5 Common Types of Plagiarism (And How to Avoid Them)

Everyone knows that copying and pasting text is plagiarism – but what about all the other kinds? These days, new  forms of plagiarism are becoming more and more common. Understanding these subtler forms of cheating and the different types of plagiarism help to protect academic integrity in your institution. 

What is Plagiarism?

First, let’s review the basics: complete or direct plagiarism, which most people associate with the P-word. Both of these – as we know – are serious academic offenses, and they are also the simplest to detect. 

Complete Plagiarism

Complete plagiarism is when someone submits a whole piece of work that definitely is not their own, even if they edit a few words here and there. This type of plagiarism could involve buying an essay online, getting someone else to write it, or copying and pasting entire documents. 

Direct Plagiarism

Direct plagiarism is copying and pasting exact passages or sentences from another source without providing proper citations or even quotation marks.  It could involve taking paragraphs from websites and putting them into an essay. Even if it’s only a minor part of the overall work, it’s still plagiarism.  

Different Types of Plagiarism

While you might think the above is where plagiarism stops, the reality is that they are just the start. There are other types of plagiarism that are less obvious, and lesser known, but just as serious and damaging. Even though they are harder to detect, they can be just as destructive as complete or direct plagiarism. 

Here are five surprisingly common types of plagiarism that exist:

Self-Plagiarism

Self-plagiarism is what it sounds like: when you copy your own work. Maybe you recycle your own previously submitted work without the right citation – the equivalent of turning in the same essay for two different classes or reusing chunks of your old research paper in a new one without acknowledging it. 

While it could seem harmless – since it's your work – in academic settings, each assignment is meant to be original. The key is to remember that just because you wrote something, that doesn't mean you can reuse it freely without citing it properly. 

Paraphrasing Plagiarism

Paraphrasing plagiarism is when you use someone else's ideas without giving them credit, even if you've changed the words. It’s taking someone else’s ideas and then spinning them in your own vocabulary. Just because you’ve altered the words, that doesn’t mean you can skip citing where you found the core concept or idea. 

If you are paraphrasing someone else’s work in your own words, you need to attribute them properly to your sources. Otherwise – even if you are swapping out some of the words – you’re still trying to pass off someone else’s work as your own.

Mosaic Plagiarism

Mosaic plagiarism (also known as “patchwork” plagiarism) is what it sounds like: taking different parts from different sources and then collating them together. It is a sneakier form of copying and pasting which results in a mosaic (or patchwork) of plagiarism that can be tricky for human eyes to detect but is still detectable by AI plagiarism checkers. 

This type of plagiarism can arise from failing to take notes properly or not really understanding how to credit sources properly.  

Accidental Plagiarism

Accidental plagiarism is when you inadvertently take another person’s ideas without citation. Maybe you forget where you got your information from, get confused when it comes to citations, or imitate someone else’s words too closely when trying to explain them in your own voice. 

Even if it was genuinely a mistake made with innocent intentions, accidental plagiarism still counts as plagiarism. 

AI Plagiarism

AI plagiarism is using artificial intelligence tools to create content and then pretending it’s your own original work. It can come from the ease of using AI tools as well as a general lack of awareness around citation practices around such new technology. 

This type of plagiarism is a fast-growing concern in education circles as AI tools become more popular. 

AI Plagiarism – like the other forms mentioned above – can be hard for humans to detect, but is easily spotted by AI content detection tools like GPTZero. A unique feature of GPTZero is its Chrome Extension: Origin by GPTZero allows users to scan text to check whether it was written by an AI or a human.

Consequences of Plagiarism

Plagiarism is a serious offense that can have long-ranging impacts on your life, depending on how severe the plagiarism is and the policies of your institution. Not only can it affect your academic record and reputation, but internally, the guilt and damage to your self-respect can affect your personal confidence for years to come. 

More specifically, here are some of the consequences you might have to face: 

• Academic probation: This is like a warning, during which your academic progress is likely to be closely monitored. It could also go on your academic record. 
• Failing the assignment: This could mean getting a zero on the plagiarized assignment, which could massively impact your overall grade. 
• Failing the entire course: This could lead to having to repeat the course, which could delay expected graduation times and potentially increase education costs. 
• Suspension or expulsion: These are the most serious academic penalties and have the potential to severely disrupt your academic progress.  
• Reputational damage: Plagiarism can hurt the relationship you have with teachers and peers by damaging your reputation in the long term.  

How  to Avoid Plagiarism

Avoiding plagiarism starts with citation, citation, citation. It’s about always giving credit to your sources, using quotation marks for direct quotes, and paraphrasing in your own words when you're not quoting directly (and if you're paraphrasing, you still need to cite the source). Plagiarism is preventable as long as you get into the right habits to make sure your work is original and properly credited. Overall, it’s important to always keep track of your sources as you research, as this will help you do the below more easily. Cite everything that is not common knowledge and remember that too many citations are better than accidental plagiarism. 

The following tips will help you avoid plagiarism and instead create work that is a genuine reflection of your own ideas: 

Proper Citations

There are various citation styles (e.g. APA, MLA, and Chicago) which each have their own twist on the same information: who created the source, what it is called, when it was published, and where to find it. In-text citations indicate your source, while your reference list gives the full details. (You can check out a free citation generator here.) It’s consistency that matters most: that you pick a style of citation and keep it throughout the assignment.

Quoting and Paraphrasing Techniques

You can use other people's ideas in your work as long as you make it clear that their ideas didn’t come from you. With direct quotes, use quotation marks and provide the page number in your citation. If you’re paraphrasing, rewrite the idea in your own words, as changing a word here and there isn't enough. And as always, make sure to cite your source.

Using Plagiarism Checkers

Plagiarism checkers aren’t perfect, but they can be useful tools for catching accidental plagiarism or helping you double-check your paraphrasing. We’ve got our own expert tool here – an industry leading plagiarism check to match your text to millions of documents in our databases and on the internet. You can use it for free. Still, these tools are not meant to substitute good writing practices and are there to be used as a final check.

Why is plagiarism bad?

Without any original thought, there would never be any progress: exploring and developing original thought is how each of us contributes to broader human society. On an individual level, it is also how we build our critical thinking skills and grow as people, and is arguably the very meaning of education. This is why plagiarism can be so severely punished. 

While the consequences of plagiarism can sound scary, the truth is that you can avoid them entirely by making a conscious effort to develop strong academic habits: cite your sources, quote properly, and use plagiarism checkers as a final step. 

Maintaining academic integrity is about respecting the gift of original thought, and contributing meaningfully to a broader conversation. By getting into good habits early on, you set yourself up to succeed in the long run in terms of the quality and credibility of your work.

If you’re a teacher, here are some tips on how to use AI detection responsibly, and here’s what to do if you detect plagiarism in your classroom.