What is Plagiarism?

Definition, Types, How to Avoid, Laws

 Plagiarism is derived from the Latin word “Plagiarius” meaning “kidnapper”.
 Plagiarism means stealing or copying another’s work and representing it as own
work.
 On Internet, everything is available for free. We can share, upload, download, view,
or search any text, audio, and video.
 Everything is there for free. The availability of anything and everything on the
internet has made our lives easier but people make misuse of this advantage of the
internet by representing other’s work as their own for fame, for academic benefits,
for money, for personal interests, etc.
 Plagiarism is most commonly practiced in academics and researches.
 On the internet, we have all kinds of literary articles, educational content, research
papers, etc available for free.
 This facilitates everyone and assists them in gaining knowledge and becoming
literate. Earlier when there were no Internet people either had to visit libraries when
they wanted to study or know anything or had to purchase expensive books. But
now we just type the topic in our browser and we get thousands of search results.
 As a result, some people use these articles, research papers, educational content in
an adverse manner.
 Plagiarism can be intentional or unintentional.
We should have the knowledge of what can be called plagiarized content and what not.
Following are the key points to understand what can be called as plagiarism:
 If we use another person’s work under our name.
 If we copy other’s ideas and words and don’t give them the credit.
 If we download copyrighted images or music and present them as our own.
 If we copy maximum words and modify them so that we can cleverly use them under
our own name.
 If we use someone else’s copyrighted music or video for our own music cover or video.
 If we recreate an image, video, music, article, etc in such a manner that it is quite similar
to the original one.

Types of Plagiarism

There are several types of plagiarism. In this article, we will get to know the common ones:
 Complete Plagiarism: Complete Plagiarism is the most extreme form of plagiarism.
In this plagiarism, a person completely copies someone else’s work such as a research

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 paper, article, image, etc, and represents it as their own work. This form of plagiarism
is similar to identity theft or stealing.
 Verbatim: Verbatim is also known as direct plagiarism. When we read a book we must
have observed that if any statement that a famous person has made is always represented
in double quotations and is highlighted so that we get to know that it is said by this
particular person. Similarly consider a person writing an article and mentioning
someone else’s work or words that too exactly the same. But this person doesn’t
represent it in quotation marks. Then that person is said to be exhibiting direct
plagiarism. Hence copying another person’s work word to word and not representing it
in quotation marks is known as Verbatim or direct plagiarism.
 Self-Plagiarism: This kind of plagiarism is the duplication of a person’s own work. It
is also known as auto plagiarism. It occurs when a person copies some words of his
own published work and uses the same for another work. This form of plagiarism is
commonly observed in research journals. Researchers may make re-use of their
research work for another research work, however, the percentage of re-usage must be
according to those set by the publishing journals if they allow them to do so.
 Source-Based Plagiarism: This form of plagiarism is most commonly observed in
research work. In the research paper one needs to provide references that have
contributed to their work, If a person provides wrong references that do not exist, or
that are not relating to the work then it is known as source-based plagiarism. The
falsification of data or its fabrication is also source-based plagiarism. Falsification and
fabrication of data are manipulating or representing false or non-existing data.
 Accidental Plagiarism: This kind of plagiarism mostly occurs due to a lack of
knowledge. If we don’t know how to paraphrase, cite and quote a research work we
leave the work as it is and it results in accidental plagiarism.

Why is plagiarism unethical?

 Plagiarism is unethical because we are representing someone’s other work as our own
without giving them the right to. In the real world if someone else takes our things
without our permission then we call that person a “thief” and doing so is considered as
a punishable offense. Similarly if in the virtual world someone copies someone else’s
work it is unethical and is a punishable offense.
 Plagiarism affects the integrity of academics. Researchers are given the degree of Ph.D.
on basis of their research works, students are given grades according to their homework.
If we will be practicing plagiarism we will not be gaining any knowledge. We may even
succeed in getting our Ph.D. degree or good grades but that will put our career at risk
and is a threat to our future. We will be a risk for society, organizations where we may
work as we do not have the complete knowledge of the corresponding work.
 If we use the plagiarized content for our personal benefits such as monetary gains, fame,
etc then it is unethical because we are being benefitted for what we actually have not

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 done. We are being rewarded without actually performing well or giving our 100
percent to get that reward. It is immoral to do so.

