About Online School

No matter what online school you’re in, it is important to avoid plagiarism at all costs. You will find that it can be very hard to accomplish as education it is all about learning other people’s ideas. The trick of it however is learning how to relate those ideas in your own words unless you plan on citing sources. Here are some tips and ideas to remember when you enroll in an online school, or for when you begin you exciting career as a writer. Also, if you are ever stuck with a situation you should always ask for help.

Knowing When to Give Credit

Avoiding plagiarism is important not just because it goes against the policies at your online school but also because you must always give credit where credit is due. But how do you know when you must give credit?

The number one rule of giving credit is whenever you use;

• Other peoples idea, theory, or even their opinion
• When you have facts, drawings, statistics, or any other piece of information that is not considered common knowledge
• Examples of others words whether that be written or spoken
• And even when you paraphrase some else’s written or spoken words

While these are the types of guidelines you will see at any online school, you will find that these same points apply after you have moved on to your career.

How to Recognize Where You’re Going Wrong

When you are only changing around a few words or phrases, or you are simply rearranging a sentence, you are not really putting it into your own words. This often happens with students at an online school when they try to make it look original but in the end it only hurts your work. Not only does this often cause the information to be inaccurate in the end, but it also constitutes as plagiarism.

However, you will find that any online school will allow you to use exact quotes and ideas, and to rearrange things as long as you cite your work. However, it is very important to remember to do so only if you keep the information accurate.

• Cite Your Work: When in doubt keep it original and cite your work. Your online school will require that you cite any quotes you take from a source, paraphrasing that you do, or when you have information that is not common knowledge. The best advice you will hear from your online school is when in doubt always cite your work.
• Quote: If you have to get information right from the text then remember to use quotes. When you use quotes in your online school work be sure to document your source according to the guidelines used at your institution.
• Paraphrase: If you have to paraphrase make sure you are not just changing the words around in the paragraph or simply replacing a few words. The best way to avoid this problem at your online school is to first read over the paragraph in question. When you are done make sure you cover up what you just read, and then write down what you learned in your own words. Look over your paraphrase to see if there is anything in it from the original text and quote if necessary, and ensure that the information is accurate.
• Use Common Knowledge: Any time you have facts or figures that are obscure you will need to cite your work. However, if you are dealing with facts and figures that are common knowledge you do not have to worry about citing your work. Your online school should have a list of guidelines for further information concerning common knowledge. If you write that Madrid is a city in Spain then this is something that everyone knows, and therefore your online school will not require you to cite this fact. However, if you are writing facts based on the lesser known things like the migration pattern of the Killer Whale, your online school will require you to cite your work.
• Word Swapping: This is another common issue seen today in the online school world. Word swapping takes place when you simply change the current words in a sentence with a synonym. For example: “The duck flapped its wings at the fox.” This may then be turned into, “The water fowl fluttered its appendage at the fox.” Although you have changed the words it is still stealing the form of the sentence.

With so many different types of “spinning” software available it can be difficult to stay away from such temptations. However, rest assured that almost all universities and online schools use counter-plagiarism measures, such as turnitin.com or advanced structure and organization comparison tools to detect plagiarism.

And teachers can tell by the style of writing that you’ve plagiarized work, almost immediately! So don’t do it! It will shoot your online education down, and may result in severe academic reprimands.