Plagiarism checker: verify originality in seconds

Plagiarism refers to using someone else’s ideas, writing, data, or creative work without crediting the original source and presenting them as one’s own. For example, if you read an article and the author’s ideas resonate with you, but you proceed to articulate those ideas in your essay as your own, that’s plagiarism.

Such blatant plagiarism isn’t the only kind of plagiarism, though. It comes in different forms, including:

• Direct plagiarism is the most obvious type of plagiarism. It implies outright copying parts of someone else’s work without proper attribution and presenting them as original (for example, copying certain sentences or paragraphs from someone else’s article on your topic).
• Mosaic plagiarism is probably the most common form of plagiarism, especially in student writing. If you’re reading a few sources on your topic and blending ideas from them without properly citing the original works, it’s considered mosaic plagiarism.
• Paraphrasing. Even a thoroughly paraphrased rewrite of someone else’s ideas is still plagiarism. It might be more difficult to catch than direct plagiarism, but the consequences can be equally serious, especially in academia.
• Accidental plagiarism can happen even to the most responsible writers. If you accidentally miss an in-text citation or mistakenly misattribute a quote you’re using to the wrong source, it’s recognized as unintentional plagiarism.
• Self-plagiarism implies reusing your own work without acknowledging that you’re rewriting something that’s already been submitted or published. Recycling your writing isn’t allowed in most contexts unless you reference the original.

Contrary to popular belief, plagiarism isn’t always intentional. Often, students and even experienced writers write something responsibly, trying to cite every source they use, and don’t intend to engage in any misconduct.

However, a single honest mistake, such as a missed in-text citation, can still cause serious academic and professional consequences because accidental plagiarism is still considered plagiarism. Plus, it’s almost impossible to prove that a plagiarized passage in your work was plagiarized by accident.

Plagiarism is an especially serious offense in academic contexts, which is why all students should be aware of its different kinds and strategies for verifying the originality of their work. Almost all schools these days have internal codes of academic integrity that all students must follow. A big part of such codes is a strict policy on plagiarism and clear requirements for proper citation.

If you have yet to review your school’s academic integrity standards, we recommend doing it as soon as possible. The consequences for plagiarism are often more serious than students think they are, so it’s really important that you understand the gravity. Penalties for plagiarizing range from a failing grade for an assignment all the way up to being expelled.

At the same time, don’t let academic integrity standards intimidate you. Following them isn’t all that hard as long as you know what’s expected. A quick check for plagiarism free of charge can help you catch a poor paraphrase or accidental plagiarism immediately – and correct everything before it’s too late.

The consequences for plagiarism vary across industries and writing types. If you forgot to cite the article you’re quoting in your blog posts, the most likely scenario is that your readers or the author will simply contact you to ask you to reference the original. In some cases, you might be asked to take your post down, but even that is quite rare.

The tolerance for plagiarism is much lower in the academic community, though. Depending on whether you’re a student or a full-on professional researcher, failure to properly credit your sources can lead to the following:

• Lower or failing grades. It’s very common for professors to give all non-original student submissions an automatic zero. If it’s a high-stakes assignment, a failing grade can seriously damage your GPA, which can be easily avoided by using EssayWriters’ best free plagiarism checker.
• Disciplinary actions. For particularly blatant plagiarism or repeated offenders, the consequences might be even worse. Schools sometimes penalize students caught plagiarizing with academic probation, suspension, or even expulsion.
• Loss of academic credibility. Once you’re accused of plagiarizing at least once, your instructors will likely continue to question the originality of your work. You’ll have to deal with closer scrutiny and potentially more severe penalties throughout your academic career.
• Damaged professional reputation. If you’re already a researcher, plagiarism can be even more damaging to your reputation and future career prospects. Public retractions and loss of trust make it difficult to find collaborators or get published in the future.

The idea of being accused of plagiarism is understandably terrifying to most, and rightly so. However, it’s actually not that hard to make sure your work is original before submitting it. All you need to do is follow these steps during and after your writing process:

1. Cite the sources before you even begin writing (including page numbers). A lot of unintentional plagiarism could be avoided if all students cited their sources while still researching and outlining. It’s the best way to avoid missing an in-text citation, losing a quote you were going to use, or accidentally citing the wrong source.
2. Double-check all in-text citations to avoid accidentally misattributing a quote or idea. When you have a bunch of sources to cite, all of them on the same topic, the risk of mistakenly citing the wrong one is high. To protect yourself, check every in-text citation in your work before submission. Yes, this takes time, but it’s worth it.
3. Use the EssayWriters plagiarism checker. Our tool is very accurate and will help you spot even paraphrased content. If you forgot to quote something, the checker will catch it and give you links to the matches.
4. Double-check using Turnitin before submission. No checker except Turnitin can compare your work against other student submissions because only Turnitin has access to schools’ internal databases. Some professors allow students one Turnitin check before submitting. If you have this option, make the most of it.

No matter how careful and diligent you are, you can’t spot all unoriginal content in your writing without a highly accurate plagiarism checker. Of course, you can (and should) go through all of your in-text citations one by one to make sure you’re attributing all unoriginal passages to the right sources.

Nevertheless, there’s no way you can catch accidental plagiarism with the naked eye. When you go through dozens of sources to include relevant data in your work, it’s almost impossible to notice when a certain idea you’re writing about is something you’ve read and not come up with yourself. You’re almost guaranteed to miss something without a plagiarism checker.

Also, using a good tool instead of trying to do everything on your own is a great way to save time. Checkers instantly spot poorly paraphrased content and give you links to the right matches. So, if you accidentally credited the wrong author, a tool will help you fix it. You won’t have to waste your time trying to identify the correct source yourself.

There’s no reason not to use a reliable checker. If you’re worried about your text being added to some database and then causing you plagiarism issues later on, this won’t happen, at least not with our checker. We don’t share our customers’ work with anyone.

Most importantly, you are welcome to use our plagiarism checker free of charge. It will help you avoid plagiarism-related risks and catch everything that needs editing and citing. And if you struggle with editing and aren’t sure how to address all originality concerns in your work, you can always get professional help from our writers.