Important Insights:

Make your research document plagiarism-free by following some tips and tricks:

• Remove direct plagiarism by accurately citing the original content
• Follow the correct citation format to prevent source-based plagiarism
• Write in your unique way to avoid mosaic plagiarism
• Don’t copy others’ work to steer clear of global plagiarism

Read further and get to know all about the common types of plagiarism, and tips to avoid them.

Using someone else's work, words, or ideas without proper acknowledgement or crediting the original source is plagiarism. It can be a sentence, a quote, an image, a design, or any form of intellectual work. Generally, plagiarism is a breach of integrity because the author intentionally or unintentionally fails to credit the work to its creator.

Students are always anxious about plagiarism because it may lead to serious consequences. It is a fact that the detection of plagiarism in writing not only leads to rejection of the work but also damages the students’ academic standing. So, every student must explore all common types of plagiarism and have an idea of how to remove it from their document.

Whether you are writing your first research paper or doing your dissertation, understanding plagiarism types helps you to keep out of hot waters. In this article, you will learn about the different types of plagiarism and ways to avoid them. So, continue reading this article till the end.

What are the 10 Most Common Types of Plagiarism, and How to Avoid Them?

Time limitation and inadequate writing skills are two main qualifiers of plagiarism. Sometimes, you don't even know that you are writing plagiarised content. So, it is important to conduct in-depth research and get proper guidance to write plagiarism-free documents. 

However, if you think that you don’t possess the skills to write a plagiarism-free paper, then you may ask for academic writing help from The Academic Papers UK. The experts here offer top-quality writing services and know how to do academic writing with original content. Additionally, they leverage their expertise to assist you in accomplishing your academic goals.

Now, let’s explore the top 10 types of plagiarism to boost your writing skills and make your writing process flawless.

1. Complete/Global Plagiarism

This is one of the most complicated types of plagiarism in research work and brings severe consequences. This plagiarism occurs when a writer presents someone’s work with his own name. In general, an author deliberately takes ownership of someone else’s work and ultimately commits plagiarism. Understand this by a simple example. Suppose you submit a research paper on your name that your older brother wrote five years ago.

You can follow some tips to avoid this type of serious plagiarism.

• Write your assignment or paper by yourself.
• If you are taking the idea from someone else’s work, cite their name in an accurate format.
• Don’t copy others’ entire work in any circumstances.

2. Direct Plagiarism

Direct plagiarism or verbatim plagiarism is included in the list of most common types of academic plagiarism. This plagiarism occurs when an author copies another work without giving attribution. Needless to say, it is a major kind of academic dishonesty. Detection of this plagiarism can lead to suspension, grade reduction, or even expulsion. Furthermore, this damages the academic credibility and reputation of the student.

As a student, you can avoid this common type of plagiarism by following these key steps:

• Use quotation marks when writing someone else's work.
• Paraphrase and summarise others’ work effectively.
• Make good notes while researching so that when you write your paper or dissertation, you can provide proper citations.
• Use advanced plagiarism tools to avoid plagiarism.

3. Source-based Plagiarism

Source-based plagiarism is among the ambiguous forms of plagiarism. Understanding this type of academic copying is a little bit tricky. Source-based plagiarism occurs when the author inaccurately cites the original source of information.

For instance, a student writes an essay by taking information from a book but instead of giving a reference to this book he falsely cites irrelevant sources. This false referencing can also lead to academic failure.

Avoid this common type of plagiarism in the following ways:

• Use citation generator tools for proper citation.
• Ask your teachers or supervisor for the required reference format.
• Follow the citation format of your desired journal.
• Cite authentic sources to make your work transparent.

4. Paraphrasing Plagiarism

Paraphrasing without citation is a common type of plagiarism in academic writing. This type of plagiarism occurs when an author uses someone’s work with minor changes. In this copying type, the same idea presents with different wording that plagiarism tools detect eventually.

So, you can remove paraphrasing plagiarism by following the steps below.

• Read the original study multiple times to understand it.
• Write the information in your writing style to ensure it doesn’t resemble the original source.
• Use quotations in those lines where you borrowed others’ phrases or words.

5. Mosaic Plagiarism

Mosaic plagiarism is also known as patchwork plagiarism. It involves copying information from others’ work without giving attribution. In the landscape of common types of plagiarism, this plagiarism is an intentional fraudulent act. Generally, an author copies phrases or a few lines in mosaic plagiarism instead of word-for-word copying.

Furthermore, sometimes, the students slightly paraphrase the original work without changing the sentence structure. They often don’t know what elements plagiarism consists of, so we recommend they get top-notch academic writing services from a legitimate platform. These writing experts assist them in writing plagiarism-free academic documents without compromising the quality of work.

However, there are a few steps that you can follow to avoid mosaic plagiarism, including:

• Take clauses from the source and use them in your sentences.
• Cite sources appropriately.
• Use quotations and footnotes.
• Follow your unique way of writing throughout your writing document.

