acceptable percentage of quotes in a research paper

What percent of a source may I directly quote in my paper?

Note: This post relates to content in the eighth edition of the MLA Handbook . For up-to-date guidance, see the ninth edition of the MLA Handbook .

Writers, including student writers, should quote only what is necessary to make their point. Relying on a percentage to determine what’s necessary is unlikely to be useful.

Writers preparing to publish their work should keep copyright laws in mind and consider the principles of fair use. One consideration in determining fair use (but certainly not the only one) is the amount borrowed. The MLA is updating its fair use guidelines, formerly published in the MLA Style Manual . In the meantime, we recommend the guidelines offered by the United States Copyright Office and the Association of University Presses .

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A publication of the harvard college writing program.

Harvard Guide to Using Sources 

• The Honor Code
• What Constitutes Plagiarism?

In academic writing, it is considered plagiarism to draw any idea or any language from someone else without adequately crediting that source in your paper. It doesn't matter whether the source is a published author, another student, a website without clear authorship, a website that sells academic papers, or any other person: Taking credit for anyone else's work is stealing, and it is unacceptable in all academic situations, whether you do it intentionally or by accident.

The ease with which you can find information of all kinds online means that you need to be extra vigilant about keeping track of where you are getting information and ideas and about giving proper credit to the authors of the sources you use. If you cut and paste from an electronic document into your notes and forget to clearly label the document in your notes, or if you draw information from a series of websites without taking careful notes, you may end up taking credit for ideas that aren't yours, whether you mean to or not.

It's important to remember that every website is a document with an author, and therefore every website must be cited properly in your paper. For example, while it may seem obvious to you that an idea drawn from Professor Steven Pinker's book The Language Instinct should only appear in your paper if you include a clear citation, it might be less clear that information you glean about language acquisition from the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy website warrants a similar citation. Even though the authorship of this encyclopedia entry is less obvious than it might be if it were a print article (you need to scroll down the page to see the author's name, and if you don't do so you might mistakenly think an author isn't listed), you are still responsible for citing this material correctly. Similarly, if you consult a website that has no clear authorship, you are still responsible for citing the website as a source for your paper. The kind of source you use, or the absence of an author linked to that source, does not change the fact that you always need to cite your sources (see Evaluating Web Sources ).

Verbatim Plagiarism

If you copy language word for word from another source and use that language in your paper, you are plagiarizing verbatim . Even if you write down your own ideas in your own words and place them around text that you've drawn directly from a source, you must give credit to the author of the source material, either by placing the source material in quotation marks and providing a clear citation, or by paraphrasing the source material and providing a clear citation.

The passage below comes from Ellora Derenoncourt’s article, “Can You Move to Opportunity? Evidence from the Great Migration.”

Here is the article citation in APA style:

Derenoncourt, E. (2022). Can you move to opportunity? Evidence from the Great Migration. The American Economic Review , 112(2), 369–408. https://doi.org/10.1257/aer.20200002

Source material

Why did urban Black populations in the North increase so dramatically between 1940 and 1970? After a period of reduced mobility during the Great Depression, Black out-migration from the South resumed at an accelerated pace after 1940. Wartime jobs in the defense industry and in naval shipyards led to substantial Black migration to California and other Pacific states for the first time since the Migration began. Migration continued apace to midwestern cities in the 1950s and1960s, as the booming automobile industry attracted millions more Black southerners to the North, particularly to cities like Detroit or Cleveland. Of the six million Black migrants who left the South during the Great Migration, four million of them migrated between 1940 and 1970 alone.

Plagiarized version

While this student has written her own sentence introducing the topic, she has copied the italicized sentences directly from the source material. She has left out two sentences from Derenoncourt’s paragraph, but has reproduced the rest verbatim:

But things changed mid-century. After a period of reduced mobility during the Great Depression, Black out-migration from the South resumed at an accelerated pace after 1940. Wartime jobs in the defense industry and in naval shipyards led to substantial Black migration to California and other Pacific states for the first time since the Migration began. Migration continued apace to midwestern cities in the 1950s and1960s, as the booming automobile industry attracted millions more Black southerners to the North, particularly to cities like Detroit or Cleveland.

Acceptable version #1: Paraphrase with citation

In this version the student has paraphrased Derenoncourt’s passage, making it clear that these ideas come from a source by introducing the section with a clear signal phrase ("as Derenoncourt explains…") and citing the publication date, as APA style requires.

But things changed mid-century. In fact, as Derenoncourt (2022) explains, the wartime increase in jobs in both defense and naval shipyards marked the first time during the Great Migration that Black southerners went to California and other west coast states. After the war, the increase in jobs in the car industry led to Black southerners choosing cities in the midwest, including Detroit and Cleveland.

Acceptable version #2 : Direct quotation with citation or direct quotation and paraphrase with citation

If you quote directly from an author and cite the quoted material, you are giving credit to the author. But you should keep in mind that quoting long passages of text is only the best option if the particular language used by the author is important to your paper. Social scientists and STEM scholars rarely quote in their writing, paraphrasing their sources instead. If you are writing in the humanities, you should make sure that you only quote directly when you think it is important for your readers to see the original language.

In the example below, the student quotes part of the passage and paraphrases the rest.

But things changed mid-century. In fact, as Derenoncourt (2022) explains, “after a period of reduced mobility during the Great Depression, Black out-migration from the South resumed at an accelerated pace after 1940” (p. 379). Derenoncourt notes that after the war, the increase in jobs in the car industry led to Black southerners choosing cities in the midwest, including Detroit and Cleveland.

Mosaic Plagiarism

If you copy bits and pieces from a source (or several sources), changing a few words here and there without either adequately paraphrasing or quoting directly, the result is mosaic plagiarism . Even if you don't intend to copy the source, you may end up with this type of plagiarism as a result of careless note-taking and confusion over where your source's ideas end and your own ideas begin. You may think that you've paraphrased sufficiently or quoted relevant passages, but if you haven't taken careful notes along the way, or if you've cut and pasted from your sources, you can lose track of the boundaries between your own ideas and those of your sources. It's not enough to have good intentions and to cite some of the material you use. You are responsible for making clear distinctions between your ideas and the ideas of the scholars who have informed your work. If you keep track of the ideas that come from your sources and have a clear understanding of how your own ideas differ from those ideas, and you follow the correct citation style, you will avoid mosaic plagiarism.

Indeed, of the more than 3500 hours of instruction during medical school, an average of less than 60 hours are devoted to all of bioethics, health law and health economics combined . Most of the instruction is during the preclinical courses, leaving very little instructional time when students are experiencing bioethical or legal challenges during their hands-on, clinical training. More than 60 percent of the instructors in bioethics, health law, and health economics have not published since 1990 on the topic they are teaching.

--Persad, G.C., Elder, L., Sedig,L., Flores, L., & Emanuel, E. (2008). The current state of medical school education in bioethics, health law, and health economics. Journal of Law, Medicine, and Ethics 36 , 89-94.

Students can absorb the educational messages in medical dramas when they view them for entertainment. In fact, even though they were not created specifically for education, these programs can be seen as an entertainment-education tool [43, 44]. In entertainment-education shows, viewers are exposed to educational content in entertainment contexts, using visual language that is easy to understand and triggers emotional engagement [45]. The enhanced emotional engagement and cognitive development [5] and moral imagination make students more sensitive to training [22].

--Cambra-Badii, I., Moyano, E., Ortega, I., Josep-E Baños, & Sentí, M. (2021). TV medical dramas: Health sciences students’ viewing habits and potential for teaching issues related to bioethics and professionalism. BMC Medical Education, 21 , 1-11. doi: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-021-02947-7

Paragraph #1.

All of the ideas in this paragraph after the first sentence are drawn directly from Persad. But because the student has placed the citation mid-paragraph, the final two sentences wrongly appear to be the student’s own idea:

In order to advocate for the use of medical television shows in the medical education system, it is also important to look at the current bioethical curriculum. In the more than 3500 hours of training that students undergo in medical school, only about 60 hours are focused on bioethics, health law, and health economics (Persad et al, 2008). It is also problematic that students receive this training before they actually have spent time treating patients in the clinical setting. Most of these hours are taught by instructors without current publications in the field.

Paragraph #2.

All of the italicized ideas in this paragraph are either paraphrased or taken verbatim from Cambra-Badii, et al., but the student does not cite the source at all. As a result, readers will assume that the student has come up with these ideas himself:

Students can absorb the educational messages in medical dramas when they view them for entertainment. It doesn’t matter if the shows were designed for medical students; they can still be a tool for education. In these hybrid entertainment-education shows, viewers are exposed to educational content that triggers an emotional reaction. By allowing for this emotional, cognitive, and moral engagement, the shows make students more sensitive to training . There may be further applications to this type of education: the role of entertainment as a way of encouraging students to consider ethical situations could be extended to other professions, including law or even education.

The student has come up with the final idea in the paragraph (that this type of ethical training could apply to other professions), but because nothing in the paragraph is cited, it reads as if it is part of a whole paragraph of his own ideas, rather than the point that he is building to after using the ideas from the article without crediting the authors.

Acceptable version

In the first paragraph, the student uses signal phrases in nearly every sentence to reference the authors (“According to Persad et al.,” “As the researchers argue,” “They also note”), which makes it clear throughout the paragraph that all of the paragraph’s information has been drawn from Persad et al. The student also uses a clear APA in-text citation to point the reader to the original article. In the second paragraph, the student paraphrases and cites the source’s ideas and creates a clear boundary behind those ideas and his own, which appear in the final paragraph.

In order to advocate for the use of medical television shows in the medical education system, it is also important to look at the current bioethical curriculum. According to Persad et al. (2008), only about one percent of teaching time throughout the four years of medical school is spent on ethics. As the researchers argue, this presents a problem because the students are being taught about ethical issues before they have a chance to experience those issues themselves. They also note that more than sixty percent of instructors teaching bioethics to medical students have no recent publications in the subject.

The research suggests that medical dramas may be a promising source for discussions of medical ethics. Cambra-Badii et al. (2021) explain that even when watched for entertainment, medical shows can help viewers engage emotionally with the characters and may prime them to be more receptive to training in medical ethics. There may be further applications to this type of education: the role of entertainment as a way of encouraging students to consider ethical situations could be extended to other professions, including law or even education.

Inadequate Paraphrase

When you paraphrase, your task is to distill the source's ideas in your own words. It's not enough to change a few words here and there and leave the rest; instead, you must completely restate the ideas in the passage in your own words. If your own language is too close to the original, then you are plagiarizing, even if you do provide a citation.

In order to make sure that you are using your own words, it's a good idea to put away the source material while you write your paraphrase of it. This way, you will force yourself to distill the point you think the author is making and articulate it in a new way. Once you have done this, you should look back at the original and make sure that you have represented the source’s ideas accurately and that you have not used the same words or sentence structure. If you do want to use some of the author's words for emphasis or clarity, you must put those words in quotation marks and provide a citation.

The passage below comes from Michael Sandel’s article, “The Case Against Perfection.” Here’s the article citation in MLA style:

Sandel, Michael. “The Case Against Perfection.” The Atlantic , April 2004, https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2004/04/the-case-against-pe... .

Though there is much to be said for this argument, I do not think the main problem with enhancement and genetic engineering is that they undermine effort and erode human agency. The deeper danger is that they represent a kind of hyperagency—a Promethean aspiration to remake nature, including human nature, to serve our purposes and satisfy our desires. The problem is not the drift to mechanism but the drive to mastery. And what the drive to mastery misses and may even destroy is an appreciation of the gifted character of human powers and achievements.

The version below is an inadequate paraphrase because the student has only cut or replaced a few words: “I do not think the main problem” became “the main problem is not”; “deeper danger” became “bigger problem”; “aspiration” became “desire”; “the gifted character of human powers and achievements” became “the gifts that make our achievements possible.”

The main problem with enhancement and genetic engineering is not that they undermine effort and erode human agency. The bigger problem is that they represent a kind of hyperagency—a Promethean desire to remake nature, including human nature, to serve our purposes and satisfy our desires. The problem is not the drift to mechanism but the drive to mastery. And what the drive to mastery misses and may even destroy is an appreciation of the gifts that make our achievements possible (Sandel).

Acceptable version #1: Adequate paraphrase with citation

In this version, the student communicates Sandel’s ideas but does not borrow language from Sandel. Because the student uses Sandel’s name in the first sentence and has consulted an online version of the article without page numbers, there is no need for a parenthetical citation.

Michael Sandel disagrees with the argument that genetic engineering is a problem because it replaces the need for humans to work hard and make their own choices. Instead, he argues that we should be more concerned that the decision to use genetic enhancement is motivated by a desire to take control of nature and bend it to our will instead of appreciating its gifts.

Acceptable version #2: Direct quotation with citation

In this version, the student uses Sandel’s words in quotation marks and provides a clear MLA in-text citation. In cases where you are going to talk about the exact language that an author uses, it is acceptable to quote longer passages of text. If you are not going to discuss the exact language, you should paraphrase rather than quoting extensively.

The author argues that “the main problem with enhancement and genetic engineering is not that they undermine effort and erode human agency,” but, rather that “they represent a kind of hyperagency—a Promethean desire to remake nature, including human nature, to serve our purposes and satisfy our desires. The problem is not the drift to mechanism but the drive to mastery. And what the drive to mastery misses and may even destroy is an appreciation of the gifts that make our achievements possible” (Sandel).

