Writing tasks are essential in every students’ academic journey. Doing this enhances your writing, reasoning, and critical thinking skills. Aside from these, it also tests your honesty and integrity as a student. Whether you like it or not, you need to do them countless times. Every time your teachers give you a task, they give you specific instructions to follow. They also warn you about late submission, but most importantly, plagiarism.
Institutions have different definitions for it. But in essence, it is an academic offense you commit by copying unoriginal ideas without correct citations. Because this is a serious matter, you must avoid plagiarism in your essay. As a student, you must uphold intellectual honesty in all your outputs. To learn more about how to write an essay without plagiarism, you should read the tips below.
• Write from Scratch
While it is tempting to get ideas from other papers, it is best to start from scratch. It will allow you to put your own insights without other people’s opinions distracting you. Sometimes, we like to read and look at others’ ideas to help us develop our own. It might be helpful for others, but it could lead you to copy without noticing it.
However, it would be best if you understand that all academic writings are not entirely original. Researchers always refer to previous studies and literature to establish context and show their study’s relevance. They do not even plagiarize definitions. It only shows that they value other people’s work as well. It is admirable if their ideas inspire you, but you must not exclude them from your paper.
• Paraphrase and Summarize, but Cite
At some point, you must have asked yourself this question: “Can’t I just reword in my essay?” Although it is a quick way to finish your paper, you will be guilty of plagiarizing by doing it. It is still a form of copying if you do not cite and use the correct format.
Paraphrasing and summarizing are two vital skills you need to have in writing. You do the former when you reword something while keeping its entire thought. On the other hand, you do the latter when you restate something but in a simplified manner. So, you may paraphrase someone else’s idea or summarize a research’s results as you see appropriate. Doing these allows you to shorten the information you have gathered to fit in your work. You will also find it easier to contextualize them in your essay once you do. But, you need to make sure that you are only using credible sources. Whatever you use, you must always cite it.
However, the best way to write an essay without plagiarizing is through citations. If you cite a source, it shows that the statement is not yours. It prompts the reader that you derived the information or idea somewhere else. Whether you are paraphrasing, summarizing, or quoting, you can avoid essay plagiarism through this action.
• Keep Track of the Sources you consulted in your research
Before you start drafting your paper, you have to read multiple resources first. This process will allow you to have more information about your topic. It can also help you formulate a more specific and clear thesis statement. Moreover, your research will lead to insightful and relevant resources.