A number of colleges and universities are now opting for plagiarism checking software to scrutinize the work of their students. Many times, MBA thesis of various students are found with multiple plagiarism problems, leading to a failing grade or dismissal from the program. If you are worried about plagiarism and need some advice on how to prevent it, here are a few valuable tips:
1. Understand what constitutes plagiarism – Simply put, plagiarism is borrowing another person’s text, words or ideas without giving them credit. Remember that unless you use material that is common knowledge or write on your own, you must give citation for all material, including quotations, paraphrases and ideas.
2. Stay away from Ctrl C + Ctrl V – We get so used to using the copy and paste commands on our computers that unknowingly it turns into a habit. While writing your MBA thesis, ensure that you never copy paste any content. If you must take something, ensure you include it with citation.
3. Paraphrasing is still plagiarizing - Don’t think that changing a few words can get you away with the plagiarism problem. Even if you are changing the order of words, you are still using someone else’s idea, so make sure you cite.
4. Outsourcing editing will help – Sometimes, it might be beneficial to get another set of eyes to look at your work and check for editing and plagiarism issues that might arise. This will save a major hassle in the future.
5. Pay attention to styling and formatting – If you don’t use the right style of formatting, you might not be able to cite references in the right way and you might still get caught for stealing content.
Last but not the least, when in doubt, always cite! It pays to add sources in your content to stay away from plagiarism. Write original MBA thesis and you will surely go a long way in your career.