research papers and many more

Students are getting burned out. A well written essay or project report without plagiarism is probably the hardest for students. On the other hand, many students have time management issues with their part time jobs. A professionally written essay and assignment have a structure that follows strict guidelines set by the universities. With essay writing services, students will get a guaranteed boost in their academics and achieve their desired grades. 

Many online websites such as Homework Minutes and Homework Joy offer online writing services to their users at very affordable prices. We at Homework Minutes understand students’ requirements.

The Final Words

Nowadays students are overburdened with tons of assignments and project reports. Completing these projects within the deadline and maintaining 0% plagiarism can be a difficult task for the students.

Following the above discussed tips and tricks will help you to avoid plagiarism in your essays and project reports. Also, if students have limited time, we encourage them to hire an online writing service. However, their main motive is to save time and provide 100% unique content to their users. Homework Minutes can be your best buddy on this journey.