How to avoid plagiarism?

There are certain steps we can follow in order to avoid plagiarism.

 Always give credit to the person whose work you are including in your own work. Make
use of double quotations to prevent verbatim.
 Build your own ideas and thoughts and use them in your work. Do not copy another
person’s ideas or work. Develop yourself and work on yourself so that you can enhance
your thought process. Increase the domain of your knowledge.
 Make use of paraphrasing. Paraphrasing means the representation of an idea or thought
in our own words in such a manner that the original essence of that idea remains the
same. But we should also do paraphrasing in such a manner that it does not convert to
plagiarism.
 Use online plagiarism checker tools. There are many sites that offer plagiarism checker
tools. These sites check your work against thousands of other works available on the
internet and give you a percentage of plagiarized or unique content. They can even tell
from which site the content is copied. We should always use plagiarism checker tools
in order to prevent plagiarism. Some of the plagiarism checking tools are – Grammarly,
smallseotools, turnitin, quetext, etc.
 Always provide correct references in your research paper or article.
 Learn how to cite your articles, provide references, use double quotations, etc. You
should know how to write a scholarly article or book or research paper before you begin
writing.
 If you are using someone else’s videos, images, or audios in your own video, etc always
ask them first, and even after that provide them the credit for the same.
 Keep your morals high. Be educated about plagiarism and be an ethical person. As in
real life, you don’t do bad things as you know the differentiation between what is good
and bad similarly teach your inner conscience that plagiarism is unethical and you
should not make use of plagiarized content.
Here are some popular plagiarism detection software tools:

1. Turnitin: A widely used plagiarism checker that compares submitted work against a vast
database of academic content, internet sources, and previously submitted papers.
2. Grammarly: While primarily known as a grammar and writing improvement tool,
Grammarly also offers a plagiarism checker feature that can identify potential instances
of plagiarism.
3. Copyscape: A web-based plagiarism checker that allows you to enter a URL or upload a
document to check for duplicate content on the internet.

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4. Plagscan: Plagscan is an online plagiarism detection software that compares submitted
documents against a large database of academic papers, internet sources, and
previously submitted content.
5. Unicheck: Unicheck is a cloud-based plagiarism detection tool that can check for
similarities and potential plagiarism in academic papers, articles, and other types of
written content.
6. Viper: Viper is a free plagiarism checker that scans submitted documents against a
massive database of academic papers, internet sources, and previously submitted
content.
7. Ephorus: Ephorus is a plagiarism detection software commonly used in educational
institutions to check for similarities and potential instances of plagiarism.
8. Plagiarism Checker X: Plagiarism Checker X is a downloadable software that can
compare documents against various online sources and provide detailed reports on
potential instances of plagiarism.

Laws against plagiarism

There are many laws against plagiarism. Some of them are mentioned below-
 In section 57 of the Indian Copyright Act 1957, authors have “the right to claim
authorship of their works among other things. It grants the authors the special right to
be attributed for their work. The statute recognizes the right to attribution analogous to
the rights not to be plagiarized.”
 In section 63 of the ICA 1957, “a convicted infringer is liable to be imprisoned between
six months to three years, and to be fined between fifty thousand and two lakh rupees”.
 University Grants Commission or UGC has provided a certain set of guidelines that
need to be followed by universities in order to prevent plagiarism in academic activities.

Sample Questions

Question 1. What is plagiarism?

Solution:
Plagiarism is stealing or copying another’s work and representing it as our own work
without giving them the credit.
Question 2. Why is plagiarism unethical?
Solution:
Plagiarism is unethical because we are representing someone else works as our own
without giving them the right to. It also affects academic integrity adversely.
Question 3. What is verbatim?

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Solution:
Copying another person’s work word to word and not representing it in quotation marks is
known as Verbatim. Verbatim is also known as direct plagiarism.
Question 4. What is paraphrasing?
Solution:
Paraphrasing means the representation of an idea or thought in our own words in such a
manner that the original essence of that idea remains the same
Question 5. Mention any law against plagiarism.
Solution:
In section 57 of the Indian Copyright Act 1957, authors have “the right to claim authorship
of their works among other things. It grants the authors the special right to be attributed for
their work. The statute recognizes the right to attribution analogous to the rights not to be
plagiarized.”