Uncited Paraphrase

When you use your own language to describe someone else's idea, that idea still belongs to the author of the original material. Therefore, it's not enough to paraphrase the source material responsibly; you also need to cite the source, even if you have changed the wording significantly. As with quoting, when you paraphrase you are offering your reader a glimpse of someone else's work on your chosen topic, and you should also provide enough information for your reader to trace that work back to its original form. The rule of thumb here is simple: Whenever you use ideas that you did not think up yourself, you need to give credit to the source in which you found them, whether you quote directly from that material or provide a responsible paraphrase.

The passage below comes from C. Thi Nguyen’s article, “Echo Chambers and Epistemic Bubbles.”

Here’s the citation for the article, in APA style:

Nguyen, C. (2020). Echo chambers and epistemic bubbles. Episteme, 17 (2), 141-161. doi:10.1017/epi.2018.32

Epistemic bubbles can easily form accidentally. But the most plausible explanation for the particular features of echo chambers is something more malicious. Echo chambers are excellent tools to maintain, reinforce, and expand power through epistemic control. Thus, it is likely (though not necessary) that echo chambers are set up intentionally, or at least maintained, for this functionality (Nguyen, 2020).

The student who wrote the paraphrase below has drawn these ideas directly from Nguyen’s article but has not credited the author. Although she paraphrased adequately, she is still responsible for citing Nguyen as the source of this information.

Echo chambers and epistemic bubbles have different origins. While epistemic bubbles can be created organically, it’s more likely that echo chambers will be formed by those who wish to keep or even grow their control over the information that people hear and understand.

In this version, the student eliminates any possible ambiguity about the source of the ideas in the paragraph. By using a signal phrase to name the author whenever the source of the ideas could be unclear, the student clearly attributes these ideas to Nguyen.

According to Nguyen (2020), echo chambers and epistemic bubbles have different origins. Nguyen argues that while epistemic bubbles can be created organically, it’s more likely that echo chambers will be formed by those who wish to keep or even grow their control over the information that people hear and understand.

Uncited Quotation

When you put source material in quotation marks in your essay, you are telling your reader that you have drawn that material from somewhere else. But it's not enough to indicate that the material in quotation marks is not the product of your own thinking or experimentation: You must also credit the author of that material and provide a trail for your reader to follow back to the original document. This way, your reader will know who did the original work and will also be able to go back and consult that work if they are interested in learning more about the topic. Citations should always go directly after quotations.

The passage below comes from Deirdre Mask’s nonfiction book, The Address Book: What Street Addresses Reveal About Identity, Race, Wealth, and Power.

Here is the MLA citation for the book:

Mask, Deirdre. The Address Book: What Street Addresses Reveal About Identity, Race, Wealth, and Power. St. Martin’s Griffin, 2021.

In New York, even addresses are for sale. The city allows a developer, for the bargain price of $11,000 (as of 2019), to apply to change the street address to something more attractive.

It’s not enough for the student to indicate that these words come from a source; the source must be cited:

After all, “in New York, even addresses are for sale. The city allows a developer, for the bargain price of $11,000 (as of 2019), to apply to change the street address to something more attractive.”

Here, the student has cited the source of the quotation using an MLA in-text citation:

After all, “in New York, even addresses are for sale. The city allows a developer, for the bargain price of $11,000 (as of 2019), to apply to change the street address to something more attractive” (Mask 229).

Using Material from Another Student's Work

In some courses you will be allowed or encouraged to form study groups, to work together in class generating ideas, or to collaborate on your thinking in other ways. Even in those cases, it's imperative that you understand whether all of your writing must be done independently, or whether group authorship is permitted. Most often, even in courses that allow some collaborative discussion, the writing or calculations that you do must be your own. This doesn't mean that you shouldn't collect feedback on your writing from a classmate or a writing tutor; rather, it means that the argument you make (and the ideas you rely on to make it) should either be your own or you should give credit to the source of those ideas.

So what does this mean for the ideas that emerge from class discussion or peer review exercises? Unlike the ideas that your professor offers in lecture (you should always cite these), ideas that come up in the course of class discussion or peer review are collaborative, and often not just the product of one individual's thinking. If, however, you see a clear moment in discussion when a particular student comes up with an idea, you should cite that student. In any case, when your work is informed by class discussions, it's courteous and collegial to include a discursive footnote in your paper that lets your readers know about that discussion. So, for example, if you were writing a paper about the narrator in Tim O'Brien's The Things They Carried and you came up with your idea during a discussion in class, you might place a footnote in your paper that states the following: "I am indebted to the members of my Expos 20 section for sparking my thoughts about the role of the narrator as Greek Chorus in Tim O'Brien's The Things They Carried ."

It is important to note that collaboration policies can vary by course, even within the same department, and you are responsible for familiarizing yourself with each course's expectation about collaboration. Collaboration policies are often stated in the syllabus, but if you are not sure whether it is appropriate to collaborate on work for any course, you should always consult your instructor.

• The Exception: Common Knowledge
• Other Scenarios to Avoid
• Why Does it Matter if You Plagiarize?
• How to Avoid Plagiarism
• Harvard University Plagiarism Policy

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Clarity. This is what gives a sense of understanding. This is something that gives directions to move on. When it comes to plagiarism prevention tools, you may want exactly the same, and for a good reason.

Knowing what percentage of similarity could be considered plagiarism would make it a lot easier. You could quickly pick up the papers that need further investigation and invite students to have a dialogue.

So, is there any set amount of duplication that can be seen as too high for academic papers? How does plagiarism differ from similarity? And what are the acceptable similarity scores?

Here are some of our thoughts and findings.

The Magic Behind a Similarity Percentage

What people love most about similarity checkers is that they deliver a similarity percentage once a submission has been compared against the target source(s). These can include web pages, books, journals, open-access databases, private repositories, consortia libraries, and more.

As for Unicheck, the algorithm runs checks across a real-time web index and the institution’s repository. To find matching sources, it divides each sentence into small silos. Each of them is then run through the search engine. If a duplicate is discovered, Unicheck will verify the source to ensure it’s worth adding to the report.

The total similarity score (TSS) is then calculated using this formula:

Red Triggers a Fight-or-Flight Response

Seeing red-flagged submissions, instructors and students are often in a hurry to view them as clear indicators of potential plagiarism.

Unicheck’s recently rolled-out analytics says the reports with red flags usually have the highest open rates.

It comes as no surprise. Historically, red has been used to symbolize alarm. People subconsciously take red flags for something that requires attention. Other colors do not produce such an effect. So, instructors and students may skip other similarity scores thinking that they signal only minor overlaps. But this isn’t as straightforward as it may seem.

Similarity Embraces So Many Things

The paper’s similarity percentage indicates how much similarity has been found after it’s been run against the databases and other sources a checker can access.

The similarities themselves may vary. Unicheck distinguishes between:

• Matches – the text found in the institution’s repository or internet
• Quotes – correctly formatted direct/indirect quotes
• References – a works cited list provided at the end of the paper

Thus, matches refer to text overlaps and, therefore, influence the similarity percentage. Quotes and references, if formatted properly, have no impact on the score, as Unicheck will exclude them from search results by default.

Still, the score shouldn’t be translated directly into grades. Here’s why.

What May Impact a Similarity Score

There are always two sides of one coin. Down below, we’ve listed several examples for high and low scores. Nuances are many, so proceed to get a better understanding of them:

Does a high percentage mean plagiarism has occurred?

High percentages do inform educators about struggling students. Yet, the similarity score may increase due to disabled search filters, incorrect formatting of quotes and references, or templates used across all the submissions. Let’s consider each case:

●  The filter excluding quotes and references is off

If quotes and references aren’t excluded from search results, they’ll contribute to the overall similarity score, and the score will be high. Just make sure it is enabled for every assignment in the course, either through the assignment settings or the report . This will spare you the trouble of excluding them manually.

●  A new submission overlaps the previous one written by the same student

In such a case, you would get the highest percentage of similarity. Draft submissions should be automatically excluded. However, if your integration doesn’t support the exclusion of drafts, you may need to do it manually. This will adjust the total similarity score and help you focus on matches only.

●  Quotes highlighted as borrowed text

Formatting quotes is a tedious task. If students fail to follow citation guidelines, Unicheck won’t recognize the quote and will consider it to be a match. The solution? They should be excluded manually to decrease the score and discussed with a student.

●  A template/assignment brief increases the similarity index

Assignment briefs are often included in submissions. This would inevitably lead to massive overlapping and increase the similarity percentage. Unicheck’s Ignore Text feature allows skipping these passages. The moment you do it, Unicheck will update the word count and stop viewing templates/assignment briefs as matches.

●  Matches that turned out to be common phrases/common knowledge

Oftentimes, terminology, descriptions, common knowledge are included in the matching list. If used by everyone enrolled in a course, these chunks of text will coincide and, as a result, increase the total similarity score. Obviously, these matches have nothing to do with borrowed text and should be excluded for all papers.

Can a 0-20% score be acceptable for all academic papers?

At Unicheck, we recommend double-checking reports even if a low similarity score shows up. Situations differ from one submission to another. That’s why similarity checkers do not provide any instructions on ways of interpreting the similarity percentage. Here are two more cases to support our point:

●  A tiny match might be a serious issue

Checking out micro matches is worth the effort. Unicheck may discover a small text overlap with the source that was massively paraphrased. This is when a trivial match can result in a bigger issue. The Compare Mode in Unicheck will come in handy. The submission will be displayed next to the matching source text, making it easier for you to navigate the matches.

●  A paper may have a low similarity score due to text modifications

Imagine two papers have the same percentage of similarity, below the 10% mark. Is it worth examining each? Definitely. One may have a few copy-pasted phrases or wrongly quoted words. The other one may contain some modified text that would minimize the real score. If modifications are detected, you’ll be notified about suspicious text changes and offered to open the Modifind tab for further details.

Similarity Percentage Allowed in Colleges

Long story short, the checker does mainly two things for an educator. It calculates the number of overlaps and shows where they come from.

Dr. Thomas Lancaster commented on the similarity checker purpose this way :

Unicheck is just a tool for investigation. It enables instructors to examine the paper in more detail and make informed decisions. For students, it can play a guiding role, showing what needs improvement and what is done correctly.

Another question that frequently arises: “What percentage of similarity is considered plagiarism?”

You may stumble upon discussions that state 15-20% is the top score allowed in academia. However, this may not correlate with your internal institution policies or requirements set for a particular course. Here’s an opinion shared by a researcher, Master of Philosophy, Tudor Georgescu:

Given all the above, no vendor can ever provide a similarity score so precise that it would make alarm bells go off.

An acceptable similarity percentage may differ from one assignment to another. For computer science, high similarity scores may be quite normal due to the many templates/patterns used. In contrast, high percentages could signal unoriginality for linguistics. It’s up to the institution to decide what is allowed and how flexible the score can be for a course and assignment.

Key Takeaways:

Many times, some level of similarity is essential to support the statements made in papers. For instructors and students to be on the same page and draw maximum advantage out of a similarity report, we’ve compiled this checklist:

• Making it clear to students which similarity scores are tolerated
• Checking settings for the assignment and ensuring a filter for quotes and references is on
• Going over all the highlighted sentences in the report and excluding them if those are wrongly cited words/common phrases
• Getting a final similarity score adjusted
• Comparing the amount of cited and original material contributed
• Making sure the text covers all the requirements set in the assignment brief
• Making a final decision on a grade

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Interpreting the Similarity Report

Though we're known for scanning submissions for plagiarism, Turnitin actually does not check for plagiarism in your work. What we actually do is check your submissions against our database, and if there are instances where your writing is similar to, or matches against, one of our sources, we will flag this for your instructor to review. Our database includes billions of web pages: both current and archived content from the internet, a repository of works other students have submitted to Turnitin in the past, and a collection of documents, which comprises thousands of periodicals, journals, and publications.

It is perfectly natural for an assignment to match against some of our database. If you've used quotes and referenced correctly, there will be instances where we will find a match and that is totally OK! The similarity score simply highlights any matching areas in your paper so your instructor can use this as an investigative tool to determine if the match is or is not acceptable.

Similarity Reports provide a summary of matching or highly similar text found in a submitted paper. When a Similarity Report is available for viewing, a similarity score percentage will be made available. Similarity Reports that have not yet finished generating are represented by a grayed out icon in the Similarity column. Reports that are not available may not have generated yet, or assignment settings may be delaying the generation of the report.

Overwritten or resubmitted papers may not generate a new Similarity Report for a full 24 hours. This delay is automatic and allows resubmissions to correctly generate without matching to the previous draft.

The color of the report icon indicates the similarity score of the paper, based on the amount of matching or similar text that was uncovered. The percentage range is 0% to 100%. The possible similarity ranges are:

• Blue: No matching text
• Green: One word to 24% matching text
• Yellow: 25-49% matching text
• Orange: 50-74% matching text
• Red: 75-100% matching text

Students, be sure to consult your instructor's syllabus, contact them directly, or review your institution's overarching policies on what counts as an acceptable similarity score before you submit a paper. Every school, instructor, or assignment could very well have a different amount of matching text that is considered acceptable.

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Quoting is when you use someone else’s exact words in your paper. It requires that quotation marks go around that author’s words, and the quotation is followed by an in-text citation.

Good Reasons to Quote

• A quote exactly reinforces a point I want to make, and I want to emphasize the authority of the expert with her or his own voice.
• The language is unique or unusual. If I rewrote it in my own words, it would lose this quality.

