Have you ever found yourself in a situation where your lecturer is asking you for a plagiarism-free assignment? Well if you have, then you should understand that what your lecturer is asking is that you cannot copy-paste any material for that assignment and you have to make an effort now.
However, our lazy fellows still find a shortcut to prepare for that assignment. How? They follow different techniques to copy and paste data without plagiarizing, for instance, they paraphrase the already existing content on the internet for their assignments. So do how do you avoid this costly Mistakes?
What is plagiarism?
Plagiarism is when you use someone else’s ideas or content without crediting the author of the original source and presenting it as your work. Other times it is usually referred to as stealing other’s knowledge and content if you do not mention the reference. you can use other people’s work as long as you cite them.
What is paraphrasing?
Paraphrasing can be defined as a technique in which already existing content is altered to create a new one or the modification of already published ideas and text to create a new one. Modification of text can be done using synonyms of different words or just writing the content in your own words.
Is there a difference between plagiarism and paraphrasing?
Yes. The difference between plagiarism and paraphrasing is very simple, for instance, paraphrasing is simply rewriting an already existing content in your own words whereas plagiarism is directly using someone else’s words as if they were your own.
Nevertheless, a paraphrase that includes the author’s words or the same pattern of thoughts and ideas is also considered to be plagiarism. This makes it extremely difficult for a college student, researchers, and even bloggers to avoid it as most cases represent unintentional plagiarism. Using another person’s work and failing to provide references is a very serious academic problem. It is necessary to include your original source when someone’s idea or concept has been paraphrased.
Never forget that close paraphrasing of another person’s words is just as bad as placing a quote without a reference. Let us say that you want to bypass plagiarism checkers -like Turnitin-, you provide a direct quote with all the necessary information, however, such parts are usually skipped by detection tools yet it may not please your lecturer. The reason for that is understanding what must be cited and what should be paraphrased to help your audience see why it is necessary for your college paper or a team project research.
Paraphrasing should not be seen in a different light. You are still borrowing information from a certain source. That is why it must be credited in every case. By doing so, you also make your research sound more credible. It shows that proper research has been done.
Understanding that paraphrasing may easily become a form of plagiarism when it is wrongly approached. Whereas plagiarism stands for using ideas penned by other people and passing them as your authorship, paraphrasing also works with these ideas as a person tries to put them in their own words. As a way to help you understand the major differences, we will make a simple table with the major differences between plagiarism and paraphrasing.
| Plagiarism | Paraphrasing |
| Usually plagiarized content may provide an author’s name incorrectly, which will also be considered plagiarism. Plagiarism includes information as it is by not changing active or passive voice nor making fit within what is being written. For plagiarized content, it will either use direct quotes or text that have little to no changes. | Paraphrasing may not use an original source reference, thus making it another form of plagiarism. Paraphrasing is not considered plagiarism if one uses a specific and unique structure therefore maintaining this same idea and providing an author’s or organization’s name. Paraphrasing aims to stick to the original text by rewording the original content. |
If the reference is not given, paraphrasing is considered plagiarism. We need to understand that plagiarism is a wide concept used for any kind of unethical use of someone else’s work without giving credit to the author. We can say that the difference between paraphrasing and plagiarism is the same as the difference between borrowing and stealing.
