What is global plagiarism? This form of intentional, blatant plagiarism has serious repercussions, so you need to know what it is and how to avoid it.
There are several types of plagiarism writers can fall victim to, of which, global plagiarism is the most widely known. In the literary world, global plagiarism is often the worst type of plagiarism. In academia, it is regarded as a severe form of dishonesty, leading to failing grades and even expulsion.
But what is global plagiarism? It occurs when you take the entire work of another writer and pass it off as your own work.
To create a solid reputation as a writer and researcher, you must learn how to avoid global plagiarism.
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What Is Global Plagiarism? A Definition
The American Psychological Association (APA) defines plagiarism as:
“The act of presenting the words, ideas, or images of another as your own.”
However, global plagiarism is even more. It is the deliberate and direct stealing of someone else’s writing, claiming it as your own. This action cannot be a form of accidental plagiarism, because the entire work or a large portion of the work is taken.
Global plagiarism is sometimes called verbatim plagiarism, though verbatim plagiarism can be smaller portions of a work rather than the entire work. Either way, both are word-for-word copies of something someone else wrote without proper citation or quotation marks. In short, it’s the type of plagiarism most people think of.
What Are the Consequences of Global Plagiarism?
Global plagiarism has serious consequences. If you are caught with this type of plagiarism in academic writing, you could end up with a failing grade or the inability to finish a research project. Some schools will expel students guilty of stealing another author’s ideas.
If you are a research professional, the action of plagiarism can lead to a damaged reputation and loss of research funding. If you plagiarize in a public speaking role, your words become null and void, and you hurt your reputation.
Though rare, if you are publishing a book and are found guilty of global plagiarism, you could also be found guilty of copyright infringement. This fact could lead to a lawsuit for breaching your publication contract.
Global plagiarism can also follow you around and harm your reputation online. In other words, you could find it much harder to gain meaningful employment.
Learn more about the consequence of plagiarism.
Global Plagiarism and Self-Plagiarism
Sometimes authors assume they cannot be guilty of global plagiarism if they are plagiarizing their own work. They feel that they are free from the consequences of plagiarism if they’re simply copying themselves i.e. “I wrote this, therefore, I own it.”
Unfortunately, this is not true. Self-plagiarism is still unethical because it attempts to use a previous work and pass it off as new research or new writing.
In academic, research, and publication scenarios, those receiving the written work expect it to be new, rather than reusing or rewriting something already written. If you’re a freelance writer, you may have written the piece but a client owns it if they paid you for it.
How to Avoid Global Plagiarism
Because of the serious consequences, avoiding global plagiarism is vital. Here are some tips to help you circumvent this serious error:
- Always give proper credit to the writer of the original work. Use quotation marks around any direct quotes and add proper attribution or in-text citation based on the publisher or teacher’s preferred citation style.
- Even if something is considered common knowledge, do not use the exact words of another writer. This form of direct plagiarism is still unethical. Rather, summarize or paraphrase the information in your own words.
- In online writing, use quotation marks and link to web pages with a credit to the original author if you choose to quote someone else.
- Change the sentence structure.
- Revise the main ideas and talking points of a piece.
- Use synonyms to rephrase your writing while citing the source or author.
- Use the best plagiarism checkers to check your work for missing citations and then add them while editing.
- Use software like Grammarly or TurnItIn to check for plagiarism as well.
- Avoid cutting and pasting any work into your writing. Even if you intend to paraphrase, you may accidentally forget to do so.
A Final Word On What Is Global Plagiarism
Global plagiarism involves purposefully taking an entire work by another author and passing it off as your own. This serious type of plagiarism can lead to serious, long-lasting consequences.
Most of the time, global plagiarism is intentional. However, you can avoid it by using plagiarism checkers and always citing your original sources. Remember, taking someone else’s work in this way can lead to lost credibility and failing grades or expulsion, so you want to take care to avoid this issue.
FAQs on What Is Global Plagiarism
What is the difference between global and patchwork plagiarism?
Global plagiarism is taking the entire work of another author and passing it off as your own. Patchwork plagiarism is taking large portions of the work of other authors and pasting them into your own research paper or publication. Both are serious ethical mistakes.
How to avoid global plagiarism?
Avoiding global plagiarism happens when you do research, but write a piece on your own. If ydo need to quote someone’s writing, use proper citation credit to the original author.
What is the difference between global and patchwork plagiarism?
Global plagiarism is taking the entire work of another author and passing it off as your own. Patchwork plagiarism is taking large portions of the work of other authors and pasting them into your own research paper or publication. Both are serious ethical mistakes.
How to avoid global plagiarism?
Avoiding global plagiarism happens when you do research, but write a piece on your own. If ydo need to quote someone’s writing, use proper citation credit to the original author.