How Does Quoting Work?

• Key Rules of Quoting
• Sample Quotation (APA Style)
• Step-by-Step Quoting

• The exact words of the author are in quotation marks
• The quote is introduced so the reader is alerted that these are not the words of the student
• The quote is properly cited in the text and the reference list

Explore the other tabs to see a sample quote and learn the steps of recording a quote properly. 

Author’s original text

Business communication is increasingly taking place internationally – in all countries, among all peoples, and across all cultures. An awareness of other cultures – of their languages, customs, experiences and perceptions – as well as an awareness of the way in which other people conduct their business, are now essential ingredients of business communication. 

Example quotation that could be added to a paper

 As business communication spans the globe, “an awareness of other cultures – of their languages, customs, experiences and perceptions – as well as an awareness of the way in which other people conduct their business, are now essential ingredients of business communication” (Chase, O’Rourke & Wallace, 2003, p.59). 

• Find a portion of a book, journal, or website that you would like to use in your paper. Copy the words you plan to use.
• Put quotation marks at the beginning and end of the copied text.
• Add an in-text citation at the end of the quoted text (outside the quotation mark).
• Write (in your own words) to give context or introduce the quoted text.
• Add the sentence with your own words, the quote, and the in-text citation to your paper.
• Add the full citation to your reference list at the end of your paper.

How Much to Quote?

No matter what the source or style, you need to cite it both in-text and at the end of the paper with a full citation! Write down or record all the needed pieces of information when researching to ensure you avoid plagiarism.

 Lester, J.D. (1976). Writing Research Papers (2nd ed.). Glenview, IL: Scott Foresman. 

Cheat Sheet

• Quoting Download this helpful cheat sheet covering "Quoting."
• << Previous: Citing
• Next: Paraphrasing & Summarizing >>
• Last Updated: Aug 7, 2023 2:00 PM
• URL: https://guides.library.jhu.edu/avoidingplagiarism

Plagiarism & Academic Integrity

• Academic Integrity
• Types of Academic Dishonesty
• How to Avoid Plagiarism: Citing
• Citing Direct Quotes
• Paraphrasing
• Summarizing
• Try It! Identifying Plagiarism
• Understanding a Turnitin Report

When to Use a Direct Quote

Sometimes, you will want to include a direct quote from a source in your paper. However, you should use direct quotes sparingly, and instead paraphrase or summarize whenever possible. You should use direct quotes when:

• The meaning of the original statement will be lost if you reword it.
• The original statement uses especially strong or vivid language.
• You are quoting an original term or phrase.

There may be other situations where you feel a direct quote is appropriate. Using direct quotes is fine, and sometimes preferable - just remember that your professor wants to primarily hear YOUR voice in the paper.

We cite short quotes and long quotes differently. See below to learn how to cite both types of quotes.

How to Cite Short Quotes

When citing short quotations , remember:

• Quotation marks
• Author(s) name
• Page number
• Date (for APA)

 Let's look at an example of how to cite direct quotes for short quotations.

 Here is our sample text , from the article "Instructional Design for Best Practice in the Synchronous Cyber Classroom," by Megan Hastie, Nian-Shing Chen, & Yen-Hung Kuo, which appeared in volume 10, issue 4, of the journal Educational Technology & Society, published in 2007.

The interaction between the teacher and student in the initial phase of the trial can best be described as teacher-directed learning.

Correct In-Text Citation, MLA:

Correct In-Text Citation, APA:

This is an especially good example, because the student quotes the unique phrase used by the authors ("teacher-directed learning"), but puts the rest of the information into their own words (this is called paraphrasing) .

How to Cite Long Quotations

You may also wish to sometimes use longer quotes. A long quote is more than 4 lines (MLA), or more than 40 words (APA).

When you include a long quote in your paper, the format is different than for a short quote:

• DO NOT use quotation marks.
• The text is set off as a block quote - that is, the text you are quoting is all indented (1 inch for MLA, 1/2 inch for APA).
• For both APA and MLA, maintain double spacing.

However, as with a short quote, you still need to include the author(s), the page number, and the date (for APA).

Here's an example :

Our sample text is from President Franklin D. Roosevelt's famous First Inaugural Address, retrieved from http://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/fdr-inaugural/images/address-1.gif .

I am certain that my fellow Americans expect that on my induction into the Presidency I will address them with a candor and a decision which the present situation of our people impel. This is preeminently the time to speak the truth, the whole truth, frankly and boldly. Nor need we shrink from honestly facing conditions in our country today. This great Nation will endure as it has endured, will revive and will prosper. So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself—nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance. In every dark hour of our national life a leadership of frankness and vigor has met with that understanding and support of the people themselves which is essential to victory. I am convinced that you will again give that support to leadership in these critical days.

**Notice that the page number goes in parentheses after the period for a long quote.** 

Additional Resources

• How to Use Quotation Marks Info on quotations from the Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL).
• << Previous: How to Avoid Plagiarism: Citing
• Next: Paraphrasing >>
• Last Updated: Jan 2, 2024 11:53 AM
• URL: https://spcollege.libguides.com/avoidplagiarism

Quoting, Paraphrasing, and Avoiding Plagiarism

Steven D. Krause

Learning Objectives

• Summarize, quote, and paraphrase accurately from readings.
• Smoothly incorporate summary, paraphrase, and quotations in your writing.
• Understand when summary, quotation, or paraphrase are appropriate in a research paper.
• Avoid plagiarism.

Learning how to effectively quote and paraphrase research can be difficult and it certainly takes practice.  Hopefully, your abilities to make good use of your research will improve as you work through the exercises in part two and three ofThe Process of Research Writing, not to mention as you take on other research writing experiences beyond this class.  The goal of this chapter is to introduce some basic strategies for summarizing, quoting and paraphrasing research in your writing and to explain how to avoid plagiarizing your research.

How to Summarize:  An Overview

A summary is a brief explanation of a longer text.  Some summaries, such as the ones that accompany annotated bibliographies, are very short, just a sentence or two.  Others are much longer, though summaries are always much shorter than the text being summarized in the first place.

Summaries of different lengths are useful in research writing because you often need to provide your readers with an explanation of the text you are discussing.  This is especially true when you are going to quote or paraphrase from a source.

Of course, the first step in writing a good summary is to do a thorough reading of the text you are going to summarize in the first place.  Beyond that important start, there are a few basic guidelines you should follow when you write summary material:

• Stay “neutral” in your summarizing.  Summaries provide “just the facts” and are not the place where you offer your opinions about the text you are summarizing.  Save your opinions and evaluation of the evidence you are summarizing for other parts of your writing.
• Don’t quote from what you are summarizing.  Summaries will be more useful to you and your colleagues if you write them in your own words.
• Don’t “cut and paste” from database abstracts.  Many of the periodical indexes that are available as part of your library’s computer system include abstracts of articles.  Do no “cut” this abstract material and then “paste” it into your own annotated bibliography.  For one thing, this is plagiarism.  Second, “cutting and pasting” from the abstract defeats one of the purposes of writing summaries and creating an annotated bibliography in the first place, which is to help you understand and explain your research.

How to Quote and Paraphrase:  An Overview

Writers quote and paraphrase from research in order to support their points and to persuade their readers.  A quote or a paraphrase from a piece of evidence in support of a point answers the reader’s question, “says who?”

This is especially true in academic writing since scholarly readers are most persuaded by effective research and evidence.  For example, readers of an article about a new cancer medication published in a medical journal will be most interested in the scholar’s research and statistics that demonstrate the effectiveness of the treatment.  Conversely, they will not be as persuaded by emotional stories from individual patients about how a new cancer medication improved the quality of their lives.  While this appeal to emotion can be effective and is common in popular sources, these individual anecdotes do not carry the same sort of “scholarly” or scientific value as well-reasoned research and evidence.

Of course, your instructor is not expecting you to be an expert on the topic of your research paper.  While you might conduct some primary research, it’s a good bet that you’ll be relying on secondary sources such as books, articles, and Web sites to inform and persuade your readers.  You’ll present this research to your readers in the form of quotes and paraphrases.  

  A “quote” is a direct restatement of the exact words from the original source.  The general rule of thumb is any time you use three or more words as they appeared in the original source, you should treat it as a quote.  A “paraphrase” is a restatement of the information or point of the original source in your own words.  

While quotes and paraphrases are different and should be used in different ways in your research writing (as the examples in this section suggest), they do have a number of things in common.  Both quotes and paraphrases should:

•  be “introduced” to the reader, particularly the first time you mention a source;      
• include an explanation of the evidence which explains to the reader why you think the evidence is important, especially if it is not apparent from the context of the quote or paraphrase; and
• include a proper citation of the source.

The method you should follow to properly quote or paraphrase depends on the style guide you are following in your academic writing.  The two most common style guides used in academic writing are the Modern Language Association (MLA), and the American Psychological Association (APA).  Your instructor will probably assign one of these styles before you begin working on your project, however, if he/she doesn’t mention this, be sure to ask.

When to Quote, When to Paraphrase

The real “art” to research writing is using quotes and paraphrases from evidence effectively in order to support your point.  There are certain “rules,” dictated by the rules of style you are following, such as the ones presented by the MLA or the ones presented by the APA.  There are certain “guidelines” and suggestions, like the ones I offer in the previous section and the ones you will learn from your teacher and colleagues.  

But when all is said and done, the question of when to quote and when to paraphrase depends a great deal on the specific context of the writing and the effect you are trying to achieve.  Learning the best times to quote and paraphrase takes practice and experience.

In general, it is best to use a quote when:

• The exact words of your source are important for the point you are trying to make.  This is especially true if you are quoting technical language, terms, or very specific word choices.
• You want to highlight your agreement with the author’s words.  If you agree with the point the author of the evidence makes and you like their exact words, use them as a quote.  
• You want to highlight your disagreement with the author’s words.  In other words, you may sometimes want to use a direct quote to indicate exactly what it is you disagree about.  This might be particularly true when you are considering the antithetical positions in your research writing projects.

In general, it is best to paraphrase when:

• There is no good reason to use a quote to refer to your evidence.  If the author’s exact words are not especially important to the point you are trying to make, you are usually better off paraphrasing the evidence.
• You are trying to explain a particular a piece of evidence in order to explain or interpret it in more detail.  This might be particularly true in writing projects like critiques.
• You need to balance a direct quote in your writing.  You need to be careful about directly quoting your research too much because it can sometimes make for awkward and difficult to read prose.  So, one of the reasons to use a paraphrase instead of a quote is to create balance within your writing.

Tips for Quoting and Paraphrasing

• Introduce your quotes and paraphrases to your reader, especially on first reference.
• Explain the significance of the quote or paraphrase to your reader.
• Cite your quote or paraphrase properly according to the rules of style you are following in your essay.
• Quote when the exact words are important, when you want to highlight your agreement or your disagreement.
• Paraphrase when the exact words aren’t important, when you want to explain the point of your evidence, or when you need to balance the direct quotes in your writing.

Four Examples of Quotes and Paraphrases

Here are four examples of what I mean about properly quoting and paraphrasing evidence in your research essays.  In each case, I begin with a BAD example, or the way NOT to quote or paraphrase.

Quoting in MLA Style

Here’s the first BAD example, where the writer is trying to follow the rules of MLA style:  

There are many positive effects for advertising prescription drugs on television.  “African-American physicians regard direct-to-consumer advertising of prescription medicines as one way to educate minority patients about needed treatment and healthcare options” (Wechsler, Internet).

This is a potentially good piece of information to support a research writer’s claim, but the researcher hasn’t done any of the necessary work to explain where this quote comes from or to explain why it is important for supporting her point.  Rather, she has simply “dropped in” the quote, leaving the interpretation of its significance up to the reader.

Now consider this revised GOOD (or at least BETTER) example of how this quote might be better introduced into the essay:

In her Pharmaceutical Executive article available through the Wilson Select Internet database, Jill Wechsler writes about one of the positive effects of advertising prescription drugs on television.  “African-American physicians regard direct-to-consumer advertising of prescription medicines as one way to educate minority patients about needed treatment and healthcare options.”

In this revision, it’s much more clear what point the writer is trying to make with this evidence and where this evidence comes from.  

In this particular example, the passage is from a traditional print journal called Pharmaceutical Executive .  However, the writer needs to indicate that she actually found and read this article through Wilson Select, an Internet database which reproduces the “full text” of articles from periodicals without any graphics, charts, or page numbers.  

When you use a direct quote in your research, you need to the indicate page number of that direct quote or you need to indicate that the evidence has no specific page numbers. While it can be a bit awkward to indicate within the text how the writer found this information if it’s from the Internet, it’s important to do so on the first reference of a piece of evidence in your writing.  On references to this piece of evidence after the first reference, you can use just the last name of the writer.  For example:

Wechsler also reports on the positive effects of advertising prescription drugs on television.  She writes…

Paraphrasing in MLA Style

In this example, the writer is using MLA style to write a research essay for a Literature class.  Here is a BAD example of a paraphrase:

While Gatsby is deeply in love with Daisy in The Great Gatsby, his love for her is indistinguishable from his love of his possessions (Callahan).

There are two problems with this paraphrase.  First, if this is the first or only reference to this particular piece of evidence in the research essay, the writer should include more information about the source of this paraphrase in order to properly introduce it.  Second, this paraphrase is actually not of the entire article but rather of a specific passage.  The writer has neglected to note the page number within the parenthetical citation.