Why Is Plagiarism Bad?

Plagiarism is bad because it devalues the work of others. It's like taking someone else’s words,
ideas and content without giving credit for their effort. It also violates the copyright laws in some
countries, which can lead to legal action and fines.

Plagiarized content is also bad for SEO because when a site does not have original content, it
makes the page less valuable to search engines and visitors. It can also hurt the reputation of your
website and the trustworthiness of the site as a whole.

What Are Forms of Plagiarism?

Complete Plagiarism

Complete plagiarism happens when a writer completely "steals" the work and introduces it as their
own. For example, you may copy-paste the whole e-book of another company and use the original
content without changing a single detail for your content marketing strategy.

Direct Word for Word Plagiarism

Direct plagiarism is copying another person's work without giving them credit and replacing some
words with the source. It is the easiest type of plagiarism to identify because it often doesn't change
the meaning of the copied text.

Direct refers to the act of stealing someone's work word by word and pasting it into your content
piece. Direct plagiarizing does not steal the whole work as it was with complete plagiarism but
takes specific paragraphs without quoting or giving credit to resources.

Also, two or three words might be changed. But it is too obvious and still considered plagiarism.

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Source-Based Plagiarism

Self-plagiarism occurs when writers:

 Cite sources but deliver their idea in a false way

 Reference some sources but ignore others
 Credit false, imaginary source

Plagiarism of Your Work

There are cases of self-plagiarism. Yes, you can use your ideas, words, and sentences however you
use them. But this type of plagiarism has drawbacks.

Indeed, you are not stealing anything if you repurpose the content on multiple pages. Still, if
Google detects a case of duplicate content, you may get penalized.

So, even if you have discussed the topic 100x times, you should go the extra mile and try to use
different variations of words and sentences to avoid the duplicate content penalty.

Paraphrasing Plagiarism

Let's say you take the original concept of an idea derived from research and paraphrase it without
referring to the primary source you plagiarize.

Accidental Plagiarism

Accidental plagiarism can happen when you neglect to cite your sources or misquote your sources.
This type of plagiarism is often the result of carelessness or ignorance rather than intentional
cheating. If you accidentally use someone else's words without giving them credit, you still
plagiarise. Lack of intent does not absolve persons from responsibility for plagiarism.

Mosaic or Patchwork Plagiarism

Mosaic plagiarism is a type of plagiarism where the writers borrow from a source without using
quotation marks or use synonyms for the author's language while keeping to the same general
structure and meaning of the original. Patchwork plagiarism can be subtle and difficult to catch, to
trick the reader into thinking it’s new content.

What Are the SEO Consequences of Plagiarism?

There are several potential consequences for plagiarism when it comes to SEO. First and foremost,
plagiarizing content can get you penalized by Google. This means that your website will rank
lower in search engine results pages (SERPs), making it much harder for people to find you. In

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addition, plagiarism can also cause your site to be removed from Google's index altogether,
meaning that it will no longer appear in search results.

Aside from the potential penalties from Google, plagiarizing content can also lead to legal trouble.
If you're caught copying someone else's work without giving them credit, you may be subject to
fines or even imprisonment. And if you steal someone else's copyrighted material and use it on
your website, you could face lawsuits from the copyright holder.

Finally, plagiarism is just bad for business overall. It makes you look like a dishonest or lazy
person, and it can turn away potential customers and clients. So, not only will plagiarism hurt your
SEO efforts, but it can also hurt your bottom line.

How to Avoid Plagiarised Content?

1. Collect Your Sources and References Together

As we have already mentioned, there are cases when writers or students forget to refer to sources,
and they unintentionally plagiarize.

It is easily avoidable if you create a list of references and link them to your outline parts. After you
align sources with your H2-H3, mark what needs to be quoted, paraphrased, hyperlinked, or
included in the footer.

Planning is a half-the-battle won! You should include the step of source collecting in your writing
workflow.

2. Quote

The quote is a word used to describe the act of copying a piece of text verbatim and inserting it
into your writing. This text should be enclosed in quotation marks and correctly attributed to the
original author. Quote sparingly - only use quotes when necessary to drive home a point or
illustrate a specific example.

