From Good to Great: 5 Most Powerful English Writing Techniques to Avoid Plagiarism

Have you ever wondered why some writing feels original while others sound copied? Writing good English is not about good grammar or fancy words. It is about expressing your own ideas with clarity. In a world flooded with online content, the line between inspiration and imitation is thin. Plagiarism, whether intentional or not, can damage your credibility and limit your creativity. 

But the question is how to avoid plagiarism. The key to avoiding it is learning English writing techniques that help you rethink and rewrite while maintaining originality. In this article, we will explore the seven proven English writing strategies that can not only help you steer clear of plagiarism but also elevate your writing from good to great. 

Let’s get started.

Important Notes:

• Plagiarism means presenting someone else’s work as your own without giving credit.
• Plagiarism is considered a crime in the academic world that can bring serious consequences for students. 
• Explore the various types of plagiarism that students generally commit intentionally or unintentionally.
• You can paraphrase the content by following some key tips to avoid plagiarism.
• Use quotation marks and cite all the sources to avoid plagiarism in your English writing.
• Adding your unique perspective is also an effective English writing technique that can help you avoid plagiarism.
• Plagiarism checkers can also play a significant role in avoiding plagiarism before submitting the work.

What is Plagiarism? All You Need to Know

According to Kent State University, “Plagiarism means to present work or an idea from another source as your own without getting the consent from the original author.” It is considered a breach of academic integrity. Moreover, it is unethical and can have serious consequences for students in their academic careers.

There are different types of plagiarism; some of the most common are listed below.

• Verbatim – It is the most common type of plagiarism that generally occurs when students quote an idea word-for-word without giving a clear acknowledgement. 
• Paraphrasing –Paraphrasing plagiarism happens when a writer uses another’s work by just changing a few words or phrases. 
• Self-Plagiarism –Sometimes writers use their own work without giving the proper reference because they don’t consider using their own work as plagiarism.
• Inaccurate Citation – Following the right conventions of the required formatting style is important in the academic world. But sometimes, due to a lack of knowledge, students use inaccurate citations, which leads them to commit plagiarism. 

5 Proven English Writing Techniques to Avoid Plagiarism

We know that the consequences of committing plagiarism are serious, but fortunately, avoiding it is not scary at all. Here, we are going to share some popular English writing techniques that can help you avoid this academic offence and improve the quality of your overall writing. 

1: Paraphrase Effectively

Paraphrasing is the most common type of plagiarism that students commit, even without realising it. It is not just about using synonyms of some words to make the content new; rather, it involves understanding the content and rewriting it with a new sentence structure. 

Some students find this concept challenging and acquire help from a reliable assignment writing service in London to obtain original papers that maintain academic integrity. Successful paraphrasing without getting caught is easy. Follow the tips given below by the University of Technology Sydney to do it effectively.

• Read the source material thoroughly and write your understanding on paper that you can later use while writing.
• Combine related ideas in a single sentence or split the long sentence into chunks.
• Summarise the most important idea in your own words.

2: Use Quotation Wisely

Most students unintentionally commit verbatim plagiarism by adding the source’s exact words to their writing. The best way to avoid this type of plagiarism is to put the quotation marks around the text that denotes that the content within the quotation marks is not yours. With this, it is also important to cite this source in the reference list so that your reader knows where you extracted these words from. 

“Quotations are powerful when used with purpose,” says Bernice R., an English teacher and part of the team at The Academic Papers UK. 

She further added,

“They should not fill the space in your writing but strengthen your argument by connecting your thoughts with credible sources. Always frame quotations with your analysis so they serve your voice, not replace it.”

3: Cite the Sources Properly

Citing sources is the best English writing technique to avoid plagiarism. This acknowledgement in the form of the citation saves you from any misrepresentation of someone else’s ideas or words. 

To maintain the precision and lucidity in the published work, different formatting styles such as MLA, APA, and Harvard provide additional guidelines that assist writers in integrating the sources into the text. 

You can also use the following citation generators to create accurate citations for your sources.

• Zotero
• MyBib
• Mendeley
• Citation Machine
• BibMe
• EasyBib

However, it is important to double-check the automatically generated in-text citation and reference entries against your formatting style because these tools occasionally make mistakes. 

4: Use Your Unique Perspective

Another effective English writing technique to avoid plagiarism is to add your unique perspective to your work. Instead of repeating the source’s words, think about what you can say about it to make it unique. You can also conduct your research to develop your unique argument and give a new perspective to the existing idea.

This will help you to avoid plagiarism and be beneficial for you in the long run. Additionally, when adding your unique perspective, you can also use the original examples or case studies that you developed yourself. This will make your perspective more creative and avoid over-reliance on the source. 

5: Use Plagiarism Checker

During the writing, some phrases or sentences may stick to you so well that you unintentionally use them without a citation. This small negligence leads you to commit plagiarism. It is good to use an online plagiarism-checking tool to identify copied content before submitting. 

Below are some of the most common plagiarism checkers used in academia to detect unintentional similarities.

• DupliChecker
• Copyspace
• Grammarly
• ProWritingAid
• Copyleaks
• PlagScan

If you want a more detailed plagiarism check for your academic work, try using premium tools like Turnitin or Quetext. These platforms scan your assignment against a vast database of academic sources to ensure originality. You can also hire affordable professional assignment writing services in the UK that help you write, edit, and reference your paper correctly according to the required citation style.

Conclusion

Plagiarism is a breach of academic integrity that can put students in jeopardy. The most common forms of plagiarism are verbatim, self-plagiarism, paraphrasing without citation, and inaccurate citations. No matter which type of plagiarism you commit, it may bring serious consequences. The best way to avoid it is to follow some effective English writing techniques.

You can paraphrase the content extracted from the source effectively to avoid plagiarism. It is also important to cite every source from which you get the idea for your writing. Also, using quotation marks properly can save you from committing plagiarism. You can also use the cutting-edge plagiarism checkers to ensure that there are no traces of plagiarism in your work that you are going to submit. 

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