How to avoid plagiarism in academic writing
Summary
TLDRIn this video, the speaker discusses common mistakes people make when it comes to plagiarism and how to avoid them. These include not paraphrasing correctly, using a thesaurus to change just a few words, and altering the original meaning of a source. The speaker then offers actionable strategies to avoid plagiarism, such as improving understanding of the topic, keeping track of sources, citing as you write, and using plagiarism checkers. The video emphasizes the importance of proper citation and understanding to avoid unintentional plagiarism.
Takeaways
- 🎓 Understand common plagiarism mistakes, including incorrect paraphrasing even with citations.
- 📖 Avoid only reading a small section of text when paraphrasing; increase your understanding of the entire topic.
- 📝 Don't just change a few words using a thesaurus to avoid plagiarism; the whole sentence structure must be altered.
- ⚠️ Changing the original meaning of a source to fit your needs is also considered plagiarism.
- 🧠 Improving your understanding of the material helps you paraphrase effectively and avoid plagiarism.
- 📚 Keep track of your sources while researching to avoid misattributing citations and committing plagiarism.
- ✍️ Use the 'cite as you write' method to integrate citations as you draft your paper, saving time later.
- 🧰 Using plagiarism checkers can help ensure your paper's originality, keeping the plagiarism score low.
- 🔍 Aim for a plagiarism score in the single digits to avoid penalties from professors or grading systems.
- 👍 Use YouTube's features to support content creators, like the 'thanks' button, for feedback and suggestions.
Q & A
What is the most common mistake students make when paraphrasing?
-The most common mistake is not paraphrasing correctly but including an in-text citation, which students think will protect them from plagiarism.
Why is paraphrasing incorrectly a problem even if a citation is included?
-If the paraphrasing is not done correctly, even with a citation, the material can still be considered plagiarized because the text hasn’t been sufficiently rewritten or transformed into the student’s own words.
What mistake do students make when they only read a small portion of a source?
-Students sometimes only read the immediate passage they want to paraphrase without understanding the broader context, which leads to poor paraphrasing because they don't fully grasp the subject.
Why is using a thesaurus to change a few words not enough to avoid plagiarism?
-Using a thesaurus to just change a few words doesn’t alter the structure or meaning of the sentence enough, so it’s still considered plagiarism as the material remains too close to the original.
What happens if a student changes the original meaning of a source while paraphrasing?
-Changing the original meaning of a source is also a mistake. Even though you're paraphrasing, you cannot modify the essence or the message of the original content, as this could lead to misrepresentation of information.
What is the key to paraphrasing correctly, according to the speaker?
-The key to paraphrasing correctly is to fully understand the topic before attempting to paraphrase it. If a student struggles, it’s often because they don't grasp the subject well enough.
What strategy does the speaker recommend to avoid unintentional plagiarism?
-The speaker recommends keeping track of your sources as you research, which ensures you cite correctly later and don’t mix up which information came from which source.
What does 'cite as you write' mean, and why is it useful?
-'Cite as you write' means adding citations as you are writing your paper, instead of waiting until the end. This method helps save time and reduces the chances of plagiarism.
How does the speaker suggest using plagiarism checkers?
-The speaker suggests using plagiarism checkers to see if your work scores too high on the plagiarism scale. Keeping the score in single digits is recommended to avoid problems.
What plagiarism score should you aim for on a plagiarism checker?
-You should aim to keep your plagiarism score in the single digits (below 10%). If your score is 10% or higher, you need to revise your work to reduce instances of plagiarism.
Outlines
🎉 Welcome to Paraphrasing and Avoiding Plagiarism!
The speaker greets the audience with excitement, introducing a new video series about paraphrasing. They recap a previous lesson on the six types of plagiarism and transition into discussing common plagiarism mistakes. The speaker teases some tips and strategies to help avoid plagiarism and humorously struggles to remember how many they’ll provide, promising to cover it all in the video.
⚠️ Common Mistake 1: Incorrect Paraphrasing with Citations
The first major mistake students make is thinking that simply including an in-text citation while failing to paraphrase properly protects them from plagiarism. The speaker emphasizes that improper paraphrasing, even with a citation, still counts as plagiarism.
📚 Common Mistake 2: Narrow Understanding of the Material
In the second mistake, the speaker explains that students often paraphrase a small portion of the text they read, like a single definition, without fully understanding the broader context. This leads to weak paraphrasing. The speaker stresses the importance of deepening one's understanding of the topic to improve paraphrasing.
🔄 Common Mistake 3: Thesaurus-Only Paraphrasing
The speaker describes how using a thesaurus to change just a few words in a sentence does not count as paraphrasing and is still considered plagiarism. They advise students to reword the entire sentence rather than just swapping a few synonyms.