A GOOD or at least BETTER revision of this paraphrase might look like this:

John F. Callahan suggests in his article “F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Evolving American Dream” that while Gatsby is deeply in love with Daisy in The Great Gatsby, his love for her is indistinguishable from his love of his possessions (381).

By incorporating the name of the author of the evidence the research writer is referring to here, the source of this paraphrase is now clear to the reader.  Furthermore, because there is a page number at the end of this sentence, the reader understands that this passage is a paraphrase of a particular part of Callahan’s essay and not a summary of the entire essay. Again, if the research writer had introduced this source to his readers earlier, he could have started with a phrase like “Callahan suggests…” and then continued on with his paraphrase.

If the research writer were offering a brief summary of the entire essay following MLA style, he wouldn’t include a page number in parentheses.  For example:

John F. Callahan’s article “F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Evolving American Dream” examines Fitzgerald’s fascination with the elusiveness of the American Dream in the novels The Great Gatsby, Tender is the Night, and The Last Tycoon.

Quoting in APA Style

Consider this BAD example in APA style, of what NOT to do when quoting evidence:

“If the U.S. scallop fishery were a business, its management would surely be fired, because its revenues could readily be increased by at least 50 percent while its costs were being reduced by an equal percentage.” (Repetto, 2001, p. 84).

Again, this is a potentially valuable piece of evidence, but it simply isn’t clear what point the research writer is trying to make with it.  Further, it doesn’t follow the preferred method of citation with APA style.

Here is a revision that is a GOOD or at least BETTER example:

Repetto (2001) concludes that in the case of the scallop industry, those running the industry should be held responsible for not considering methods that would curtail the problems of over-fishing.   “If the U.S. scallop fishery were a business, its management would surely be fired, because its revenues could readily be increased by at least 50 percent while its costs were being reduced by an equal percentage” (p. 84).

This revision is improved because the research writer has introduced and explained the point of the evidence with the addition of a clarifying sentence.  It also follows the rules of APA style.  Generally, APA style prefers that the research writer refer to the author only by last name followed immediately by the year of publication.  Whenever possible, you should begin your citation with the author’s last name and the year of publication, and, in the case of a direct quote like this passage, the page number (including the “p.”) in parentheses at the end.

Paraphrasing in APA Style

Paraphrasing in APA style is slightly different from MLA style as well.  Consider first this BAD example of what NOT to do in paraphrasing from a source in APA style:

Computer criminals have lots of ways to get away with credit card fraud (Cameron, 2002).

The main problem with this paraphrase is there isn’t enough here to adequately explain to the reader what the point of the evidence really is.  Remember:  your readers have no way of automatically knowing why you as a research writer think that a particular piece of evidence is useful in supporting your point.  This is why it is key that you introduce and explain your evidence.

Here is a revision that is GOOD or at least BETTER:

Cameron (2002) points out that computer criminals intent on committing credit card fraud are able to take advantage of the fact that there aren’t enough officials working to enforce computer crimes.  Criminals are also able to use the technology to their advantage by communicating via email and chat rooms with other criminals.

Again, this revision is better because the additional information introduces and explains the point of the evidence.  In this particular example, the author’s name is also incorporated into the explanation of the evidence as well.  In APA, it is preferable to weave in the author’s name into your essay, usually at the beginning of a sentence.  However, it would also have been acceptable to end an improved paraphrase with just the author’s last name and the date of publication in parentheses.

How to Avoid Plagiarism in the Research Process

Plagiarism is the unauthorized or uncredited use of the writings or ideas of another in your writing.  While it might not be as tangible as auto theft or burglary, plagiarism is still a form of theft.  

In the academic world, plagiarism is a serious matter because ideas in the forms of research, creative work, and original thought are highly valued.  Chances are, your school has strict rules about what happens when someone is caught plagiarizing.  The penalty for plagiarism is severe, everything from a failing grade for the plagiarized work, a failing grade for the class, or expulsion from the institution.  

You might not be aware that plagiarism can take several different forms.  The most well known, purposeful plagiarism , is handing in an essay written by someone else and representing it as your own, copying your essay word for word from a magazine or journal, or downloading an essay from the Internet.  

A much more common and less understood phenomenon is what I call accidental plagiarism.  Accidental plagiarism is the result of improperly paraphrasing, summarizing, quoting, or citing your evidence in your academic writing.  Generally, writers accidentally plagiarize because they simply don’t know or they fail to follow the rules for giving credit to the ideas of others in their writing.

Both purposeful and accidental plagiarism are wrong, against the rules, and can result in harsh punishments.  Ignoring or not knowing the rules of how to not plagiarize and properly cite evidence might be an explanation, but it is not anexcuse.

To exemplify what I’m getting at, consider the examples below that use quotations and paraphrases from this brief passage:

Those who denounce cyberculture today strangely resemble those who criticized rock music during the fifties and sixties.  Rock started out as an Anglo-American phenomenon and has become an industry.  Nonetheless, it was able to capture the hopes of young people around the world and provided enjoyment to those of us who listened to or played rock.  Sixties pop was the conscience of one or two generations that helped bring the war in Vietnam to a close.  Obviously, neither rock nor pop has solved global poverty or hunger.  But is this a reason to be “against” them? (ix).

And just to make it clear that I’m not plagiarizing this passage, here is the citation in MLA style:

Works Cited

Lévy, Pierre.   Cyberculture .  Trans. Robert Bononno.  Minneapolis:  U of Minnesota P, 2001.

Here’s an obvious example of plagiarism:

Those who denounce cyberculture today strangely resemble those who criticized rock music during the fifties and sixties.  

In this case, the writer has literally taken one of Lévy’s sentences and represented it as her own.  That’s clearly against the rules.

Here’s another example of plagiarism, perhaps less obvious:

The same kind of people who criticize cyberculture are the same kind of people who criticized rock and roll music back in the fifties and sixties.  But both cyberculture and rock music inspire and entertain young people.

While these aren’t Lévy’s exact words, they are certainly close enough to constitute a form of plagiarism.  And again, even though you might think that this is a “lesser” form of plagiarism, it’s still plagiarism.  

Both of these passages can easily be corrected to make them acceptable quotations or paraphrases.  

In the introduction of his book Cyberculture, Pierre Lévy observes that “Those who denounce cyberculture today strangely resemble those who criticized rock music during the fifties and sixties” (ix). Pierre Lévy suggests that the same kind of people who criticize cyberculture are the same kind of people who criticized rock and roll music back in the fifties and sixties.  But both cyberculture and rock music inspire and entertain young people (ix).

Note that changing these passages from examples of plagiarism to acceptable examples of a quotation and a paraphrase is extremely easy:  properly cite your sources.

This leads to the “golden rule” of avoiding plagiarism:

The Golden Rule of Avoiding Plagiarism

Always cite your sources.  If you are unsure as to whether you should or should not cite a particular claim or reference, you should probably cite your source.

Often, students are unclear as to whether or not they need to cite a piece of evidence because they believe it to be “common knowledge” or because they are not sure about the source of information.  When in doubt about whether or not to cite evidence in order to give credit to a source (“common knowledge” or not), you should cite the evidence.

Plagiarism and the Internet

Sometimes, I think the ease of finding and retrieving information on the World Wide Web makes readers think that this information does not need to be cited.  After all, it isn’t a traditional source like a book or a journal; it is available for “free.”  All a research writer needs to do with a web site is “cut and paste” whatever he needs into his essay, right?  Wrong!  

You need to cite the evidence you find from the Internet or the World Wide Web the same way you cite evidence from other sources.  To not do this is plagiarism, or, more bluntly, cheating.  Just because the information is “freely” available on the Internet does not mean you can use this information in your academic writing without properly citing it, much in the same way that the information from library journals and books “freely” available to you needs to be cited in order to give credit where credit is due.

It is also not acceptable to simply download graphics from the World Wide Web.  Images found on the Internet are protected by copyright laws.  Quite literally, taking images from the Web (particularly from commercial sources) is an offense that could lead to legal action.  There are places where you can find graphics and clip art that Web publishers have made publicly available for anyone to use, but be sure that the Web site where you find the graphics makes this explicit before you take graphics as your own.

In short, you can use evidence from the Web as long as you don’t plagiarize and as long as you properly cite it; don’t take graphics from the Web unless you know the images are in the public domain.  

This piece was originally Chapter 3 from The Process of Research Writing .

Quoting, Paraphrasing, and Avoiding Plagiarism Copyright © 2016 by Steven D. Krause is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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Plagiarism and what are acceptable similarity scores?

Dec 1, 2020 • knowledge article, information.

The Similarity Report is a flexible document that provides a summary of matching or similar text in submitted work compared against a huge database of Internet sources, journals and previously submitted work, allowing students and instructors to review matches between a submitted work and the database scanned by Turnitin. Therefore, the Turnitin Similarity Report does not define whether or not a student's work is plagiarized. The instructor responsible for the course - as a subject matter expert - has a duty to exercise academic judgement on the work that is submitted to Turnitin for their classes. The percentage that is returned on a student's submission (called similarity index or similarity score) defines how much of that material matches other material in the database, it is not a marker as to whether a student has or has not plagiarized. Matches will be displayed to material that has been correctly cited and used, which is where the instructor's academic judgement must come into play. Please find our guide links below on how to interpret the Similarity Report and its similarity score: If you are a student, click here . If you are an instructor, click here . 

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Frequently asked questions

What is an acceptable percentage of plagiarism.

Your work should not contain any  plagiarism . Even if your score is 1%, you will need to review each similarity and decide whether it’s necessary to revise your work.

But  contrary to popular belief, plagiarism checkers work by detecting not plagiarism, but similarities . Not all similarities found by the Scribbr Plagiarism Checker constitute plagiarism. Our check sometimes flags the following:

• Properly cited quotes
• In-text citations or your reference list
• Commonly used phrases

What should I do with a found similarity?

Frequently asked questions: Plagiarism Checker

At the moment we do not offer a monthly subscription for the Scribbr Plagiarism Checker. Plagiarism checks can be bought separately — prices depend on the size of your document.

Similarities in your document are highlighted for quick and easy review. Each colour corresponds to a source in your Sources Overview at the right side of your report.

Information can often be found in more than one place. For this reason, other sources citing the same information you used can come up in your Sources Overview.

The important thing is to make sure you’ve cited the source of the material. Try to find the original source, but if you can’t find it, it’s best to cite the source where you found the information.

Scribbr’s free plagiarism checker estimates the risk of plagiarism by calculating the percentage of text in your document that’s similar to other sources.

A moderate or high risk of plagiarism means that the plagiarism software detected several similarities worth reviewing.

Note that similarities are not necessarily plagiarism. You will need to decide on your own whether your text needs revision or citation.

The free report tells you if your text contains potential plagiarism and other writing issues. The premium report gives you the resources you need to review issues in detail and resolve them.

Yes, Scribbr offers a limited free version of its plagiarism checker in partnership with Turnitin. It uses Turnitin’s industry-leading plagiarism detection technology and has access to most content databases.

Run a free plagiarism check

If you’re a university representative, you can contact the sales department of Turnitin .

If you’ve correctly cited all the sources you used, then you do not need to use a plagiarism checker before submitting your paper to your instructor. However, it is very easy to commit plagiarism accidentally, even if you’ve been very careful. To ensure that you didn’t forget to cite anything, you should use a plagiarism checker yourself.

A  plagiarism checker works by using advanced database software to scan for matches between your text and existing texts.

To help you decide which checker to use, we conducted in-depth research comparing popular plagiarism checkers to find out which one is best.

Best plagiarism checker comparison

Extensive testing proves that Scribbr’s plagiarism checker is one of the most accurate plagiarism checkers on the market in 2022.

The software detects everything from exact word matches to synonym swapping. It also has access to a full range of source types, including open- and restricted-access journal articles, theses and dissertations, websites, PDFs, and news articles.

Scribbr’s plagiarism checker offers complete support for 20 languages, including English, Spanish, German, Arabic, and Dutch.

The add-on AI Detector and AI Proofreader are only available in English.

The complete list of supported languages:

Scribbr’s  Plagiarism Checker is powered by elements of Turnitin’s Similarity Checker , namely the plagiarism detection software and the Internet Archive and Premium Scholarly Publications content databases .

The add-on AI detector is powered by Scribbr’s proprietary software.

Your document will be compared to the world’s largest and fastest-growing content database , containing over:

• 99.3 billion current and historical webpages
• 8 million publications from more than 1,700 publishers such as Springer, IEEE , Elsevier, Wiley-Blackwell, and Taylor & Francis

Note: Scribbr does not have access to Turnitin’s global database with student papers. Only your university can add and compare submissions to this database.

Your writing stays private. Your submissions to Scribbr are not published in any public database, so no other plagiarism checker (including those used by universities) will see them.

If your university uses Turnitin, the result will be very similar to what you see at Scribbr.

The only possible difference is that your university may compare your submission to a private database containing previously submitted student papers. Scribbr does not have access to these private databases (and neither do other plagiarism checkers).

Luckily, many papers, theses, and dissertations are also published in public databases that Scribbr does have access to.

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Beyond the default colon: Effective use of quotes in qualitative research

Lorelei lingard.

