Tips on avoiding plagiarism

At its core, plagiarism is an ethical issue. A writer who submits plagiarized work is committing theft with the hope of benefiting from that theft.

Cite your source

Add a citation in your writing that identifies the full name of the source, the date it was published, and any other citation element that's required by the style guide you're adhering to.

Include quotations

One of the most simple, yet obvious ways to avoid plagiarism, is by using quotation marks around the text to denote that the words aren't your own. A direct quote should also cite the source so that readers know who the quote is from.

Paraphrase

Paraphrasing is rewriting a source's ideas or information into your own words, without changing its meaning. But be careful-paraphrasing can slip into plagiarism if done incorrectly.

Successfully paraphrasing without plagiarizing involves a bit of a dance. Reword and format your writing in an original way, and try to avoid using too many similar words or phrases from the source. The key is to do so without altering the meaning of the idea itself. Remember, you're still using another's idea so you'll need to include a citation to the source.

Present your own idea

Instead of parroting the source's ideas or words, explore what you have to say about it. Ask yourself what unique perspective or point you can contribute in your writing that's entirely your own. Keep in mind that if you're alluding to a source's ideas or words to frame your own point, you'll still need to apply the guidelines above to avoid plagiarizing.

If you're writing on the same topic for multiple assignments, it can be tempting to recycle some of your previous words-this is called "self-plagiarism". The risk involved with self-plagiarism is just as high if the publisher or your instructor didn't give you permission to reuse your old work.

Try this useful tool: Plagersism Checker (by Grammerly)

The above information was taken from: Grammerly's Blog - see Sources below