Difference between Plagiarism and Paraphrasing

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It is normal to paraphrase the work of earlier researchers as every worthwhile study is based on their previous work.

Therefore, researchers and students must constantly use caution to ensure that their writing clearly distinguishes between plagiarism and paraphrasing. If writers are not attentive, the distinction between plagiarism and paraphrasing may not always be obvious and may even become blurry.

It is crucial for academics, students, and researchers to understand how to differentiate between plagiarism and paraphrasing due to the major ethical violations and real-world consequences that plagiarism can bring about.

In the modern writing world, plagiarism and paraphrasing are common. You should understand what plagiarism and paraphrasing mean and how you might do them to avoid them.

Table of Contents

Plagiarism

Plagiarism is the act of copying and presenting someone else’s words as your own without citation. Note that unintentional plagiarism can include sentence formatting or poor paraphrasing. In essence, even if you cite the original author, your text shouldn’t be shown as copied unless you use a direct citation.

Example of Plagiarism

How does plagiarism appear in your writing? Other examples of plagiarism include:

Copying and pasting from an online article and claiming it’s yours.
Using someone else’s original idea without crediting them.

Using the original author’s wording too closely.
Purchasing a paper written by someone else and passing it off as your own.
Using synonyms while maintaining the same sentence structure to fool a plagiarism checker.

Quoting without quotation marks or citation.

Here is a more specific example of what plagiarism might look like.

If you find an original passage that says:

Plagiarism is ethically wrong. If you take other’s ideas or phrases and try to pass them off as your own without proper in-text citation, you are guilty of this action.
If you reverse this and say: It’s ethically wrong to plagiarize. Taking other’s ideas or phrases and claiming them as your own, unless you use a proper in-text citation, makes you guilty.

You plagiarized because this is the identical concept and almost the same phrasing as the author.

Plagiarism can be intentional or unintentional.

Intentional plagiarism: When a student decides not to cite their sources or when they use someone else’s ideas as their own, this is known as intentional plagiarism.

Unintentional plagiarism: When students mistakenly cite a source improperly or inaccurately, it is known as unintentional plagiarism.

Plagiarism may result in a failing grade or expulsion from your school, depending on your institution. In less extreme cases, plagiarism, both intentional and unintentional, may lead to grade penalty, fine, or suspension.

Paraphrasing

Putting someone else’s ideas into your own words is called paraphrasing. This occurs when you take an idea from another author’s writing and personalize it by rephrasing or rewording. You are responsible for the words you use, regardless of how effectively you paraphrase.

When you paraphrase, you are rewriting the original text using your own words and sentence structure. This is made possible by concentrating on the text’s meaning, which compels you to engage with its purpose and context.

Ask someone you can explain the information to if you aren’t sure, you understand it. When you have this degree of understanding, it is simpler to create quality paraphrases.

The language and structural changes in the piece you are citing become easier to handle.

When you wish to summarize concepts from several authors, paraphrasing is obviously helpful. It will take a lot of time to directly cite each source you use.

Best Techniques for Paraphrasing

1- Alter the word’s structure or content: To prevent direct repetition, use the gerund instead of the infinitive and rely on synonyms.

2- Diversify your sentences: Add additional words, make it longer, and add your own thoughts.

3- Use active and passive voices: Swap them with one another.

4- Use free paraphrasing tool: It functions independently with sections you want to rephrase.

Yet, there are some aspects that a student who is paraphrasing plagiarism should keep in mind. Check to make sure your writing doesn’t become an odd patchwork of irrational word combinations and pointless repeats.

Paraphrasing and Plagiarism: How They Relate.

You could think that plagiarism simply involves explicitly quoting someone without giving them credit. Although this constitutes plagiarism, when you try to paraphrase, you may actually be making the mistake because the two are similar.

When paraphrasing turns into plagiarism, it can happen in the following situations:

Without indicating that it is a direct quote, you maintain a sentence structure and wording that is overly close to the other source.

Rephrasing someone else’s original idea in your own words, but without giving them credit.

You are guilty of plagiarism in both of these situations even though you did not use exact word.

Is it considered Plagiarism to Paraphrase?

Since you are presenting someone else’s thoughts as if they were your own, paraphrasing without crediting the original author is plagiarism.

If you accurately cite the source, paraphrasing is not plagiarism. It is achievable with this in-text citation and complete reference structured to your specifications.

The ideal choice is to paraphrase only a few sentences from a given source. In order to express the author’s original thoughts, paraphrases should not use the same wording or sentence structure as the original text.

Never add new material to an author’s original thoughts while paraphrasing. Moreover, quotes shouldn’t be used in a paraphrase because most content may be readily modified and restructured.