Have you ever gone in the history of the word plagiarism? Where does the origin of the word lie? It comes from the Latin word “plagiarius” which means “the kidnapper”. This pretty much makes the gravity of the offence of plagiarism quite clear. It is necessary as a scholar to present the ideas you pick from reading literature as your own ideas to avoid getting trapped in the offence of plagiarism.
So that you are able to void plagiarism it is important to understand it thoroughly and develop the practice to avoid it in a tactful manner. Here I will share with you some practical and technical concepts related to plagiarism so that you know what to look for when working around making your document plagiarism free:
Most of the authors think that it is just sufficient to just list the source of the content in the appended bibliography or if required in the content and that takes care of the concern of plagiarism completely and indicates a sense of general gratitude of the writer towards the author from where the idea has been retrieved. But if your objective is to avoid charge of plagiarism then all borrowing of content and idea, however minor or small it be has to be very specifically, precisely and accurately referenced. It is a trait of good academic practice.
Whenever you quote a source directly, word by word then it is not enough to just mention the source in the bibliography. You also need to be very careful that the passage which you are using word by word should be in quotation marks and intended with source having been given accurate referencing whether it be in footnote, endnote or the given specifications by the journal. Be very sure that you don’t leave any source of ambiguity in concern to where the quotation begins or ends.
If you are using tables, figures or charts from any source then the source needs to be cited in a very explicit manner and nit kept discreet anyhow.
As an author you must never ignore or neglect acknowledging sources from where you have you used general content or paraphrased in according to your requirement.
As an author, when you sit to find sources of information , you may use research paper, websites, newspapers, television programmes, essays, tutorial, books and many more but the rules for referencing apply everywhere equally. Always remember that if you are careful about reference work you can stay away from the problem of accidental plagiarism.
