English Composition: Understanding and Avoiding Plagiarism

This English Composition assignment delves into the concept of plagiarism, defining it as the unethical use of someone else's work without proper attribution. It emphasizes that plagiarism, whether intentional or unintentional, can lead to severe consequences. The assignment outlines two key strategies for avoiding plagiarism: paraphrasing and using plagiarism checkers. Paraphrasing involves understanding the source material and expressing it in one's own words, while plagiarism checkers help identify instances of copied content. The assignment highlights the importance of original thought and ethical writing practices, and the use of plagiarism detection software. It concludes by stressing the importance of avoiding plagiarism to foster original ideas and maintain academic integrity, supported by several references.

English Composition 0
Title: English Composition
Assignment Name:
Student Name:
Course Name and Number:
Professor:
Date:

English Composition 1
Contents
English Composition..................................................................................................................2
Plagiarism...................................................................................................................................2
Two Ways to Avoid Plagiarism.................................................................................................3
References..................................................................................................................................5

English Composition 2
English Composition
1. Although the Smiths had already eaten dinner, they allowed Johnnie to prepare his
plate at the stove and join them at the table.
2. Sarah chose to go on the field trip to Atlanta and was nearly bursting with energy as
she boarded the bus.
3. I believe the paper napkins will affect the color scheme you selected for the wedding
regardless of what Ms. Compton says.
4. We shall proceed with the bake sale, and all proceeds will go to the Children’s
Mission.
5. “May I attend the party with Bert?” I asked Dad. “I know he’s not your favourite
person.”
6. People can often work too much, which leads to burnout.
7. Your understanding of this novel is so thorough.
8. He set the plant on the windowsill so that it could take advantage of the pretty
weather.
9. Blake didn’t know if he passed the exam.
10. You must accept the fact that his being here affects you greatly.
Plagiarism
Plagiarism is using and citing someone else’s text in your own document or article
and presenting it as your own original piece of work. It can be intentional as well as
unintentional. It is actually using some other author's text without acknowledging it. Even
unintentional plagiarism can have severe issues regarding writing ethics. It is to deceit an
author of his ideas, thoughts, expressions, and interpretations by using it in your own article
(Joob & Wiwanitkit, 2018). It is insincere and unethical act on the part of the person using it

English Composition 3
to meet their own need. It is an issue which often leads to penalties, suspension, and failure of
students in examinations (Isaacs, 2011).
Plagiarism occurs when someone uses another person's idea, work, and words, using
someone's work without attributing his/her work and acknowledging it, in a situation where
serious original work is expected out of the writer/ author, or for monetary and credit gains.
In other words, plagiarism can be identified as presenting someone’s work as their own piece
of work, referring to one’s own work without using citations. The use of quotations without
quoting the author. The use of another person’s work hinders to generate original ideas and
work.
Two Ways to Avoid Plagiarism
The two ways in which plagiarism can be avoided is by the writers is:
1. Paraphrasing- In paraphrasing, the writer is required to comprehend the piece of
information available on the required topic and then develop ideas and words to
generate a different piece of article that is different from the original. It helps in
creating new ideas and thoughts which reduces the chances of plagiarism to a greater
extent (Keck, 2010). It helps in the understanding of the subject and a better way of
presenting it. It helps in achieving greater clarity and generating a piece of work that
seems to be unique and original. When one paraphrases, it requires to review
literature, which helps in developing the basic idea and a format for writing the
article. It enhances the way in which an author thinks about something and how he
provides a better understanding and solution to something which he has undertaken to
study.
2. Plagiarism Checker- By using the plagiarism checker, it becomes easier to access
and identify the original piece of article by putting the whole written piece of work in

English Composition 4
a software which helps to decipher where the piece of work is quoted from and how it
varies from the original piece of work. Plagiarism checker has helped various
academics and educational institutions in identifying plagiarism for student’s projects
and assignments. The students are heavily penalized for using plagiarism for
acquiring better credits and scores. It is easier to use this software, where there is bulk
work to look upon. Many educational institutions and research workers around the
world use this software to identify the level of authenticity of the work done through
writing. It has made it an easier task to help protect the authenticity of the original
work and acknowledging the respective author for it. It has helped in saving the
original piece of work from being stolen and presented from someone else’s name.
Therefore, it can be concluded that plagiarism is a case of dishonesty and unethical
behaviour towards the other author's original piece of work. It is important to avoid
plagiarism because it hinders the thought process of the writer and stops them from
generating new ideas and work which often misguides other researchers and people reading it
for further reading and to take that piece of information for further research (Wiwanitkit,
2012). Several other efforts should be made to motivate people to avoid plagiarism and
develop a sense of ethics relating to producing an original piece of research. The tools that
can be used to lessen it is to penalize authors, students, and other writers, at a higher level
copyright infringement can also be done so that writers should know the seriousness of the
issue and restrain themselves from using it (Suseela, 2016). The better way is to read and
review the given literature available on the specific topic and area and develop an
understanding of it to generate an original piece of work. This issue has increased the usage
and effectiveness of the software that checks in the identification of plagiarism (Katsarou,
2015).

English Composition 5
References
Isaacs, D. (2011). Plagiarism is not OK. Journal Of Paediatrics And Child Health, 47(4),
159-159.
Joob, B., & Wiwanitkit, V. (2018). Plagiarism: Either intentional or unintentional, it is still
plagiarism!. Perspectives In Clinical Research, 9(3), 151.
Katsarou, E. (2015). Teaching to Avoid Plagiarism: How To Promote Good Source
Use. English For Specific Purposes, 38, 128-129.
Keck, C. (2010). How Do University Students Attempt to Avoid Plagiarism? A Grammatical
Analysis of Undergraduate Paraphrasing Strategies. Writing & Pedagogy, 2(2).
Suseela, V. (2016). Plagiarism: The Academic Dishonesty The Significance of Anti-
plagiarism Software (Tools) in Plagiarism Detection. Pearl : A Journal Of Library And
Information Science, 10(1), 11.
Wiwanitkit, V. (2012). How to Avoid Plagiarism. Annals Of Biomedical Engineering, 41(1),
3-3.