How to Check My Work for Plagiarism & Proper Citations

The fine line between original inspired work and influenced knowledge means writers should be extremely cautious when trying to avoid plagiarizing. Just as a well-written essay will reflect well-organized research, each piece of information you borrow from a source should be collected in a way that you can keep your information organized in a system. Use that system once you have finished writing your essay to make sure each insight used is properly acknowledged.

Things You'll Need

• Highlighters
• Red pen
• MLA or APA handbook
• Reference materials
• Multiple drafts of an essay or research paper

Instructions

1. Read through your essay several times, each time looking specifically for any phrases or sentences that are not written in your voice. Take notes in the margin of a draft next to each section in which you inserted concrete details from someone else's work to support your topic sentences. Even if you paraphrase or summarize the information, you must acknowledge quotes, summaries and paraphrased sections.

2. Do not assume any information is considered common knowledge, as a program to detect plagiarism might associate that information with the earliest publication in which it appeared. Although it may be time-consuming, revisit your original sources during the final drafts even if you created a system with note cards or a source spreadsheet. Since most programs searching for plagiarism have little or no discretion in regard to format, your job as a writer and researcher is to make sure your work is written according to the standards of either MLA style or APA style, as preferred by your professor.

3. If you cannot find the original source of a specific quote or paraphrasing, decide if that information is essential to your paragraph and omit as necessary. This is information you should keep up with during your research, however. When adding direct quotes or paraphrased sections make sure each portion of the quote is contained with quotation marks, appropriate end punctuation and proper reference information. When properly formatting referenced material, you should begin with the open quotation mark, include the information, and, if no other commentary is conjoined, add a comma before the closing quotation mark, then add the parenthetical citation before the end punctuation.

4. Ensure each parenthetical citation includes, inside the parentheses, the author's last name followed by the page number of the source, if pagination is available, like this: (Walters 34). Note the end punctuation is inserted after the citation. This citation is a direct reference to a source in your Works Cited and Annotated Bibliography. If you have summarized the information, you can make a reference to the author in your sentence without including a parenthetical citation.

5. As a frame of reference, the Modern Language Association prints a yearly handbook that includes all research methods and tools accepted as MLA Style and Format for research. Also widely accepted as research standards, the American Psychological Association produces a publication manual. Your professor will designate which style guide they prefer you to use for each assignment.

Tips & Warnings

• If you have any doubts about what is or is not considered common knowledge, cite it unless you can find five sources that provide that information the same way.

• Improper format results in plagiarism---make sure you follow the style guide down to the end punctuation.

References

• Safe Practices: Best Practices for Research and Drafting The OWL @ Purdue
• Modern Language Association Style and Format Guide: MLA Citation and Plagiarism Guide