6. Accidental Plagiarism

After direct plagiarism, accidental plagiarism is considered the most common type of plagiarism. This plagiarism occurs when the author doesn’t realise that he is copying others’ work. Moreover, this is the unintentional act of copying that can take place in the writing process. Whether intentionally or intentionally, there is no excuse for copying others' work, so you have to be careful when writing your academic paper.

To avoid this common plagiarism type:

• Acknowledge every source from which you extract information.
• Paraphrase and put quotation effectively.
• Ensure you cite these sources correctly.

7. Idea Plagiarism

As the name indicates, this plagiarism includes stealing someone’s idea. When an author uses someone’s idea and presents it in his way without giving attribution then idea plagiarism occurs. Like other plagiarism, this type of copying also leads to serious consequences for students. So, be careful when you write your research article or dissertation.

You can follow these tips to avoid idea plagiarism.

• Honouring others’ intellectual property.
• Summerise other’s work and paraphrase effectively.
• Instead of paraphrasing completely, do a critical analysis.
• Take permission from authors for unpublished ideas.

8. Source-neglect Plagiarism

Giving credit to original sources shows your intellectual integrity while you write your research work. But sometimes, due to carelessness or lack of knowledge about citation, students ignore adding the attribution of the original source. Although this is not an intentional fraud attempt, it is a type of plagiarism. When you mention all the sources from where you extract information, it will make your writing document authentic and credible.

So, to prevent source-neglect plagiarism, follow the below-mentioned tips:

• Cite every idea that is not original.
• Follow accurate citation format.
• Review your documents several times to remove any citation gaps.
• Use plagiarism checker software to avoid any flaws.

9. Self-Plagiarism

Among all types of plagiarism, self-plagiarism is often overlooked. This type of plagiarism refers to the copying of your old work into your new research work without proper citation. Consider you are writing a new assignment, and you copy your previously written essay content without your teacher's approval. This reusing becomes self-plagiarism. Hence, it is crucial to be aware of all common types of plagiarism so no one can question your work's transparency.

By keeping in mind, the key points below, you can prevent this type of plagiarism.

• Treat your work as you treat others’ work.
• Properly cite your work, as all copyrights of your previous work are reserved for publishers.
• Paraphrase your work effectively
• Use plagiarism checker software before submitting your work

10. Inaccurate Authorship Plagiarism

Accurate authorship plagiarism is the most complex type. It may occur in two ways: an author may be involved in the research but not get credit, or a person may get the credits without contributing anything to the research. In both cases, students may face serious consequences, even if they can be expelled from their college or university.

To avoid the trap of this type of plagiarism, follow the below-mentioned steps:

• Mention the names of all the contributors in your document.
• Cite every source carefully.
• Acknowledge those people who even proofread your document or made substantial changes.

These are the most common types of plagiarism. Students also ask a few questions related to plagiarism. We will also answer those commonly asked questions so that you do not have any unanswered.

What is 5 Word Plagiarism?

Often, students ask this question: “What are five words of plagiarism?” The answer is that five consecutive words in a row from someone else’s work without citation generate 5-word plagiarism. However, there are some exceptions, like proverbs or some common sequence of words that do not fall into this category. In addition to this, plagiarism is not only about copying words but also about evaluating the originality of ideas.   

What is 100% Plagiarism?

Plagiarism check software commonly identifies the context of similarity in any academic research document. Sometimes, software detects 100% plagiarism in the document, which means that the complete document is copy-pasted. No matter whether you did it intentionally or unintentionally, you have to face its consequences. So, it is better to check your document before submitting it.

Is plagiarism a Cheat?

In academics, one of the most common forms of cheating is plagiarism, which is using someone’s words or ideas without citation. However, there is a key difference between actual cheating and plagiarism. Cheating is a fraudulent act that always occurs intentionally. On the contrary, plagiarism occurs most of the time unintentionally due to a lack of writing abilities. With proper understanding and knowledge, an author can avoid plagiarism in his academic writing document.

We understand that writing an academic paper is not a piece of cake especially when you write it for the first time. Therefore, we suggest that you hire online academic writers to make your writing process seamless. These seasoned writers here know how to write plagiarism-free papers that will boost your credibility and grade.

Conclusion

Plagiarism encompasses using someone’s work or idea without giving attribution to him. Generally, plagiarism leads to serious consequences, especially for research students. These consequences range from damaging a student's credibility to being expelled from college.  So, as a student, you cannot afford any consequence from them.

It goes without saying that you have to understand all the common types of plagiarism, ranging from direct plagiarism to inaccurate authorship plagiarism, so that you can avoid them during your writing process. No matter what type of plagiarism you encounter, the crux to prevent it is to cite each source accurately. 

With proper citation and attribution to the original source, you can make your research article credible. Moreover, you can utilise online plagiarism checker software to ensure your work is transparent. These tools help you to avoid any type of plagiarism and make your research document more authentic.