PLAGIARISM

Scanning A Paper For Plagiarism

When dealing with written text, it is not always easy to detect instances of plagiarized content. This is because the culprit responsible for the plagiarism often goes out of his way to disguise the stolen text. Text can be rearranged in a different order or paraphrased to make it sound different. While these two instances; paraphrasing and rearrangement, are the most complex to detect, an instructor with a keen eye can detect the stolen work.

Software developed to tackle plagiarism allows for a paper to be uploaded for review. The software works on the uploaded piece to detect instances of similar word patterns. Such software allows a user to counter check written work against a database of a million plus web pages with all kind of content. If the submitted piece is reviewed by the software and is found to be plagiarized, the percentage of work that is plagiarized is computed and given by the software.

There are two ways to scan a paper for plagiarism. The first way is to copy the text manually and paste it in the plagiarism checker window. Having uploaded the text manually, the checker runs over the whole text looking for instances of copied text. On completion the checker gives a brief analysis on the percentage of text that is perceived as copied, the checker also quotes the websites that the copied text has been plagiarized from. With this level of efficiency it becomes easy to detect and correct instances of plagiarism before submission of the final copy.

The second way to scan a paper for plagiarism is to upload a document file. Most checkers have a window to input text that works with pasted content. Below the input window you have an upload button that allows a user to upload a saved Word document for analysis. This is a relatively easy process of scanning a paper due for submission. The only requirement is that the user has a saved copy of the content to be scanned ready. After uploading the document, the checker does the rest of the work. The piece is reviewed and analyzed for instances of plagiarism with a percentage score of copied work.



To scan a paper for plagiarism, first you would need access to a good internet connection. This is the most basic step because these plagiarism checkers are availed online by websites that offer such services. With a proper internet connection a writer can upload content for analysis at anytime of the day and have the results back instantly. This real-time feedback comes in handy when the question of quality of work is raised. Making corrections on pieces of text that had been poorly cited ensures the work delivered is of high quality and is more credible.

The second step in scanning a piece of paper is choosing your preferred website that has access to a plagiarism detection feature. Some websites such as Dupli offer the service for free while sites such as Grammarly require for a member of the website to be on the premium paid account to access the plagiarism detection feature. Most of the websites that offer this service require that new users sign up with their platform by filling out a basic bio form. After creating a user account, a username is assigned to the account and a login passcode is assigned to securely identify the user.



Some websites like Turnitin do not allow for individual users to create personal accounts. To scan your paper on such a website the institution to which the paper is being submitted to has to be registered with the site. Institutions registered with such sites pay a subscription fee that allows for instructors and students to engage on the platform on the institution's account. In such a setting, the instructor gives out a link to the students. The students use the given link to upload their work for review. These sites usually allow the student to revise the work before the final submission is made to the instructor.

Dupli is a good example of a site with minimal requirements to submit written work for plagiarism checking, the site has a simplistic and easy interface that has a window for pasting text or uploading a Word document for scanning. Some sites offering plagiarism checking features are easier to use than others.