Accidental plagiarism differs from purposeful plagiarism wherein the former neglects to cite their sources or misquotes sources or unintentionally paraphrases a source by using similar words and sentence structure. Purposeful plagiarism is when the intention is to copy and paste the exact sentence or paragraph. Even if accidental plagiarism happens without the intention to plagiarize, it still hurts Lakeland SEO and could affect the ranking of your webpage on Google and other search engines.
Plagiarism of any kind can hurt your chances of ever ranking high on Google. In fact, your website can even be taken down for violation of the rules of copyright. Some websites take plagiarism seriously that they seek the suspension of websites that have plagiarized their content.
To avoid accidentally plagiarizing another site’s content, here are some tips that you can follow:
Come up with your own idea
The solution to never having to fall trap into writing plagiarized content is simply this: come up with your ideas. Write down the topic you need to write and from there, make a map of all topics and angles related to that subject matter. You must also do a lot of research to find out which angles haven’t been discussed yet and what kind of information you must share with your readers.
Instead of coming up with ideas based on what you read others have written about the subject matter, why don’t you use research as a secondary tool? Come up with the angle first from your own research and then compare that angle with what others have already written.
Speak your language
Write in your own voice. Everyone has their own unique way of writing. Even the best writers and book authors have a certain formula that they unintentionally follow. When you start to sound a little different, that’s when your readers will get suspicious. If you take a whole paragraph from a popular blog post (that might have gone viral), things can get out of hand. Stick to your own language and use your own voice when writing.
Use citations
If you can’t help but use a good quote from another website or journal or newspaper, don’t forget to use citations. You can quote directly and even paraphrase the sentence as long as you attribute the idea to the original writer. When writing, it is easy to get lost and forget about writing down your sources. This is a crucial mistake that can cause your business undue trouble.
Accidental plagiarism, though unintentional, is a no-no in the realm of business blogging, Lakeland SEO, and just about anywhere else. It is something you can avoid if you are extra conscious about your writing. Before you click submit or post, run your copy through a plagiarism checker to make sure the content is 100% unique.
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