Avoiding Plagiarism When Using the Internet

In Haste? Don't Copy and Paste.

When pressed for time with a looming deadline, you might think a quick copy and paste of a few sentences here or maybe a paragraph there might be an easy solution. While it certainly is easy to Control+C, Control+V your way through a speech, it's certainly not wise.

It might be tempting to fire up your browser and pick a relevant source buried deep within the search results. "Who looks all the way at what's on search page 10?" you may be thinking. Just because it's obscure doesn't mean it's okay to take it and claim it as your own.

If you get caught, you could face serious academic or professional consequences. Plus—on a very plain note—it's just not cool. It's just bad intellectual form. In the age of the Internet, as easy as it can be to just lift something from a relevant but obscure source via Google, it's equally as easy to get caught plagiarizing the words of others.

Yes. Yes, You Will Get Caught.

With the advent of complex, proprietary search engine algorithms has come another niche market: plagiarism detection. If you think you can get away with just borrowing a sentence here or there, beware: sites like CopyScape and Plagiarism.org's software can be used by academics and professionals alike, running your work through their programs to see if anything comes up with a red flag.

And if you think you can fool plagiarism detection software, don't count out manual checking, either. You might pull a sentence or idea from an obscure professional or expert in the field, but keep in mind that your professor is an expert in this field; he or she is likely to have read whatever you're copying.

When in doubt, avoid the temptation to plagiarize despite the seemingly endless availability of content online. Your speech is better served when your words are original and genuine.