🚫 Common Mistake 4: Changing the Source’s Meaning
In this mistake, students change the meaning of a source’s content to better fit their own paper, which the speaker warns against. Altering information like data or demographics to suit one’s needs misrepresents the original source, leading to plagiarism.
🔍 Key Strategy 1: Paraphrasing or Quoting Correctly
The speaker reiterates that proper paraphrasing or directly quoting a source is the most important way to avoid plagiarism. They highlight that fully understanding the material being paraphrased is essential to expressing ideas accurately in one's own words.
📝 Key Strategy 2: Track Your Sources
The speaker advises students to keep track of their sources while researching. Misattributing sources is still considered plagiarism, whether intentional or not, so it’s important to note where every piece of information comes from.
✍️ Key Strategy 3: Cite as You Write
The speaker shares a personal strategy: citing sources immediately while writing. They recommend writing and researching simultaneously, adding citations as they go to avoid confusion later and save time during the final edits.
🧪 Key Strategy 4: Use a Plagiarism Checker
To ensure that plagiarism is avoided, the speaker suggests using plagiarism checkers to scan papers before submission. They mention that professors use the same tools and that maintaining a low plagiarism score, ideally in the single digits, is a good practice to follow.
👍 Conclusion and YouTube Features
The speaker summarizes the video by encouraging the use of plagiarism checkers as students learn how to paraphrase effectively. They also introduce a YouTube feature called 'YouTube Thanks' to support content creators and remind viewers to subscribe to the channel for more educational content.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Paraphrasing
💡Plagiarism
💡In-text citation
💡Thesaurus misuse
💡Source integrity
💡Understanding the material
💡Plagiarism checker
💡Citation tracking
💡Cite as you write
💡Accidental plagiarism
Highlights
Introduction to common plagiarism mistakes and how to avoid them.
First mistake: Not paraphrasing correctly despite including an in-text citation.
Second mistake: Paraphrasing from a single passage without understanding the broader context.
Importance of reading around the topic to improve understanding for better paraphrasing.
Third mistake: Using a thesaurus to change just a few words without rewriting the sentence fully.
Changing the meaning of the source material is still considered plagiarism.
Tip: Always improve your understanding of a topic to paraphrase it effectively.
Paraphrasing and direct quoting correctly is the most reliable way to avoid plagiarism.
Keep track of your sources to avoid incorrect citations, which can still lead to plagiarism.
Personal tip: Cite as you write to ensure proper referencing as you develop your paper.
Using a plagiarism checker to ensure your paper has a low plagiarism score before submission.
Keep plagiarism scores in single digits to avoid being marked off by professors.
Final advice: Consistently use plagiarism checkers while paraphrasing to refine your work.
Reiterating that both intentional and unintentional plagiarism have the same consequences.
Encouragement to use YouTube’s new 'thanks' feature to support content creators.
Transcripts
[Applause]
oh my god
okay what's up smart students welcome to
today's video
actually welcome to this series shall i
say where we're talking all about
paraphrasing previous video we learned
this six different types of plagiarism
now what i need to do is tell you guys
the most common mistakes people make
intentionally or not when it comes to
plagiarizing and then i'm going to give
you my three four
i don't remember how many but i have a
number of surefire tips and tricks
strategies that are gonna help you avoid
plagiarism every single time let's see
if i can slide out of here a little
better let's go
[Music]
all right so let's start with the
mistakes mistake number one is probably
the most common and that is not
paraphrasing correctly but including an
in-text citation and considering
yourself safe
so here's the thing if you don't
paraphrase correctly
even if you include a citation it's
going to be considered plagiarized
material now mistake number two you
understand mistake number one
and you're trying to paraphrase
correctly a mistake you might make here
is only reading the immediate passage
and then trying to paraphrase that topic
so for example let's say you're trying
to talk about
what a customer relationship management
system is a crm system is and so you
just read the definitional paragraph
about it and then you go try and talk
about what it is in your paper guess
what you're gonna have a really hard
time writing a paraphrase passage about
what a crm is it's kind of important
that you understand who it's for how
it's used what it's made up of so don't
be afraid to read around
just the portion that you're trying to
paraphrase go ahead and increase your
understanding of the topic because
that's going to ensure that you
paraphrase correctly but now mistake
number three let's say you don't have
time to read extra material and you kind
of just need to get the material down on
your paper right now here's a mistake
that a lot of students make and that is
using at the source to intentionally
change a few of the words
and then considering themselves safe
so i actually recommend using a this
source when you're paraphrasing but you
still need to change the wording of the
entire sentence you can't just change a
couple words in that sentence and then
try and pass it off as your own idea
because quite frankly you're still just
using that source's material now it's
just a little bit different so that is
still going to be considered plagiarism
but now the final common mistake that
students make when it comes to
plagiarism is
changing the original meaning of the
source so i don't mean changing the
