How To Check Plagiarism In A Document?

Plagiarism is an undeniable and unethical issue. But how do you check for it in your documents? 

A study revealed that around 64% of students admitted that they have used plagiarized text in their writing before. But that’s not even half of it, as the case of plagiarism is worse on websites. Around 30% of all the pages on the internet have plagiarism in them.

Do you want to know how much that is? It’s around 1.5 billion pages. So, how do you avoid being either 64% or 1.5 billion? By checking for plagiarism. Let’s find out how to do that. 

What Is Plagiarism, And Why Is Checking Plagiarism Important?

Plagiarism is a serious issue in the academic world, and it’s important to ensure that your work is original. This section provides an introduction to plagiarism, what it is and why it’s important. You might have heard it before, but the term “plagiarism” comes from the Latin word “plagiarius.” 

Now, brace yourself; this word actually means “kidnapper.” Interesting origins, but nowadays, we use the word to describe someone who takes another person’s work and claims it as their own. Plagiarists are intellectual property thieves, taking credit for someone else’s thoughts and words.

In academia or the professional world, plagiarism can lead to expulsion or even criminal charges. It can also have serious consequences for your career outside of school or college if you’re applying for jobs or seeking publication in scholarly journals.

Thus, checking for plagiarism in your content and removing it is necessary for all sorts of writing. 

Who Should Check Plagiarism In Their Text? 

The simple answer is everyone should. But, if you’re looking for a more plausible answer, then it’s important to understand that everyone who writes content in these niches should:

• Students

If you’re a student, then you need to ensure that your content is 100% original. In order to do that, you’ll have to check for plagiarism in your content before posting. So, as a student, you’re one of the first people who should always check for plagiarism and remove it from their text. 

• Academic Writers

Academic writers aren’t necessarily only in colleges or schools. Instead, professionals, scientists, and researchers are academic writers too. So, as any of these people, it’s a responsibility on your shoulder to avoid plagiarism.

That’s when using a plagiarism checker is the most convenient. So, you should be using one too. 

• Bloggers 

 Blogs cannot afford to have plagiarized content posted on them. As a blogger, you must remove plagiarism from your documents before posting them. 

So, if you’re a blogger, you must remove plagiarism before posting your content. Besides, finding the source of original content can also help you find a viable backlink. 

5 Steps To Check Plagiarism In A Document

The best way to ensure that your content is plagiarism free is through the help of a plagiarism checker. Here are five steps to do that:

1. Use A Plagiarism Checker

The first thing you’ll have to do is for check plagiarism using a reputable tool. Now, finding a tool that offers good options might be a challenge. But, it’s not impossible, and neither is it a problem. All you need to do is ensure that you know what you’re looking for.

So, try to find a tool that offers at least 500-1000 words, scans thoroughly, and allows you to find the source of original content.

2. Analyze Unique Vs. Plagiarized Ratio

The next step in the process is to check plagiarism ratio in your content. This will allow you to ensure that your content is original and doesn’t have any plagiarism. However, if you check plagiarism and find this, then it’s not a good sign: 

This is only an example because usually, the content would have some percentage of plagiarism, while it would be mostly green. Remember, the aim here is to ensure that your content is 100% unique, so you must go all green.

Understanding this also allows you to grasp how much content needs to be rewritten or removed. So, let’s say around 200-words out of a 2000-word document are plagiarized, then you’d need to rewrite 10% of it. 

3. Compare The Text With Original

The next step is to check your original text against the original. This step is necessary as it allows you to determine which paragraphs, lines, or sentences are copied or plagiarized. But, not many tools offer this option, so make sure you pick a tool that does.

Once you find such a tool, make sure you do the following:

• Check the plagiarized content’s original source;
• Compare the two texts;
• Decide which to rewrite and which to remove;
• See if the plagiarism is from the same link/URL.

The last point is particularly important. Mainly because if two articles outside of your own have the same content, then one of them has been plagiarized too. So, comparing allows you to find the older and the original source—that’s the one you’ll need later on. 

4. Note Down The Source(s)

Plagiarism can be from multiple sources. So, after you check plagiarism, make sure you check the links to the original source. This step is particularly important because it allows you to scan your content against the original source. 

Besides that, when you find the original source, it’ll be easier to cite in the document. Once again, you’d need a plagiarism checker that helps you find the source of the original text. 

5. Generate A Plagiarism Report 

Many premium-level tools offer the option to generate a plagiarism report. This is essential in many online content types, as well as in academia. So, once you scan your content, you’d have to generate a plagiarism report:

After doing so, submitting this along with your document ensures the checker or reader that your content is indeed original. Besides that, it adds a touch of professionalism that adds more to your credibility as a writer. 

Conclusion

These are the five main steps to ensure your content doesn’t have any plagiarism. Therefore, you need to check for plagiarism to make sure your content isn’t only original and that you confirm it and cite the source if needed.