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What is Accidental Plagiarism? | Types & How to Avoid it?

Plagiarism is like flu. No matter what, it will affect you at least once in your life. While people recover from the flu, rejuvenating your assignments from plagiarism is not that simple. The biggest issue students face is that they are unaware of their documents having copied or similar content. Yes, you read that correctly. We are not talking about intentionally copying from a source. There are times when students hand-write every single letter of their document, but still, when the professor corrects it, they find a substantial amount of work plagiarized.

If you have also faced such a strange situation, you know what we are talking about. In this blog, let us look at unintentionally occurring plagiarism, also known as accidental plagiarism, and understand its types and how you can avoid them from your work, but before we get to that, let’s take a look at the definition of accidental plagiarism.

What is Accidental Plagiarism?

As the name suggests, it is a type of plagiarism that happens by accident. It is unintentional, and there is no possible way for a student to realize that plagiarism has made its way to the document. Students often find themselves working from unreliable sources just because the content in there is precise and easily available. Also, students only want to finish the task, which is why they do not put any effort into completing the document. They write the simplest sentences which are easily matched with already written sources causing plagiarism.

All in all, you can say that accidental plagiarism is nobody’s fault however if it is left untreated and submitted, the professor takes it seriously as there are no excuses for plagiarism. You must ensure that your document is original before you submit it, and that can be done by regularly using plagiarism checker tools.

You might be estranged by the fact that plagiarism can also happen without you realizing it, but it’s true. There are 5 types of accidental plagiarism that you must stay aware of. Find their explanation in the next section!

5 Types of Accidental Plagiarism

Now that you are familiar with the concept of accidental plagiarism. You are ready to understand 5 types of accidental plagiarism. Keep in mind that these types are derived from the ways that they occur and thus can also be known by their names. However, the root cause of all of them is unknown and accidental. Let’s get started!

1. Self Plagiarism

Students who write multiple documents on the same topic suffer a lot from this type of plagiarism. They submit a document, and then later, when they are working on another, they write the same language they used in the past, making their work copied. Some might even argue that the document written by the same person does not fall into plagiarism. Turnitin holds the record of the submitted document, and if you have submitted the data has been scanned. You can no longer use the same things in your document again. Hence self-plagiarism occurs.

2. Paraphrasing Plagiarism

A lot of you might have used paraphrased content in the past. Everyone does, there is nothing to hide in that. However, did you know that paraphrased content can be plagiarized? Yes, it happens more often than you think. In the hopes of using the content, students paraphrase it without realizing that someone might have already used the paraphrased version. Also, Turnitin and other smart content checkers often grab the idea behind the words and match it with the context. What it does is show your paraphrased work as plagiarized, making things difficult for you.

3. Plagiarized Source

Suppose you are writing from a source with proper credits but the document is still plagiarized strange right? Well, 6/10 students may often face the issue. It happens because these sources copy-paste the content from the original author and do not give credit to them. Now you on your side are fair to the source from where you have used the content, but that is not the perfect ownership to credit now, is it? That is how this sort of plagiarism takes place. Now, why would you check for plagiarism when you have already credited the source from your end. That is when the accident happens!

4. Inaccurate Authorship

Citations and references are the key aspects that make your content consistent and original. You have to be very careful as this sort of accident happens almost every day with students. They put in their everything to make every single sentence that they write unique, they feel stressed when they realize that a single misplaced dash has caused their work to be plagiarized. The tools catch them immediately as copied as they do not find a reliable source of the work.

5. Matching Structural Property

Now, this one is based on pure coincidence and a slight unawareness. When it comes to papers, the structure is the same however when essays are concerned, they tend to change. If you have accidentally used a structure that has been used before, your document will fall under the suspicion of plagiarism. It is because of the matching structural properties of your document. It is not a thing of concern as professors allow it if the content is unique.

These 5 types of plagiarism must be taken care of, as these can harm the quality of your document without you having a clue. You can easily work your way out of these accidents without getting a scratch on your scorecard. Want to know how? Do not miss the next section!

Don’t let the “Accident” Ruin Your Academics! Get First Aid Here!

As you might have realized, your work is not safe without you doing something about it. What to do? The very first thing is to realize that your content has plagiarism. For that, you need a solid tool, that not only highlights the plagiarized area but also shows the reason behind your work being plagiarized. Use AI-based plagiarism checker tool by Instant Assignment Help Australia for the best results. You can also refer to your friends for suggestions but we are sure that they will also suggest you the same tool, not because it is free but they have also tried and tested the abilities of the tool.

Accidents can happen anytime. You can not prepare for them. Similarly, plagiarism can make a way in your document without you realizing it. Keep precautions and regular analysis of the work that you do with the plagiarism checker. Do not worry, and let your documents make shine with the best plagiarism checker tool in the country!

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