Centre for Education Research & Innovation and Department of Medicine, Health Sciences Addition, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western University, London, Canada

In the Writer’s Craft section we offer simple tips to improve your writing in one of three areas: Energy, Clarity and Persuasiveness. Each entry focuses on a key writing feature or strategy, illustrates how it commonly goes wrong, teaches the grammatical underpinnings necessary to understand it and offers suggestions to wield it effectively. We encourage readers to share comments on or suggestions for this section on Twitter, using the hashtag: #how’syourwriting?

Last week the ‘e’ key died on my laptop. It’s a first-world problem, I’ll admit, but it really threw my writing for a loop—a lot of words require an ‘e’ key. Reflecting on what other keys I could not do without, I made a quick shortlist: comma, ‘ly’ and colon. The comma because its absence would consign me to the sort of breathy, adolescent writing that fills social media. The ‘ly’ because without that duo I can’t make most of the adverbs that prop up my first drafts. And the colon because I’m a qualitative researcher. How would I introduce quotes if the colon key were out of order?

I’m only partly joking. Every qualitative researcher confronts the challenge of selecting the right quotes and integrating them effectively into their manuscripts. As writers, we are all guilty of resorting to the default colon as an easy way to tuck quotes into our sentences; as readers, we have all suffered through papers that read like a laundry list of quotes rather than a story about what the writer learned. This Writer’s Craft instalment offers suggestions to help you choose the right quotes and integrate them with coherence and style, following the principles of authenticity and argument.

Authenticity

At the point of manuscript writing, a qualitative researcher is swimming in a sea of data. Innumerable transcript excerpts have been copied and pasted into data analysis software or (for the more tactile among us) onto multi-coloured sticky notes. Some of these excerpts we like very much. However, very few of them will make it into the final manuscript, particularly if we are writing for publication in a health research or medical education journal, with their 3000–4000 word limits.

Selecting the best quotes from among these cherished excerpts is harder than it looks. We should be guided by the principle of authenticity: does the quote offer readers first hand access to dominant patterns in the data? There are three parts to selecting a good, authentic quote: the quote is illustrative of the point the writer is making about the data, it is reasonably succinct, and it is representative of the patterns in data. Consider this quote, introduced with a short phrase to orient the reader:

Rather than feeling they were changing identities as they went through their training, medical students described the experience of accumulating and reconciling multiple identities: ‘the “life me”, who I was when I started this, is still here, but now there’s also, like, a “scientific me” as well as a sort of “doctor me”. And I’m trying to be all of that’ (S15) .

This quote is illustrative, providing an explicit example of the point that student identity is multiplying as training unfolds. It is succinct, expressing efficiently what other participants took pages to describe. And it is representative, remaining faithful to the overall sentiments of the many participants reporting this idea.

We have all read—and written!—drafts in which the quoted material does not reflect these characteristics. The remainder of this section addresses these recurring problems.

Is the quote illustrative?

A common challenge is the quote that illustrates the writer’s point implicitly, but not explicitly. Consider this example:

Medical students are undergoing a process of identity-negotiation: we’re ‘learning so much all the time, and some of it is the science stuff and some of it is professional or, like, practical ethical things, and we have to figure all that out’ (S2).

For this quote to serve as evidence for the point of identity-negotiation, the reader must infer that ‘figure all that out’ is a reference to this process. But readers may read their own meaning into decontextualized transcript extracts. Explicit is better, even if it sacrifices succinctness. In fact, this is the right quote, but we had trimmed away the first three sentences where ‘figuring out identity’ got explicit mention. The quote could be lengthened to include these sentences, or, to preserve succinctness, just that quoted phrase can be inserted into the introduction to the quote:

Medical students are ‘figuring out identity’, a process of negotiation in which they are ‘learning so much all the time, and some of it is the science stuff and some of it is professional or, like, practical ethical things, and we have to figure all that out’ (S2).

Is the quote succinct?

Interview transcripts are characterized by meandering and elliptical or incomplete speech. Therefore, you can search diligently and still come up with a 200-word quote to illustrate your 10-word point. Sometimes the long quote is perfect and you should include it. Often, however, you need to tighten it up. By including succinctness as part of the authenticity principle, my aim is to remind writers to explicitly consider whether their tightening up retains the gist of the quote.

The previous example illustrates one tightening technique: extract key phrases and integrate them into your own, introductory sentence to the quote. Another solution is to use the ellipsis to signal that you have cut part of the quote out:

Identity formation in the clinical environment is also influenced by materials and tools, ‘all this stuff you’ve never used before … you don’t know where it is or how to use it, and don’t even get me started on the computerized record. … So many hours and I’m still confused, am I ever going to know where to enter things?’ (S7) .

The first ellipsis signals that something mid-sentence has been removed. In this case, this missing material was an elaboration of ‘all this stuff’ that mentioned other details not relevant to the point being made. The second ellipsis follows a period, and therefore signals that at least one sentence has been removed and perhaps more. When using an ellipsis, only remove material that is irrelevant to the meaning of the quote, not relevant material that importantly nuances the meaning of the quote. The goal is not a bricolage which cuts and pastes tiny bits so that participants say what you want them to; it is a succinct-enough representation that remains faithful to the participant’s intended meaning.

Changing the wording of a quotation always risks violating the authenticity principle, so writers must do it thoughtfully. Two other situations, however, may call for this approach: to maintain the grammatical integrity of your sentence and to tidy up oral speech 1 . The first is usually not problematic, particularly if you are altering for consistent tense or for agreement of verb and subject or pronoun and antecedent, or replacing a pronoun with its referent. Square brackets signal such changes:

Participants from the community hospital setting, however, ‘[challenged] the assumption of anonymity when evaluating teachers’. (verb tense changed from present to past)

The second situation can be trickier: when should you tidy up the messiness of conversational discourse? Interview transcripts are replete with what linguists refer to as ‘fillers’ or ‘hesitation markers’, sounds and words such as ‘ah/uh/um/like/you know/right’ [ 1 ]. There is general agreement among qualitative scholars that quotes should be presented verbatim as much as possible, and those engaged in discourse and narrative analysis will necessarily analyze such hesitations as part of the meaning. In other applied social research methodologies, however, writers might do some ‘light tidying up’ both for readability and for ethical reasons, as long as they do not undermine authenticity in doing so [ 2 ]. Ethical issues include the desire not to do a disservice to participants by representing the um’s and ah’s of their natural speech, and the concern to protect participant anonymity by removing identifiable linguistic features such as regional or accented speech.

Finally, an emerging strategy for succinctness is to put the quotes into a table. Many qualitative researchers resent the constraints of the table format as an incursion from the quantitative realm. However, used thoughtfully, it can offer a means of presenting complex results efficiently. In this example, Goldszmidt et al. name, define and illustrate five main types of supervisor interruptions that they observed during their study of case review on internal medicine teaching teams (Tab.  1 ; [ 3 ]).

Types of supervisors’ interruptions during patient case review presentations, London Health Sciences Centre, University Hospital, Ontario, Canada 2010

AM  indicates morning case presentation; PM  overnight case presentation; A  attending physician; SR  senior resident; IM1  first-year internal medicine resident; FM1  first-year family medicine resident; CC  clinical clerk

This is a nice example of how ‘Tab.  1 ’, conventionally used in quantitative research papers for demographic details of the research sample, can be re-conceptualized to feature the key findings from a qualitative analysis. Tables should be supplemented, however, with narrative explanation in which the writer contextualizes and interprets the quoted material. More on this in the section on Argument.

Is the quote representative?

We have all been tempted to include the highly provocative quote (that thing we cannot believe someone said on tape), only to realize by the third draft that it misrepresents the data and must be relinquished. Quote selection should reflect strong patterns in the data; while discrepant examples serve an important purpose, their use should be purposeful and explicit. Your quote selection should also be distributed across participants, in order that you represent the data set. This may mean using the second- or third-best example rather than continuing to quote the same one or two highly articulate individuals.

You must provide sufficient context that readers can accurately infer the meaning of the quote. Sometimes this means including the interviewer’s question as well as the participant’s answer. In focus group research, where the emphasis is on the group discussion, it might be necessary to quote an exchange among participants rather than extracting individual comments. This example illustrates this technique:

Interviewer: And, in your experience, how do the students respond to your feedback about how well they communicated? SP1: Oh, really well, it’s really important to the students, they listen to what we say about their performance— Interruption with overlapping talk SP4: Well, yeah, on a good day maybe, sure. But not every time. Lots of sessions I feel like we’re probably more like props to them, so how well we think they did, I’m not sure that matters. SP3: Don’t you find it depends on the student? (FG2)

Of course, such a long excerpt threatens the goal of succinctness. Alternatively, you could use multiple quotes from this excerpt in a single sentence of your own:

Some standardized patients in the group believed that their assessor role was ‘really important to the students, they listen to what we say about their performance’, while others argued that ‘we’re probably more like props to them, so how well we think they did, I’m not sure that matters’. (FG2)

Sometimes a quote is representative but also, therefore, identifiable, jeopardizing confidentiality:

One participant explained that, ‘as chair of the competency committee, I prioritize how we spend our time. So that we can pay sufficient attention to this 2nd year resident. She’s supposed to be back from maternity leave but she had complications so her rotations need some altering for her to manage.’ (CCC4, P2)

In this case, the convention of using a legend (Clinical Competency Committee 4, participant 2) to attribute the quote may be insufficient to protect anonymity. If the study involves few programs and the methods identify them (e.g., Paediatrics and Medicine) and name the institution (e.g., Western University), the speaker may be identifiable to some readers, as may the resident.

Quoted material does not stand on its own: we must incorporate it into our texts, both grammatically and rhetorically. Grammatical incorporation is relatively straightforward, with one main rule to keep in mind: quoted material is subject to the same sentence-level conventions for grammar and punctuation as non-quoted material. Read this example aloud:

Arts and humanities teaching offers an opportunity for faculty to connect with medical students on a different level, ‘we can share how we feel about the work of caring, what it costs us, how it rewards us, as human beings’ (F9).

Your ear likely hears that this should be two sentences. But quotation marks seem to distract us from this, and we create a run-on sentence by putting a comma between the sentences. An easy correction is to replace the comma with a colon.

Arts and humanities teaching offers an opportunity for faculty to connect with medical students on a different level: ‘we can share how we feel about the work of caring, what it costs us, how it rewards us, as human beings’ (F9).

Many writers rely on the colon as their default mechanism for integrating quoted material. However, while it is often grammatically accurate, it is not always rhetorically sufficient. That is, the colon doesn’t contextualize, it doesn’t interpret. Instead, it ‘drops’ the quote in and leaves the reader to infer how the quoted material illustrates or advances the argument. This is problematic because it does not fulfil the requirement for adequacy of interpretation in presenting qualitative results. As Morrow argues, writers should aim for a balance of their interpretations and supporting quotations: ‘an overemphasis on the researcher’s interpretations at the cost of participant quotes will leave the reader in doubt as to just where the interpretations came from; an excess of quotes will cause the reader to become lost in the morass of stories’ [ 4 ]. (p. 256).

There are many techniques for achieving this balance between researcher interpretations and supporting quotations. Some techniques retain the default colon but attend carefully to the material that precedes it. Consider the following examples:

One clinician said: ‘Entrustment isn’t a decision, it’s a relationship’. (F21) One clinician argued: ‘Entrustment isn’t a decision, it’s a relationship’. (F21) One clinician in the focus group disagreed with the idea that entrustment was about deciding trainee progress: ‘Entrustment isn’t a decision, it’s a relationship’. (F21) Focus group participants debated the meaning of entrustment. Many described it matter-of-factly as ‘the process we use to decide whether the trainee should progress’, while a few argued that ‘entrustment isn’t a decision, it’s a relationship’. (F21)

These examples offer progressively more contextualization for the quote. The first example simply drops the quote in following the nondescript verb, ‘said’, offering no interpretive gloss and therefore exerting minimal rhetorical control over the reader. The second offers some context via the verb ‘argued’, which interprets the participant’s positioning or tone. The third interprets the meaning of the quote even more by situating it in the context of a focus group debate. And the fourth eschews the default colon entirely, integrating two quotes into the narrative structure of the author’s sentence to illustrate the dominant and the discrepant positions on entrustment in this focus group debate.

Integrating quotes into the narrative structure of your sentence, like the last example, offers two advantages to the writer. First, it interprets the quote for the reader and therefore exerts strong rhetorical control over the quote’s meaning. Second, it offers variety and style. If your goal is compelling prose, variety and style should not be underestimated. We have all had the experience of reading Results sections that proceed robotically: point-colon-quote, point-colon-quote, point-colon-quote …. If only to make the reader’s experience more enjoyable, your revision process should involve converting some of these to integrated narration.

Notwithstanding the goal of succinctness, sometimes you will include a longer quote because it beautifully illustrates the point. However, a long quote may offer opportunities for readers to focus on images or phrases other than those you intended, therefore creating incoherence in the argument you are making about your results. To guard against this, you might try the ‘quotation sandwich’ technique [ 5 ] of both an introductory phrase that sets up the context of the quote and a summary statement following it emphasizing why you consider it important and what you are using it to illustrate.

Finally, how many quotes do you need to support your point? More is not necessarily better. One quote should be sufficient to illustrate your point. Some points in your argument may not require a quoted excerpt at all. Consider this example, in which the first sentence presents a finding that is not illustrated with a quotation:

Residents described themselves as being always tired. However, their perceptions of the impact of their fatigue varied, from ‘not a factor in the care I provide’ (R8) to ‘absolutely killing me … I’m falling asleep at the bedside’ (R15).

