How to Avoid Plagiarism in a Research Paper

By eHow Education Editor

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Plagiarism is a serious academic crime that could get you expelled from school. It's also easy to commit by accident if you're not careful.

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Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

Report Covers
Printers
Internet Access
Bonded Paper
Computers
Word-processing Software

Step1

Cite a source any time you state an idea that you yourself didn't originate.

Step2

Give sources for quotations, and be sure to quote any string of three or more words that comes from a given source.

Step3

Paraphrase with care. Since copyright law protects the expression of an idea, you may be accused of plagiarism if your rewritten version is too similar to the original.

Step4

Cite when in doubt. The overall idea is to cover your bases, leaving no question about which ideas came from you and which came from others.

Step5

Contact your teacher or professor if you're struggling with your paper. Work out a solution together instead of taking the plagiarism shortcut.

Tips & Warnings

Consult related eHows for tips on researching and citing source material.
Consider taking a class on writing a research paper.
Be careful not to plagiarize a fellow student's work accidentally. The best way to avoid this is not to read your colleagues' work.
If, on the other hand, your teacher or professor encourages collaboration, then make certain you cite a clever idea that came from a fellow student.
To reiterate, plagiarism can get you kicked out of school. Know the rules and ask your teacher or professor to clarify anything you don't completely understand about plagiarism.

Comments

Anonymous said

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on 2/10/2006 As stated above, you simply must credit any idea that you didn't originate. Most people think that plagiarism is about copying someone else's words. It isn't. It's the idea that's the thing; to borrow an idea from Shakespeare.

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