8 Ways Professors Check for Plagiarism in 2023

8 Ways Professors Check for Plagiarism in 2023

A student’s busy schedule sometimes tempts them to look for other options to complete assignments quickly without being overwhelmed. These alternatives include writing services and AI tools to create unique academic papers. When these alternatives do not work, they prefer taking shortcuts that cause them to submit substandard papers posing risks to their reputation and test results.

More than half of students in learning institutions have admitted to plagiarism or plagiarizing their assignments using the internet. Recent AI advancements allow students to do their papers at the click of a button. Students must register and log in to the app, feed in the topic’s question, and get a written report. Then they proofread and corrected a few errors and are good to go.

Handing in a plagiarized paper attracts heavy penalties or punishments. It shows the non-committal attitude or effort of the students toward the assigned tasks. Most students look for loopholes in plagiarism algorithm checkers and other tech tools to weave their way into the professor’s good books when writing their academic papers.

While this technique might be fruitful, there are still many factors that professors consider when going through your work for plagiarism. It is wise to be keen when writing your term papers to submit original and quality submissions.

Student Plagiarism in Higher Education

Plagiarism is copy-pasting or using other work sources in your paper without acknowledging or referencing them. Students are usually quick to infer and refer to different data and information they gather online to complete their assignments. The availability of different sources on the internet makes plagiarism a common problem in most institutions.

Institutions and professors use different forms to control and mitigate plagiarism, as they do not condone submitting plagiarized papers. It breeds unfairness and injustice when grading test results’ quality. With a particular anti-plagiarism policy, they have pre-determined methods to employ once they suspect the students of plagiarism.

Professors often fail to grade students’ papers or give zero results on a plagiarized paper. Some may go as far as escalating to the disciplinary committees for further discussions for copy-pasting. This affects the student’s GPA, reputation, and confidence while in school, thus affecting their overall course performance.

How Do Professors Detect Plagiarism

Professors use different tools and techniques to detect plagiarism in their students’ work. They use techniques such as skimming, identifying patterns in the student’s solutions and answers, and using plagiarism checkers.

Most of them combine these plagiarism methods with plagiarism checkers to ascertain authentic solutions from the copied ones. Relying on one method for assessment may bring in false results or defamation cases that attract lawsuits and heft penalties. Here are some ways that professors use to detect plagiarism.

Checking for related sections in their answers

Professors can skim through to identify any borrowed or altered parts from known sources fixed between the lines. Paraphrasing the sections without referencing the source counts as plagiarism.

Professors understand and gauge their students’ abilities, especially if they have interacted long. They can identify any improper flow of ideas and sentence connections in your solution which do not match the student’s regular work.

Checking factual mistakes

Using facts in an academic paper without rechecking the actual dates or facts shows signs of plagiarism. For example, if the assignment needs up-to-date statistics or information on a given trend, the student uses statistics from another year to elaborate on their point. Such mistakes show signs of plagiarism or bring doubt to the originality of your academic papers.

Notable formatting mistakes

Copy-pasting work from the internet causes formatting mistakes. You will find that the paper has different formatting styles regarding font type or size, line spacing, or indenting. Such notable differences in a student’s work show forms of plagiarism. Some text sections may have the text highlight color or feature in your article, showing it is a ’borrowed’ section from the internet.

Identifying borrowed lines from known sources

Professors are adept at different academic sources or papers in their niche. When students use sections from these papers without referencing them in the academic paper, a professor can quickly identify them and flag them for plagiarism. With their experience and knowledge, they can easily pick out such phrases or sections by skimming through the paper.

Comparing the student’s answers to their regular schoolwork

Professors can identify signs of plagiarism by comparing how the students perform in class against their solutions. If the solutions are well articulated, yet the student has a challenge expressing or understanding the topic, there could be signs of plagiarism. The professor will employ other methods of checking to verify plagiarism.

Using online plagiarism tools

Professors use plagiarism checkers as a fundamental tool for checking for plagiarism. A plagiarism checker compares the submitted paper with other sources or papers online for any similarity in phrases or sections. It records the paper’s performance in percentages. A higher rating shows a highly plagiarized paper.

Common examples of plagiarism checkers like Turnitin and Copyscape provide reliable tools for professors. Despite being primarily accurate, these tools need help to detect copied data from multiple sources. They focus on identifying similar information from a single source that might provide falsified results.

Checking student’s paper style

Professors compare the student’s style of the paper against a known paper. If the student structures the solution to mimic its source by having the same headings and styles, then it shows forms of plagiarism. Notable differences in your usual style in different assignments could also raise questions about the paper’s integrity.

Use of specific words in the text

When students use similar words to those in the sources, the professor might further analyze the paper for plagiarism. The keen eye of an experienced professor points out such phrases to flag the paper for plagiarism.

Tackling plagiarism in institutions using online help

Professors do not entirely rely on online tools to identify plagiarized papers. They have other methods like checking through the student’s style, formatting, choice of words, and paper structure for any similarity with the internet or topic sources.

Online tools like plagiarism checkers supplement what they identify from their skimming or spot checks. Online or homework help students get non-plagiarized papers within the given deadline. The quality of papers from our homework helpers will help you ace your tests and papers without the risk of plagiarism. Contact us to get high-quality writing services without plagiarism. With our services, you’re sure to get plagiarism-free content that is well-researched and written.

Frequently asked questions

How easily is plagiarism detected?

Professors check sections, phrases, or paragraphs to quickly identify copied work before running it through online tools. Simple techniques like skimming and identifying common phrases from known sources help experienced professors easily flag plagiarism.

What percentage of plagiarism is allowed?

The percentage of plagiarism allowed in different institutions depends on the set policies. The most common threshold that is accepted is below 20%.

Do all professors use Turnitin?

No. But most professors use it to verify their student’s papers and assignments. Those that do not use Turnitin focus on other online plagiarism checkers like Copyscape.  

What is Turnitin similarity score bad?

A more than 25% similarity score on Turnitin is a red flag for plagiarism. Students should ensure they get a lower score (below 25%) to show authenticity.

Can handwritten documents be checked for plagiarism?

Yes, it is possible to check for plagiarism on handwritten documents. Students must take a photo of the document pages using OCR or any other app, scan it, and check for plagiarism.

Does paraphrasing count as plagiarizing?

Paraphrasing without acknowledging or referencing your source counts as plagiarism. The best way of re-writing is reading, understanding, and putting down your thoughts accordingly.