The finding that residents are always tired does not require illustration. It is readily understandable and will not surprise anyone; therefore, following it with the quote ‘I’m tired all the time’ (R2) will feel redundant. The second part of the finding, however, benefits from illustration to show the variety of perception regarding impact.

If you do use multiple quotes to illustrate a point in your argument, then you must establish the relations between them for the reader. You can do this between the quoted excerpts or after them, as modelled above with the four examples used to illustrate progressively stronger quote contextualization.

In conclusion, quotes can be the life’s blood of your qualitative research paper. However, they are the evidence, not the argument. They do not speak for themselves and readers cannot infer what you intend them to illustrate. The authenticity principle can help you select a quote that is illustrative, succinct and representative, while the argument principle can remind you to attend to the grammatical and the rhetorical aspects of integrating the quote into the story you are telling about your research.

1 A third situation is beyond the scope of this piece: translating quoted material from another language into English. For careful consideration of this issue, please see Helmich et al. [ 6 ].

Frequently asked questions

How many quotes should i use.

In scientific subjects, the information itself is more important than how it was expressed, so quoting should generally be kept to a minimum. In the arts and humanities, however, well-chosen quotes are often essential to a good paper.

In social sciences, it varies. If your research is mainly quantitative , you won’t include many quotes, but if it’s more qualitative , you may need to quote from the data you collected .

As a general guideline, quotes should take up no more than 5–10% of your paper. If in doubt, check with your instructor or supervisor how much quoting is appropriate in your field.

Frequently asked questions: Citing sources

A scientific citation style is a system of source citation that is used in scientific disciplines. Some commonly used scientific citation styles are:

• Chicago author-date , CSE , and Harvard , used across various sciences
• ACS , used in chemistry
• AMA , NLM , and Vancouver , used in medicine and related disciplines
• AAA , APA , and ASA , commonly used in the social sciences

There are many different citation styles used across different academic disciplines, but they fall into three basic approaches to citation:

• Parenthetical citations : Including identifying details of the source in parentheses —usually the author’s last name and the publication date, plus a page number if available ( author-date ). The publication date is occasionally omitted ( author-page ).
• Numerical citations: Including a number in brackets or superscript, corresponding to an entry in your numbered reference list.
• Note citations: Including a full citation in a footnote or endnote , which is indicated in the text with a superscript number or symbol.

A source annotation in an annotated bibliography fulfills a similar purpose to an abstract : they’re both intended to summarize the approach and key points of a source.

However, an annotation may also evaluate the source , discussing the validity and effectiveness of its arguments. Even if your annotation is purely descriptive , you may have a different perspective on the source from the author and highlight different key points.

You should never just copy text from the abstract for your annotation, as doing so constitutes plagiarism .

Most academics agree that you shouldn’t cite Wikipedia as a source in your academic writing , and universities often have rules against doing so.

This is partly because of concerns about its reliability, and partly because it’s a tertiary source. Tertiary sources are things like encyclopedias and databases that collect information from other sources rather than presenting their own evidence or analysis. Usually, only primary and secondary sources are cited in academic papers.

A Wikipedia citation usually includes the title of the article, “Wikipedia” and/or “Wikimedia Foundation,” the date the article was last updated, and the URL.

In APA Style , you’ll give the URL of the current revision of the article so that you’re sure the reader accesses the same version as you.

There’s some disagreement about whether Wikipedia can be considered a reliable source . Because it can be edited by anyone, many people argue that it’s easy for misleading information to be added to an article without the reader knowing.

Others argue that because Wikipedia articles cite their sources , and because they are worked on by so many editors, misinformation is generally removed quickly.

However, most universities state that you shouldn’t cite Wikipedia in your writing.

Hanging indents are used in reference lists in various citation styles to allow the reader to easily distinguish between entries.

You should apply a hanging indent to your reference entries in APA , MLA , and Chicago style.

A hanging indent is used to indent all lines of a paragraph except the first.

When you create a hanging indent, the first line of the paragraph starts at the border. Each subsequent line is indented 0.5 inches (1.27 cm).

APA and MLA style both use parenthetical in-text citations to cite sources and include a full list of references at the end, but they differ in other ways:

• APA in-text citations include the author name, date, and page number (Taylor, 2018, p. 23), while MLA in-text citations include only the author name and page number (Taylor 23).
• The APA reference list is titled “References,” while MLA’s version is called “ Works Cited .”
• The reference entries differ in terms of formatting and order of information.
• APA requires a title page , while MLA requires a header instead.

A parenthetical citation in Chicago author-date style includes the author’s last name, the publication date, and, if applicable, the relevant page number or page range in parentheses . Include a comma after the year, but not after the author’s name.

For example: (Swan 2003, 6)

To automatically generate accurate Chicago references, you can use Scribbr’s free Chicago reference generator .

APA Style distinguishes between parenthetical and narrative citations.

In parenthetical citations , you include all relevant source information in parentheses at the end of the sentence or clause: “Parts of the human body reflect the principles of tensegrity (Levin, 2002).”

In narrative citations , you include the author’s name in the text itself, followed by the publication date in parentheses: “Levin (2002) argues that parts of the human body reflect the principles of tensegrity.”

In a parenthetical citation in MLA style , include the author’s last name and the relevant page number or range in parentheses .

For example: (Eliot 21)

A parenthetical citation gives credit in parentheses to a source that you’re quoting or paraphrasing . It provides relevant information such as the author’s name, the publication date, and the page number(s) cited.

How you use parenthetical citations will depend on your chosen citation style . It will also depend on the type of source you are citing and the number of authors.

APA does not permit the use of ibid. This is because APA in-text citations are parenthetical and there’s no need to shorten them further.

Ibid. may be used in Chicago footnotes or endnotes .

Write “Ibid.” alone when you are citing the same page number and source as the previous citation.

When you are citing the same source, but a different page number, use ibid. followed by a comma and the relevant page number(s). For example:

• Ibid., 40–42.

Only use ibid . if you are directing the reader to a previous full citation of a source .

Ibid. only refers to the previous citation. Therefore, you should only use ibid. directly after a citation that you want to repeat.

Ibid. is an abbreviation of the Latin “ibidem,” meaning “in the same place.” Ibid. is used in citations to direct the reader to the previous source.

Signal phrases can be used in various ways and can be placed at the beginning, middle, or end of a sentence.

To use signal phrases effectively, include:

• The name of the scholar(s) or study you’re referencing
• An attributive tag such as “according to” or “argues that”
• The quote or idea you want to include

Different citation styles require you to use specific verb tenses when using signal phrases.

• APA Style requires you to use the past or present perfect tense when using signal phrases.
• MLA and Chicago requires you to use the present tense when using signal phrases.

Signal phrases allow you to give credit for an idea or quote to its author or originator. This helps you to:

• Establish the credentials of your sources
• Display your depth of reading and understanding of the field
• Position your own work in relation to other scholars
• Avoid plagiarism

A signal phrase is a group of words that ascribes a quote or idea to an outside source.

Signal phrases distinguish the cited idea or argument from your own writing and introduce important information including the source of the material that you are quoting , paraphrasing , or summarizing . For example:

“ Cognitive psychologist Steven Pinker (1994) insists that humans possess an innate faculty for comprehending grammar.”

If you’re quoting from a text that paraphrases or summarizes other sources and cites them in parentheses , APA and Chicago both recommend retaining the citations as part of the quote. However, MLA recommends omitting citations within a quote:

• APA: Smith states that “the literature on this topic (Jones, 2015; Sill, 2019; Paulson, 2020) shows no clear consensus” (Smith, 2019, p. 4).
• MLA: Smith states that “the literature on this topic shows no clear consensus” (Smith, 2019, p. 4).

Footnote or endnote numbers that appear within quoted text should be omitted in all styles.

If you want to cite an indirect source (one you’ve only seen quoted in another source), either locate the original source or use the phrase “as cited in” in your citation.

To present information from other sources in academic writing , it’s best to paraphrase in most cases. This shows that you’ve understood the ideas you’re discussing and incorporates them into your text smoothly.

It’s appropriate to quote when:

• Changing the phrasing would distort the meaning of the original text
• You want to discuss the author’s language choices (e.g., in literary analysis )
• You’re presenting a precise definition
• You’re looking in depth at a specific claim

To paraphrase effectively, don’t just take the original sentence and swap out some of the words for synonyms. Instead, try:

• Reformulating the sentence (e.g., change active to passive , or start from a different point)
• Combining information from multiple sentences into one
• Leaving out information from the original that isn’t relevant to your point
• Using synonyms where they don’t distort the meaning

The main point is to ensure you don’t just copy the structure of the original text, but instead reformulate the idea in your own words.

“ Et al. ” is an abbreviation of the Latin term “et alia,” which means “and others.” It’s used in source citations to save space when there are too many authors to name them all.

Guidelines for using “et al.” differ depending on the citation style you’re following:

To insert endnotes in Microsoft Word, follow the steps below:

• Click on the spot in the text where you want the endnote to show up.
• In the “References” tab at the top, select “Insert Endnote.”
• Type whatever text you want into the endnote.

If you need to change the type of notes used in a Word document from footnotes to endnotes , or the other way around, follow these steps:

• Open the “References” tab, and click the arrow in the bottom-right corner of the “Footnotes” section.
• In the pop-up window, click on “Convert…”
• Choose the option you need, and click “OK.”

To insert a footnote automatically in a Word document:

• Click on the point in the text where the footnote should appear
• Select the “References” tab at the top and then click on “Insert Footnote”
• Type the text you want into the footnote that appears at the bottom of the page

Footnotes are notes indicated in your text with numbers and placed at the bottom of the page. They’re used to provide:

• Citations (e.g., in Chicago notes and bibliography )
• Additional information that would disrupt the flow of the main text

Be sparing in your use of footnotes (other than citation footnotes), and consider whether the information you’re adding is relevant for the reader.

Footnotes appear at the bottom of the page they refer to. This is convenient for the reader but may cause your text to look cluttered if there are a lot of footnotes.

Endnotes appear all together at the end of the whole text. This may be less convenient for the reader but reduces clutter.

Both footnotes and endnotes are used in the same way: to cite sources or add extra information. You should usually choose one or the other to use in your text, not both.

An in-text citation is an acknowledgement you include in your text whenever you quote or paraphrase a source. It usually gives the author’s last name, the year of publication, and the page number of the relevant text. In-text citations allow the reader to look up the full source information in your reference list and see your sources for themselves.

If you are reusing content or data you used in a previous assignment, make sure to cite yourself. You can cite yourself just as you would cite any other source: simply follow the directions for that source type in the citation style you are using.

Keep in mind that reusing your previous work can be considered self-plagiarism , so make sure you ask your professor or consult your university’s handbook before doing so.

A credible source should pass the CRAAP test  and follow these guidelines:

• The information should be up to date and current.
• The author and publication should be a trusted authority on the subject you are researching.
• The sources the author cited should be easy to find, clear, and unbiased.
• For a web source, the URL and layout should signify that it is trustworthy.

Peer review is a process of evaluating submissions to an academic journal. Utilizing rigorous criteria, a panel of reviewers in the same subject area decide whether to accept each submission for publication. For this reason, academic journals are often considered among the most credible sources you can use in a research project– provided that the journal itself is trustworthy and well-regarded.

Academic dishonesty can be intentional or unintentional, ranging from something as simple as claiming to have read something you didn’t to copying your neighbor’s answers on an exam.

You can commit academic dishonesty with the best of intentions, such as helping a friend cheat on a paper. Severe academic dishonesty can include buying a pre-written essay or the answers to a multiple-choice test, or falsifying a medical emergency to avoid taking a final exam.

Academic dishonesty refers to deceitful or misleading behavior in an academic setting. Academic dishonesty can occur intentionally or unintentionally, and varies in severity.

It can encompass paying for a pre-written essay, cheating on an exam, or committing plagiarism . It can also include helping others cheat, copying a friend’s homework answers, or even pretending to be sick to miss an exam.

Academic dishonesty doesn’t just occur in a classroom setting, but also in research and other academic-adjacent fields.

To apply a hanging indent to your reference list or Works Cited list in Word or Google Docs, follow the steps below.

Microsoft Word:

• Highlight the whole list and right click to open the Paragraph options.
• Under Indentation > Special , choose Hanging from the dropdown menu.
• Set the indent to 0.5 inches or 1.27cm.

Google Docs:

• Highlight the whole list and click on Format >  Align and indent >  Indentation options .
• Under  Special indent , choose Hanging from the dropdown menu.

When the hanging indent is applied, for each reference, every line except the first is indented. This helps the reader see where one entry ends and the next begins.

For a published interview (whether in video , audio, or print form ), you should always include a citation , just as you would for any other source.

For an interview you conducted yourself , formally or informally, you often don’t need a citation and can just refer to it in the text or in a footnote , since the reader won’t be able to look them up anyway. MLA , however, still recommends including citations for your own interviews.

The main elements included in a newspaper interview citation across APA , MLA , and Chicago style are the names of the interviewer and interviewee, the interview title, the publication date, the name of the newspaper, and a URL (for online sources).

The information is presented differently in different citation styles. One key difference is that APA advises listing the interviewer in the author position, while MLA and Chicago advise listing the interviewee first.

The elements included in a newspaper article citation across APA , MLA , and Chicago style are the author name, the article title, the publication date, the newspaper name, and the URL if the article was accessed online .

