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Plagiarism is illegal to attempt and results in severe consequences. Have you heard of incremental plagiarism before..? 

Incremental plagiarism is a type of plagiarism that every 1 of 3 students uses. It is also known as patchwriting and using someone else's work without attribution. 

Combining different source material and pretending like yours is actually plagiarism. That's why it is crucial to understand the incremental plagiarism and how you can avoid it..! 

Definition and example of incremental plagiarism

Incremental plagiarism is "using small parts of someone's work without permission". Unlike other types of plagiarism, it is not easy to detect, but still offensive. 

Generally direct plagiarism is the direct copy-paste of the material. Whereas the incremental is using small portions of different sources. It could be unintentional as many of the people are unaware. 

For example, when a student copies someone's article and gives no credit for using it. Making a few changes of words and pretending to be their own work is included in incremental plagiarism. Therefore, it's crucial to understand these different forms to avoid plagiarism. 

Different Forms of Incremental Plagiarism

Incremental plagiarism occurs when you use someone's ideas, phrases, sentences without proper attribution. 

Various forms of incremental plagiarism that you must be understand are: 

  • Copy-pasting
  • Changing words or phrases
  • Paraphrasing
  • Self-plagiarism 

1. Copy-Pasting 

Copy-pasting is the most common form of incremental plagiarism. It happens when you copy-paste another source material without giving credit. 

Most often, it is a shortcut that you made to save your time, but it can easily be detected. It's an easy to do act but results in serious consequences. 

2. Changing Words or Phrases

Changing words or phrases is different from paraphrasing and summarizing. In this form of plagiarism, you make slight changes in someone's work and present it like your own. Changes of words and phrases might be difficult to detect but it still counts plagiarism. 

3. Paraphrasing

Paraphrasing is another form of incremental plagiarism and it also has bad consequences. It is a process of rewording someone's information in your own words and taking full credit. 

Paraphrasing is a legitimate act when you perform correctly. Otherwise, using synonyms to paraphrase the sentence is plagiarism. 

4.Self-Plagiarism

Self plagiarism is an intentional or unintentional process. It occurs when you reuse your own material without citing the previous work. Although it is your research material, it still includes plagiarism. 

You should be aware of it completely as it has bad effects on your performance and try to avoid it in your work. Regardless of the intentions, self plagiarism is still a violation of academic standards. 

Therefore, understanding the different forms of incremental plagiarism is crucial to avoid plagiarism. Be sure to write or create content in your original writing and give proper credit where needed. 

Consequences of Incremental Plagiarism

Overall the incremental plagiarism has a significant impact on academic, professional and personal life. 

Further details to understand the possible consequences of incremental plagiarism are:

  • Academic consequences
  • Professional consequences
  • Legal consequences

1. Academic consequences

Academic consequences of incremental plagiarism are severe and long lasting. Some of the consequences are:

  • Lowe grades
  • Failing assignments
  • Suspension form the school
  • Become challenge to get new admission
  • No scholarship opportunities
  • Damage academic reputation
  • Loss of professional opportunities 

2. Professional consequences

Professional consequences put a bad effect on your credibility and reputation. Some other professional consequences of incremental plagiarism are: 

  • Termination of employment
  • Loss of business relationships
  • Difficulty finding future job opportunities
  • Legal action and potential fine
  • Prohibit from professional associations
  • Suspension of professional licenses or credentials
  • Negative impact on career promotions

3. Legal consequences

When you use someone's copyrighted material without permission and giving acknowledgement. They have the proper right to take legal action which is a long process. 

The potential legal consequential results are:

  • Copyright infringement lawsuits
  • Civil penalties, including monetary damages
  • Criminal charges
  • Violation fines
  • Legal fees and other expenses to defend against legal actions 

To avoid incremental plagiarism, it is crucial to understand its consequences. It's a fact that almost 95% of the students admitted to cheating that results in bad outcomes. Therefore it is necessary to understand it properly and follow the tips to avoid it. 

How you can avoid Incremental Plagiarism

Nowadays, plagiarism is quite easy to detect. Many people still prefer to use someone else's ideas and thoughts. They rely on others' information and deserve proper credit for their efforts. 

Some avoiding tips for plagiarism are: 

  • Importance of originality in content
  • Using proper citations and references
  • Paraphrasing 
  • Using plagiarism detection tools

1. Importance of originality in content

Originality is an essential component in academic or professional work. It shows that you put an effort to create something new, unique and valuable. 

Original writing demonstrates your writing ability, critical thinking and creativity. Therefore, it is crucial to adopt originality over shortcuts.

Tip: You can create your work by copy-paste information without cheating and plagiarism.

2. Use proper citations and references

Honestly, it is disrespectful to not acknowledge the efforts of the original author. So it is necessary to use proper citation for copying someone's information. 

You can simply make a reference list to caption their name or follow the citation styles, such as APA and MLA. These are the most common methods to give proper credit to the original source.

3. Paraphrasing 

Paraphrasing means putting someone's thoughts into your own words. It is a useful strategy that helps you to remember the main concept and you can easily restate them. 

For this purpose know the difference between paraphrasing and rephrasing. It will help you to properly paraphrase the material and prevent it from plagiarism. 

4. Use plagiarism detection tools

Using plagiarism detection tools is the best way to find any type of plagiarism. These tools identify the areas where you give no credit or properly paraphrase. 

It also helps you to make certain more changes in your work and give credit where you don't. Understanding of all above mentioned points are necessary to avoid plagiarism. By following these tips you can create original content free from plagiarism.

Tips to develop original content

Any type of plagiarism is a crime and people often copy other source material to save time and effort. There are some tips by which you can develop your original content. 

These tips are: 

  • Researching and gathering information
  • Outlining and organizing ideas
  • Writing in your own words
  • Seeking feedback and editing

1. Researching and gathering information 

Researching and gathering information is the best way to develop original content. You can easily get a variety of information through books, articles and websites. 

The correct pattern to use this material is to:

  • Read carefully
  • Understand the concept
  • Make short notes
  • Write in your own words

First thing that you must not follow is to copy and paste the information directly. It will truly help you to create your own document without plagiarism. 

2. Outlining and organizing ideas 

Make an outline of the new ideas to work on. It will help you to organize your thoughts and write on all perspectives. 

Through making outlines and organizing data, you can write your content in a smooth way. Keep focus on the main points that you want to make and follow the outline for perfect writing. 

3. Writing in your own words 

Writing in your own words is the perfect way to develop original content. When you start writing, do not hesitate to use your unique writing style. It will truly help you create original work. 

4. Seeking feedback and editing 

Finally when you complete your writing by following the above mentioned guidelines. It's important to reread and review the information. 

When you seek others' feedback, it truly helps you improve your work. By doing this tip, you can make changes to your writings and also adjust its credibility. 

Following these tips, you can create unique and original content by yourself. All these tips will help you to come up with original ideas and it works best for you..! 

Conclusion

Attempting plagiarism is a crime in academic, professional and other settings. Incremental plagiarism is a type that often occurs at the initial stages of writing. 

It happens when you copy-paste someone's information and give no credit. Regardless of intentions, it causes serious effects that might result in legal actions. 

Some of the avoiding tips are also mentioned in this article that will help you to prevent it. So it is crucial to understand the incremental plagiarism and how you can avoid it. 

Various other aspects to make your content credible and authentic are: 

  • Use your own words and writing style to convey information. 
  • Give proper credit to the author. 
  • Mention the original source. 
  • Use proper citation style to mention the original author. 
  • Review your content by using plagiarism checking tools. 
  • Seek feedback or do editing to create plagiarism-free content.