entire thing generally but you tweak it
a little bit so for example you read an
article it is almost a slam dunk for
what you need in your paper so say you
fib the results a little bit or you fib
the
i don't know the demographics they're
talking about whatever the case may be
you change it just a little bit so that
it better fits your paper or better
suits your needs
again this is a mistake because in order
to use that original sources ideas
thoughts in your paper
you can't change what they wrote about
in theirs you do need to paraphrase it
but you can't change the meaning if that
makes sense but now let's go ahead and
talk about those actionable things you
can do to avoid plagiarism
starting with the first one and that is
paraphrasing or directly quoting
correctly now here's the thing i didn't
start with this because i'm sure if
you're watching this video you already
kind of know that you need to paraphrase
so it's kind of common knowledge but
it's worth reiterating here because it's
important that you understand that you
have to do that correctly that is the
number one safe way that you'll avoid
plagiarism and i already kind of touched
on this in the mistakes but it's worth
mentioning here
in order to paraphrase correctly
to avoid plagiarism one of the best
things you can do is to always improve
your understanding of what you're trying
to paraphrase i say this time and time
again but if you feel like you're
struggling you know that feeling of
i kind of understand what i'm supposed
to say i'm trying to paraphrase it on
paper but it's just not working
it's because you don't understand the
topic you're trying to paraphrase think
about something you know a lot about how
easy is it for you to talk about versus
something you don't know anything about
it's really hard for your brain to
formalize words and so researching is no
different
effective research is about improving
your understanding because that's how
you're going to translate it from your
mind down onto that piece of paper but
let's go ahead and move on to the next
tip which is to keep track of your
sources this is going to depend on
how advanced you are on paraphrasing or
even how complex your assignment is so a
lot of times if you're doing a lot of
research and you're reading through tons
and tons of articles and sources
sometimes it's best to go ahead and keep
researching keep reading but keep track
of your sources so that way when you are
writing your paper later you know
exactly what came from where because if
you cite the wrong source in the wrong
place it doesn't matter it's still
plagiarism and as i've said before
intentional or unintentional the
punishment is still the same so keep
track of your sources cover your bases
that's key now the next tip i'd like to
offer you is actually from my own
personal toolbox i like to call it cite
as you write
and so basically what this is is
as you're researching you're writing
your paper simultaneously and this is
what i did for every single paper so you
have a list of objectives you're trying
to fulfill i would focus on the first
one i would research i would write it i
would cite it and then i'd move on to
the next one and the next one and the
next one and so this is something that i
will say if you're not used to doing
let's say you research your paper in its
entirety and then you go back and write
it may take a little bit of
or a little bit of transitional period
to cite as you write but this is
something that i try and teach students
because i find it's very effective if i
write a piece of paraphrase material i
put that citation immediately in my
paper the reference list entry included
because that's going to save me time
later on by the way let me know if you'd
be interested in a video on that simply
how i used to research and write a paper
a lot of people we all use different
methods and so sometimes it helps to see
how someone else does it to realize that
your system maybe could be a little more
efficient and so let me know if you want
to see that
anyways moving on to the last strategy
you can use to avoid plagiarism and that
is to use a plagiarism checker so there
are software's systems online that you
can quite literally
run your papers through to see how high
your paper scores on the plagiarism
scale
spoiler but your professor is going to
do the same thing later when they grade
you because quite frankly when they do
mark you off for plagiarism they're not
trying to be hard on you it's that they
generally run your papers through that
plagiarism checker and if it scores too
high
they have to count you off there's
there's really nothing they can do and
so as a rule of thumb
i always say you want to keep your
plagiarism score in the single digits so
in other words when you get to 10 and
higher
you want to start fixing some problems
you want to go back and see what you did
incorrectly
underneath that is fine because quite
frankly there's always going to be
a little form of plagiarism in all
papers or at least a plagiarism checker
is going to find some so keep in mind
that it's okay in the single digits
double digits you need to fix some stuff
and here we are if i could summarize
this entire video in one sentence or a
phrase it would be this guys
use a plagiarism checker when you're
getting used to paraphrasing use a
plagiarism checker it will help you but
anyways thanks so much for watching this
video all the way through and by the way
youtube has this awesome new feature
called youtube thanks which allows you
guys to support your creators let them
know what videos you like which ones
you're learning the most from what type
of videos you want more from whatever
the case may be
you can find that down where you like
the video subscribe all that good stuff
which you should do while you're out
while you're down there if you haven't
already too but anyways guys i will see
you in the next video
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