When you include a quote in your writing, it is crucial to ensure that the content is original and
accurately quoted. Use quotation marks in the content and cite the source. Also, if you are doing
academic work, do not forget to include the author's name and date of publication in one sentence.
For content, you can simply identify the source name.

There are multiple citation styles for citations, but the most common one is the APA style.

3. Paraphrase

A paraphrase is a way of rewriting someone else's texts in your own words while retaining the
same meaning. So, use paraphrase when you want to avoid plagiarism, as simply copying large
chunks of text from another source can get you into trouble. However, by reading attentively and

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rewriting the information in your own words, you will avoid plagiarism, better understand the
material, and diversify your knowledge about the topic.

The best way to paraphrase is to take the crucial points of the source and rewrite them in your own
words without changing their meaning. Indeed, it takes a bit of practice, but it's essential to do if
you want to avoid plagiarism accusations.

But if you use the primary source of findings - research, academic paper, etc. mention the primary
source of data or information.

4. Give Credit to Your Sources

When you write, it's vital to give credit where it's due. It is especially true when you are borrowing
someone else's words or ideas.

 If you are unsure whether something needs a citation, it's always better to be safe than
sorry! Add one anyway, and then your readers can decide for themselves if the information
is worth further exploration.
 You should add a citation when an idea is similar to the source material but not identical.
It shows that you've done your research and that you're respectful of other people's work.
 It can be easy to lose track of sources while writing. That's why it's important to include all
the relevant information – author name, date of publication, and so on – in your citations.

5. Add Your Unique Perspective to Existing Content and Story

The internet is full of blogs - 4.4 million new articles are published daily across digital platforms.
So, in this competitive environment, you should decorate the digital world with your unique
knowledge and expertise.

6. Use Plagiarism Checker

Plagiarism checkers work by scanning your text, comparing it to a database of web pages and
publications, and highlighting passages that appear similar to other texts. While there are
distinctions between the plagiarism checker qualities, it is always a good idea to run your text
through one before submitting the product. It will help you avoid any accidental instances of
plagiarism.

What Tools Help You Avoid Plagiarism?

Plagiarismdetector.net

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With Plagarism detector, you can conduct as many plagiarism searches as you like. The software
will skim through your texts and compare them to the database of millions of webpages and
provide an accurate result for pieces.

Plagiarism detector delivers various text integration opportunities:

 Copy-paste
 URL integration
 The document upload

The software can scan texts written in 12 languages for free.

1. English
2. Italian
3. French
4. Arabic
5. Filipino
6. Portuguese
7. Hindi
8. German
9. Malaysian
10. Russian
11. Indonesian
12. Spanish

If you want to scan texts up to 25k words at the same time, buy the pro version.

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Duplichecker.com

Available in 18 languages, Duplichecker is a valuable tool for plagiarism check. Whether you do
the academic work or produce a blog, it is a go-to option that even spots unintentional plagiarism.

You can use this plagiarism checker for free with 1000 words limit per search.

The tool offers multiple text integration options:

 Copy-paste
 URL integration
 The document upload

Here is the list of languages that can be applied to this plagiarism checker.

1. English
2. Spanish
3. Portuguese
4. Russian
5. German
6. Italian
7. Indonesian
8. Arabic
9. Turkish
10. Dutch
11. Vietnamese
12. French
13. Swedish
14. Korean
15. Japanese
16. Danish

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 17. Romanian
18. Norwegian

SmallSEOtools.com

Plagiarism checker from SmallSEOtools offers users the database of billion web pages. As you
upload your content, the tool will run it against existing web content and, if plagiarized, will show
the matching sources.

SmallSEOtools offers the function of

 Copy-paste
 URL integration
 The document upload

The usage of the software is free unless you want to scan more than 1000 words at the same time.

The free plagiarism checker is available in 21 languages:

1. English
2. Japanese
3. Italian
4. Russian
5. French
6. German
7. Spanish

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8. Portuguese
9. Chinese
10. Arabic
11. Indonesian
12. Turkish
13. Korean
14. Vietnamese
15. Dutch
16. Polish
17. Norwegian
18. Czech
19. Swedish
20. Romanian
21. Danish

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