In APA and MLA, the page numbers of the article appear in place of the URL if the article was accessed in print. No page numbers are used in Chicago newspaper citations.

Untitled sources (e.g. some images ) are usually cited using a short descriptive text in place of the title. In APA Style , this description appears in brackets: [Chair of stained oak]. In MLA and Chicago styles, no brackets are used: Chair of stained oak.

For social media posts, which are usually untitled, quote the initial words of the post in place of the title: the first 160 characters in Chicago , or the first 20 words in APA . E.g. Biden, J. [@JoeBiden]. “The American Rescue Plan means a $7,000 check for a single mom of four. It means more support to safely.”

MLA recommends quoting the full post for something short like a tweet, and just describing the post if it’s longer.

The main elements included in image citations across APA , MLA , and Chicago style are the name of the image’s creator, the image title, the year (or more precise date) of publication, and details of the container in which the image was found (e.g. a museum, book , website ).

In APA and Chicago style, it’s standard to also include a description of the image’s format (e.g. “Photograph” or “Oil on canvas”). This sort of information may be included in MLA too, but is not mandatory.

The main elements included in a lecture citation across APA , MLA , and Chicago style are the name of the speaker, the lecture title, the date it took place, the course or event it was part of, and the institution it took place at.

For transcripts or recordings of lectures/speeches, other details like the URL, the name of the book or website , and the length of the recording may be included instead of information about the event and institution.

The main elements included in a YouTube video citation across APA , MLA , and Chicago style are the name of the author/uploader, the title of the video, the publication date, and the URL.

The format in which this information appears is different for each style.

All styles also recommend using timestamps as a locator in the in-text citation or Chicago footnote .

Each annotation in an annotated bibliography is usually between 50 and 200 words long. Longer annotations may be divided into paragraphs .

The content of the annotation varies according to your assignment. An annotation can be descriptive, meaning it just describes the source objectively; evaluative, meaning it assesses its usefulness; or reflective, meaning it explains how the source will be used in your own research .

Any credible sources on your topic can be included in an annotated bibliography . The exact sources you cover will vary depending on the assignment, but you should usually focus on collecting journal articles and scholarly books . When in doubt, utilize the CRAAP test !

An annotated bibliography is an assignment where you collect sources on a specific topic and write an annotation for each source. An annotation is a short text that describes and sometimes evaluates the source.

The elements included in journal article citations across APA , MLA , and Chicago style are the name(s) of the author(s), the title of the article, the year of publication, the name of the journal, the volume and issue numbers, the page range of the article, and, when accessed online, the DOI or URL.

In MLA and Chicago style, you also include the specific month or season of publication alongside the year, when this information is available.

In APA , MLA , and Chicago style citations for sources that don’t list a specific author (e.g. many websites ), you can usually list the organization responsible for the source as the author.

If the organization is the same as the website or publisher, you shouldn’t repeat it twice in your reference:

• In APA and Chicago, omit the website or publisher name later in the reference.
• In MLA, omit the author element at the start of the reference, and cite the source title instead.

If there’s no appropriate organization to list as author, you will usually have to begin the citation and reference entry with the title of the source instead.

The main elements included in website citations across APA , MLA , and Chicago style are the author, the date of publication, the page title, the website name, and the URL. The information is presented differently in each style.

When you want to cite a specific passage in a source without page numbers (e.g. an e-book or website ), all the main citation styles recommend using an alternate locator in your in-text citation . You might use a heading or chapter number, e.g. (Smith, 2016, ch. 1)

In APA Style , you can count the paragraph numbers in a text to identify a location by paragraph number. MLA and Chicago recommend that you only use paragraph numbers if they’re explicitly marked in the text.

For audiovisual sources (e.g. videos ), all styles recommend using a timestamp to show a specific point in the video when relevant.

The abbreviation “ et al. ” (Latin for “and others”) is used to shorten citations of sources with multiple authors.

“Et al.” is used in APA in-text citations of sources with 3+ authors, e.g. (Smith et al., 2019). It is not used in APA reference entries .

Use “et al.” for 3+ authors in MLA in-text citations and Works Cited entries.

Use “et al.” for 4+ authors in a Chicago in-text citation , and for 10+ authors in a Chicago bibliography entry.

Check if your university or course guidelines specify which citation style to use. If the choice is left up to you, consider which style is most commonly used in your field.

• APA Style is the most popular citation style, widely used in the social and behavioral sciences.
• MLA style is the second most popular, used mainly in the humanities.
• Chicago notes and bibliography style is also popular in the humanities, especially history.
• Chicago author-date style tends to be used in the sciences.

Other more specialized styles exist for certain fields, such as Bluebook and OSCOLA for law.

The most important thing is to choose one style and use it consistently throughout your text.

The main elements included in all book citations across APA , MLA , and Chicago style are the author, the title, the year of publication, and the name of the publisher. A page number is also included in in-text citations to highlight the specific passage cited.

In Chicago style and in the 6th edition of APA Style , the location of the publisher is also included, e.g. London: Penguin.

A block quote is a long quote formatted as a separate “block” of text. Instead of using quotation marks , you place the quote on a new line, and indent the entire quote to mark it apart from your own words.

The rules for when to apply block quote formatting depend on the citation style:

• APA block quotes are 40 words or longer.
• MLA block quotes are more than 4 lines of prose or 3 lines of poetry.
• Chicago block quotes are longer than 100 words.

In academic writing , there are three main situations where quoting is the best choice:

• To analyze the author’s language (e.g., in a literary analysis essay )
• To give evidence from primary sources
• To accurately present a precise definition or argument

Don’t overuse quotes; your own voice should be dominant. If you just want to provide information from a source, it’s usually better to paraphrase or summarize .

Every time you quote a source , you must include a correctly formatted in-text citation . This looks slightly different depending on the citation style .

For example, a direct quote in APA is cited like this: “This is a quote” (Streefkerk, 2020, p. 5).

Every in-text citation should also correspond to a full reference at the end of your paper.

A quote is an exact copy of someone else’s words, usually enclosed in quotation marks and credited to the original author or speaker.

The DOI is usually clearly visible when you open a journal article on an academic database. It is often listed near the publication date, and includes “doi.org” or “DOI:”. If the database has a “cite this article” button, this should also produce a citation with the DOI included.

If you can’t find the DOI, you can search on Crossref using information like the author, the article title, and the journal name.

A DOI is a unique identifier for a digital document. DOIs are important in academic citation because they are more permanent than URLs, ensuring that your reader can reliably locate the source.

Journal articles and ebooks can often be found on multiple different websites and databases. The URL of the page where an article is hosted can be changed or removed over time, but a DOI is linked to the specific document and never changes.

When a book’s chapters are written by different authors, you should cite the specific chapter you are referring to.

When all the chapters are written by the same author (or group of authors), you should usually cite the entire book, but some styles include exceptions to this.

• In APA Style , single-author books should always be cited as a whole, even if you only quote or paraphrase from one chapter.
• In MLA Style , if a single-author book is a collection of stand-alone works (e.g. short stories ), you should cite the individual work.
• In Chicago Style , you may choose to cite a single chapter of a single-author book if you feel it is more appropriate than citing the whole book.

Articles in newspapers and magazines can be primary or secondary depending on the focus of your research.

In historical studies, old articles are used as primary sources that give direct evidence about the time period. In social and communication studies, articles are used as primary sources to analyze language and social relations (for example, by conducting content analysis or discourse analysis ).

If you are not analyzing the article itself, but only using it for background information or facts about your topic, then the article is a secondary source.

A fictional movie is usually a primary source. A documentary can be either primary or secondary depending on the context.

If you are directly analyzing some aspect of the movie itself – for example, the cinematography, narrative techniques, or social context – the movie is a primary source.

If you use the movie for background information or analysis about your topic – for example, to learn about a historical event or a scientific discovery – the movie is a secondary source.

Whether it’s primary or secondary, always properly cite the movie in the citation style you are using. Learn how to create an MLA movie citation or an APA movie citation .

To determine if a source is primary or secondary, ask yourself:

• Was the source created by someone directly involved in the events you’re studying (primary), or by another researcher (secondary)?
• Does the source provide original information (primary), or does it summarize information from other sources (secondary)?
• Are you directly analyzing the source itself (primary), or only using it for background information (secondary)?

Some types of source are nearly always primary: works of art and literature, raw statistical data, official documents and records, and personal communications (e.g. letters, interviews ). If you use one of these in your research, it is probably a primary source.

Primary sources are often considered the most credible in terms of providing evidence for your argument, as they give you direct evidence of what you are researching. However, it’s up to you to ensure the information they provide is reliable and accurate.

Always make sure to properly cite your sources to avoid plagiarism .

Common examples of secondary sources include academic books, journal articles , reviews, essays , and textbooks.

Anything that summarizes, evaluates or interprets primary sources can be a secondary source. If a source gives you an overview of background information or presents another researcher’s ideas on your topic, it is probably a secondary source.

Common examples of primary sources include interview transcripts , photographs, novels, paintings, films, historical documents, and official statistics.

Anything you directly analyze or use as first-hand evidence can be a primary source, including qualitative or quantitative data that you collected yourself.

The Scribbr Citation Generator is developed using the open-source Citation Style Language (CSL) project and Frank Bennett’s citeproc-js . It’s the same technology used by dozens of other popular citation tools, including Mendeley and Zotero.

You can find all the citation styles and locales used in the Scribbr Citation Generator in our publicly accessible repository on Github .

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Using and Incorporating Sources

How to quote and paraphrase:  an overview.

Writers quote and paraphrase from research in order to support their points and to persuade their readers.  A quotation or a paraphrase from a piece of evidence in support of a point answers the reader’s question, “Says who?”

This impact is especially true in academic writing since scholarly readers are most persuaded by effective research and evidence.  For example, readers of an article about a new cancer medication published in a medical journal will be most interested in the scholar’s research and statistics that demonstrate the effectiveness of the treatment.  Conversely, they will not be as persuaded by emotional stories from individual patients about how a new cancer medication improved the quality of their lives.  While this appeal to emotion can be effective and is common in popular sources, these individual anecdotes do not carry the same scholarly or scientific value as well-reasoned research and evidence.

Of course, your instructor is not expecting you to be an expert yet on the topic of your research paper.  While you might conduct some primary research, it’s a good bet that you’ll be relying on secondary sources such as books, articles, and websites to inform and persuade your readers.  You’ll present this research to your readers in the form of quotations and paraphrases.

A quotation is a direct restatement of the exact words from the original source.  The general rule of thumb is any time you use three or more words as they appeared in the original source, you should treat it as a quotation.  A paraphrase is a restatement of the information or point of the original source in your own words with your own syntax.

While quotations and paraphrases are different and should be used in different ways in your research writing (as the examples in this section suggest), they do have a number of things in common.  Both quotations and paraphrases should:

• be introduced to the reader, particularly the first time you mention a source;
• include an account of the evidence that explains to the reader why you think the evidence is important, especially if it is not apparent from the context of the quotation or paraphrase; and
• include a proper citation of the source.

The method you should follow to properly quote or paraphrase depends on the style guide you are following in your academic writing.  The two most common style guides used in academic writing are APA (American Psychological Association) and MLA (Modern Language Association). Your instructor will probably assign one of these styles before you begin working on your project; however, if he/she doesn’t mention this, be sure to ask.

• Quoting, Paraphrasing, and Avoiding Plagiarism. Authored by : Steven D. Krause . Located at : http://www.stevendkrause.com/tprw/chapter3.html . License : CC BY-NC: Attribution-NonCommercial

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Is 15% Plagiarism a Lot? What Percentage of Plagiarism is Acceptable?

• October 31, 2023

Plagiarism is an offense that can have dire consequences. Academic and professional writing values originality. What’s acceptable? Is 15% plagiarism a lot? This blog discusses good plagiarism percentages, opinions, and policies. This article will help you understand plagiarism, avoid it, and create original work.

Intentional vs. Unintentional Plagiarism

There is a difference between intentional and unintentional plagiarism. Deliberate plagiarism is when someone knowingly copies another person’s work and presents it as their own. In contrast, accidental plagiarism is when someone unknowingly uses someone else’s work without proper citation [ 1 ].

Examples of unintentional plagiarism include paraphrasing without proper citation or using common phrases without attribution. These types of plagiarism may happen because the author must be unaware of the correct citation format or need help paraphrasing without copying too closely [ 2 ].

Understanding Plagiarism Percentages

Understanding how plagiarism percentages are calculated is necessary to determine how much is acceptable and minimize it. Online Plagiarism checker detect similarities between a submitted text and other sources and calculate a similarity score. This score represents the percentage of text that matches other sources. 

Differentiating between similarity and plagiarism is crucial. Not all similarities constitute plagiarism, since common phrases or coincidental word choices account for some similarities. If a paper includes a lot of commonly used phrases or words, it may show up with a high similarity score. Still, this doesn’t necessarily mean that the paper is guilty of plagiarism [ 3 ].

If the matching text is one continuous block of borrowed material, even a 15% similarity score can be considered plagiarism. This kind of plagiarism is more severe than when several short phrases are similar. It’s essential to understand that the higher the similarity score, the more likely it is that the paper has plagiarism [ 4 ].

What Percentage of Plagiarism is Acceptable?

You may wonder what plagiarism percentage is acceptable as a writer or student. Unfortunately, there is no straightforward answer to this question, as acceptable levels of plagiarism can vary depending on the industry and institution.

