How to Detect Plagiarism

From LoveToKnow Freelance-Writing

Whether you are a freelance writer or an editor, learning how to detect plagiarism is an essential skill. Unfortunately, with the growth of Internet publishing, plagiarism has become a fact of life. Editors and freelance writers are not the only ones affected. According to Plagiarized.com, there are now over 400 term paper mill websites on the web. This means that students can purchase, or even receive free term papers written by other writers.

The Importance of Detecting Plagiarism

In most cases, publishers that place submission calls for web content are looking for exclusive content. If an article appears in more than one place, it will lose its ranking on Google. This means that the publisher will lose Adsense income. If you are an editor for a web content site, it becomes very important to weed out plagiarized articles.

If you are a web content writer, your articles can easily be plagiarized. In some cases, the plagiarizer is earning more money than you were paid to write the original. Additionally, if the article is in your clips or writing sample file, potential editors for future assignments have no way of knowing who was the original author of the article. If they suspect you have plagiarized an article, they might not hire you for future assignments.

Be advised that print writers are not immune to having their work plagiarized. It's easy for plagiarizers to scan your work and copy it on to a website. In fact, it's harder for an editor to detect plagiarism of print work. Protect your work by learning how to detect plagiarism.

Avoiding Accidental Self-Plagiarism

If you are a frequent writer, as well as an expert in your field, you might have a typical manner of writing. In fact, this might be very similar to your manner of speaking. Writers of this sort have been known to accidentally self-plagiarize their own work. Doing so can get them into serious trouble with their editors. If you are a frequent contributor to web content sites, learning how to detect self-plagiarism is a valuable skill. If anything, it can inspire you to come up with new ways to re-phrase your typical content.

Commonly Plagiarized Websites

There are a number of websites that seem to be targets for plagiarizers. Wikipedia is one such website. Many people do not understand that while Wikipedia offers free content, this does not imply that you are free to copy it. Other targets include content sites such as Helium or Associated Content. If you write for any of these sites, you should periodically check to see if you have been plagiarized.

How to Detect Plagiarism: Some Suggestions

Even before you use one of the many plagiarism detectors on the Internet, there are a number of clues that will tell you that content might be plagiarized. For example, polysyllabic words that are atypical of the writer's distinctive voice and typical language might be a hint that he or she has plagiarized a professional website.

Additionally, if the writer presents complex ideas, without providing any explanation, this might be a clue that the article is plagiarized. This is a common issue with medical articles. The writer might look at research sites such as Pub Med, which provides abstracts of medical research. Since these abstracts are usually quite complex, plagiarizers might copy content, without really understanding the contents.

Using Google to Detect Plagiarism

Google is an efficient and inexpensive way to detect plagiarism. You will get better results if use the “advanced search” option, which is located on Google's main page. After clicking on the advanced search icon, select a distinctive phrase from the article in question. Cut and paste the content into the “with exact phrase” search box. Then, hit the “Google Search” button.