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Academic IntegrityJanuary 30, 2026·7 min read
How to Avoid Plagiarism: A Practical Guide for Students
Understanding what counts as plagiarism, how Turnitin works, and the right way to paraphrase, quote, and reference sources in your own work.
D
Dr. Emily Carter
Academic Writing Expert
Plagiarism includes copying text, paraphrasing too closely, and self-plagiarism. Turnitin checks your text against billions of sources and previous submissions. To avoid it: always cite your sources, paraphrase in your own words (don't just swap synonyms), use quotation marks for direct quotes, and run your work through a plagiarism checker before submission. A similarity score under 20% is generally acceptable at most UK universities.
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