Common mistakes at the time of using plagiarism checker
1. Not checking paraphrased content:
Paraphrased sentences are not original either. If the similar structure or ideas are too similar, then maybe it will still get flagged. Always check your paraphrased content through a plagiarism checker to ensure that it is unique enough.
2. No verification of citations:
A student may include citations, but they should be in the right form with accurate styles, like APA and MLA. Failure to do so leads to plagiarism unintentionally. Verify your citations and make sure they are correct and in the proper format.
3. Only Dependence on Checker:
Plagiarism checkers are great but not infallible. Chances are very high that some subtle nuances, such as false citations or misquoted paragraphs, pass through them. One needs to be careful to manually cross-check the flagged content to ensure one’s work is well written and properly cited.
4. Applying Only One Checker:
Plagiarism checkers work from their respective databases. So, by applying only one checker, some cases of plagiarism may be overlooked. Using more than one checker increases the chances of catching what a single checker may not notice, which would be a more profound review.
5. Small Matches:
Not so visibly small matches or similarities seem small. However, they can trigger enough to raise your originality score and penalties on your work. At all times ensure even the minute similarities are taken care of, and your work will come out clean.
6. Not Reviewing the Report:
Most students run the checker and do not review the report in depth. The report, anyway, has explicit issues that should be corrected. From reviewing comments given and responding to them, you ensure that your work, before submitting it to the checker, is totally compliant with the rules and regulations.
7. Ignoring Self-Plagiarism:
You use parts of your past assignments without quotation. Anytime you want to utilize your past assignments, you should treat it the same way as you would when making use of any other source.
8. Direct Copying and Not Paraphrasing:
There is even a possibility that minor changes may not escape detection, whereas it remains a form of direct copying from the sources. Instead, paraphrase more effectively or quote and cite the source directly to avoid controversy with plagiarism.
9. Do Not Know the Permitted Similarity:
There are, however, institutions that indicate just how much similarity is permissible in an assignment by the institutions. The student learns those thresholds because if the similarity goes beyond that threshold, then penalties or loss of scale in grade will be placed.
10. Free plagiarism checkers:
This may rely completely on databases for which they have access, therefore omitting certain references. A paying service is certainly going to pay for the investment in a more profound scan and a more full-of-check on your work.