The context of the writing assignment is also a key factor to consider. In some cases, a higher percentage of plagiarism may be deemed acceptable. For example, a higher rate of similarity may be allowed in research papers due to the inclusion of common references or quotes.

It is essential to recognize that there is no universally accepted standard for what percentage of plagiarism is acceptable. It is crucial to check with your instructor or employer to determine their policies and standards [ 5 ]. 

Is 15% Plagiarism a Lot?

A 15% or less similarity index is considered acceptable in academic settings. However, in professional settings, the standards for acceptable levels of plagiarism are typically stricter. Many industries require writers to maintain a 5-10% similarity index or even lower [ 6 ]. 

Is 20% Plagiarism a Lot?

In some situations, a 20% plagiarism rate may be acceptable, depending on the context of the writing and the work setting. For instance, a medical research paper with a 20% plagiarism rate may be unacceptable, while a news article with the same percentage could be more acceptable [ 6 ].

Turnitin Acceptable Plagiarism

Turnitin flags any content with a similarity score ranging from 1% to 24% as green, which falls in the acceptable range. This classification allows for reviewing and editing the text to eliminate even this level of similarity [ 7 ][ 8 ].

SafeAssign Acceptable Plagiarism

SafeAssign, on the other hand, considers 15% or lower similarity score as an acceptable level of plagiarism [ 9 ].

In conclusion, while a 15% plagiarism rate may be acceptable in some academic settings, it is advisable to aim for a lower similarity percentage. It is essential to keep in mind that different industries and institutions have other policies and that the context of the writing assignment matters. The key is to be vigilant about plagiarism and strive to produce original work.

Why is 0% Plagiarism Ideal?

Plagiarism is considered intellectual theft in academic and professional settings and can harm reputation and credibility. To avoid these consequences, striving for 0% plagiarism and following proper citation practices is essential.

Finally, plagiarism is unacceptable whether it is 15%, 20%, or 25%. Intellectual honesty and ethical writing practices are essential for the success of your writing [ 10 ].

Avoiding Plagiarism

Plagiarism is a serious academic offense. It can ruin your reputation as a student or writer. Is there a limit to plagiarism? 15% plagiarism—is that a lot? Plagiarism is unacceptable in any way.

To minimize unintended plagiarism, follow these guidelines:

• Use plagiarism checkers to verify your work is original.
• Cite your sources in the correct style.

This requires acknowledging the source of information, whether it’s a book, journal article, website, or personal correspondence.

To avoid plagiarism, good habits are essential. These include taking correct notes, paraphrasing information, and resisting the urge to copy and paste. Always attempt to create creative work that reflects your thoughts and ideas.

It’s also important to know what audiences and institutions expect. Citation and referencing requirements vary by field. Discuss any questions with your instructor or supervisor.

There are plenty of resources available to assist you in avoiding plagiarism, such as writing centers or academic integrity guides. Feel free to seek help if you need clarification on any aspect of the writing process.

Remember, plagiarism of any kind is not worth the risk. It’s best to produce original, high-quality work highlighting your ideas and contributions [ 11 ].

This article discusses plagiarism, its types, how it is calculated, and what plagiarism percentage is acceptable in academic and professional settings. It also provides tips on how to avoid plagiarism, such as taking correct notes, paraphrasing information, and resisting the urge to copy and paste. 

Additionally, it recommends seeking help from resources such as writing centers or academic integrity guides and discussing any questions with instructors or supervisors. Plagiarism, in any form or percentage, is not acceptable. 

Originality and Creativity are crucial to producing high-quality work. If you’re a student or professional writer, take plagiarism seriously and aim for 0% plagiarism in your work.

How can I make sure my work is original?

Use plagiarism checker tools to ensure your work is original, properly cite your sources, and paraphrase information. It’s also essential to take careful notes and avoid copying and pasting from other sources.

What is self-plagiarism, and is it considered plagiarism?

Self-plagiarism is when an author reuses their previous work without proper citation or permission. While self-plagiarism is not illegal, it is considered unethical and can harm the integrity and credibility of the work.

Can I use someone else’s ideas without citing them?

No, you must cite sources when using someone else’s ideas, even if you paraphrase or summarize them. Failing to cite sources can result in plagiarism when using other people’s ideas.

Is plagiarism acceptable in research papers?

Plagiarism is never acceptable in any type of writing, including research papers. However, the fair percentage of similarity may be higher due to the inclusion of standard references or quotes.

What are some common examples of plagiarism?

Examples of plagiarism include:

• Copying and pasting from a source without citation.
• Paraphrasing too closely without citation.
• Submitting someone else’s work as your own.

Can you plagiarize images or videos?

Yes, using images, videos, and other multimedia without permission or proper citation can constitute plagiarism.

• Intentional & Unintentional Plagiarism – Citing Sources – LibGuides at Holy Family University
• Difference Between Unintentional and Intentional Plagiarism | Cram
• https://www.editage.com/insights/what-is-the-acceptable-percentage-of-plagiarism-report
• What is an acceptable percentage of plagiarism? (scribbr.com)
• https://www.remodelormove.com/how-long-until-im-not-shadowbanned/
• How much % of plagiarism is allowed? Will my references be excluded? | ResearchGate
• Acceptable plagiarism Percentage: Turnitin or SafeAssign in College (learnpar.com)
• https://eat.scedt.tees.ac.uk/bb8content/resources/recipes/interpretTurnitin.pdf
• https://gradebees.com/read-safeassign-scores-how-accurate/
• How Much Plagiarism Is Allowed in Academic Papers? — EduBirdie.com
• Why is Plagiarism Less than 19% allowed? Is there any logic of 19%? | ResearchGate

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Acceptable Turnitin Similarity: How much is too much Percentage

Acceptable Turnitin Similarity

The question of acceptable Turnitin similarity and how much percentage is too much arises when your paper contains copied content. Any student needs to know the best Turnitin similarity index, especially when you want to escape any issues with your professor.

First and foremost, let us know what Turnitin is. It is an online tool used for checking plagiarism in submitted documents and displays what percentage of plagiarism your assignment has. All this is processed and presented as a report with percentages.

This is really where our focus question arises from. In this post, we delve into this issue in detail.

Turnitin Similarity how Much is too Much

The Turnitin similarity of 20% and above is too much because it illustrates that a fifth of your paper’s content was copied and not original.

However, this varies with universities due to different referencing and citation guidelines. But with no universally specified similarity score, the widely acceptable Turnitin percentage is less than 10%

For example, a doctorate original dissertation reference should be less than 10% to consider the literature review in which direct quotes that are quoted properly from an expert’s subject matter will most likely occur.

However, in the case of a dissertation, you will be requested to synthesize material, after which you generate your information so that the content is primarily original.

On the other hand, a master’s thesis can be allowed up to 20% since the larger part of the paper is heavily dependent on existing authorities.

If you take an example of an essay like literature, a plagiarism score of 5 % and below would be acceptable.

When writing a publication manuscript, there should be a very little amount of plagiarism, like 5-7%, apart from the few quotations with proper citations. However, it should be noted that all is not about a low score.

While having a 0% score is ideal, sometimes there are scores due to unavoidable content or phrases. Therefore, many people still want to know which Turnitin score is safe for them to submit their assignments.

Turnitin Similarity varies from one University to Another

The acceptable plagiarism score varies from university to university because of the differences in the plagiarism policies they use to administer their testing procedures.

Some universities are more strict than others because they adopt different citation and referencing rules.

This is because determining the acceptable similarity index is the role of examiners or supervisors and the institutions’ prerogative. They decide if or if not, the presented document is plagiarized and how much plagiarism is committed.

The reason is that Turnitin highlights all the matching materials in a paper. Just like SafeAssign, Turnitin flags off all matching content. However, you can cheat Turnitin and SafeAssign by cleverly uploading your task or paraphrasing content to avoid a plagiarism score.

Why a Little Plagiarism is Good

A little plagiarism is good because it indicates that a paper is well-researched and contains external information from other writers and sources. It is impossible to write a paper with external sources and fail to have a few matching tests to give low scores on the scanner.

A plagiarism score of between 1% and 10 is really good. In fact, we encourage writers to use external sources to back up their arguments, which is why good quality and well-researched papers will always have some low plagiarism.

For this reason, some scholars argue that little plagiarism is healthy. However, if plagiarism goes beyond 25, it is bad and should be corrected.

While some educational institutions allow up to 40% for well-referenced papers, we do not allow anything above 15% as a matter of precaution. We only allow anything higher in cases where it is unavoidable.

The cases of unavoidable plagiarism include the names of books, government bodies, and organizations.

When such are repeated many times in a paper, the paper can show a high score of plagiarism yet no copy-pasting was done.

What Percentage of Turnitin is bad?

A Turnitin similarity score is considered bad if it is beyond 30% on the originality report and the matching content is not cited and referenced.

While the exact bad score varies with different universities, anything beyond 49 is generally considered unacceptable since it shows that you copied too much from the internet or other sources.

The Turnitin score tells how much you have copied. If you have a report you deem bad, you must remove the plagiarism. Supposing you are writing an essay, a term paper, a research paper, a thesis, or a report, you can apply two ways in which to reduce the plagiarism score;

• One is paraphrasing the source content; however, this approach could omit some important details since you are trying to avoid plagiarism. You need to paraphrase well and retain the points.
• Two is by summarizing in your own words the source material; this will make your professor happy since you understood the source and wrote the paper in your own words; hence you will have 0% plagiarism because summarizing is all your own words.

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The Acceptable Percentage for Turnitin

The widely acceptable Turnitin percentage is 15% and below. However, there is no universally specified similarity score because plagiarism policies vary with institutions.

Some universities accept Turnitin scores of 10%, others entertain as high as 45% if the sources are well cited.

No matter the accepted score, anything above 20% is just too much plagiarism and shows a lot of copying.

Turnitin has no acceptable plagiarism percentage; however, this could vary with your university’s guidelines. If your university’s guidelines and assessment file states 100% original, it must be 100% original — no buts or ifs.

In case the plagiarism report reads above 10% similarity. Your paper will get grades with negative scores for plagiarism if your school’s acceptable percentage for Turnitin is 10%.

However, if your professor permits a range of 5% plagiarism against the norms of the university, then you will be fine with your assignment.

What contributes to the Acceptable Percentage of Plagiarism?

For very strict institutions, a single plagiarized sentence will result in being charged with violating the academic integrity policy of your school.

The percentage rating given by Turnitin is simply a guide for the score of similar content copied from other sources.

It enables the professors to determine how much of the student’s work is original.

However, a custom essay with a low percentage of plagiarism on a paper is still unacceptable, and an essay with a high percentage could be Ok.

This is determined if the high percentage is a result of the wrong settings of Turnitin in such a way that properly quoted material is flagged as plagiarized mistakenly.

References also contribute to a good and acceptable similarity score. It is worth noting that the Turnitin percentage is always 0 when no external sources are used as references.

However, whenever you use sources, you will always have a low similarity score of either 5% or less than 10% utmost. In fact, a 0% score is not healthy for a research paper because it indicates that no sources were used to back up the arguments/points/findings presented

Why is your Turnitin Similarity Index too high?

Turnitin highlights the similarities of your content to other sources; it doesn’t determine if your paper is plagiarized; that is the assessor’s prerogative.

The assessor determines if the similar text is attributed accurately and quoted correctly. The context is very important; however, Turnitin doesn’t account for context.

 In many cases, a high similarity index is usually due to either or a combination of the following:

1. Not Crediting the Source

 You are copying every word from some other source without including the original words inside the quotation marks and including a citation about the source of the original text. Although you put the ideas from a particular source in your own words, you have to credit the source.

2. Paraphrasing too Closely, Although you Credit the Source

You can’t take ideas from some other text, even if you put them into your words, and fail to cite the source. However, there is another kind of plagiarism when you paraphrase someone else’s work.

When you put ideas and words in a different order from the original text and mix your original words, you will still plagiarize, although you cite the source.

3. Using Statistics without Crediting the Source

Statistics, charts, or tables inside a text are the property of whoever created them. And from this fact, you must credit the original creator in your text.

There is an oratorical advantage when you cite the source because an author has reached statistics that support your claims in your paper, strengthening your argument.

4. Using Photographs/ Images without Citing Sources

The practice is similar to identifying a figure or a table. If you take someone else’s photograph and place it in your text, and write a description, to make it apply to your paper and show a point you will be arguing without acknowledging the source is plagiarism.

Even when you have taken a photograph, it is advisable to cite yourself since you are the creator, and the source will be clear to all readers.

5. Copying or Buying Someone else’s Paper

It is obvious that hiring someone to write your essay is plagiarism, and copying someone else’s work is equally bad. This raises the safety issue when buying essays or from someone else. This can also happen by contracting essay-writing services to do your assignment

Copying some parts of a paper or the whole paper from old lab reports or old papers essay bank is a good example of this type of plagiarism.

6. Padding a reference list or bibliography to show that you have researched when you haven’t

Academic misconduct that mostly happens when students don’t complete their assignments and leave them till the last moment, especially when their professors have requested that they include various articles and books in their reference list.

If you face this problem, you can easily learn to put your paper in APA for free or ask our editors for some help.

How to Reduce Similarity on Turnitin for your Essay

In most cases, it’s impossible to reduce plagiarism alerts on Turnitin. However, you can decrease it by following these steps to make sure your essay is free of plagiarism:

1. Paraphrase your Content

If you have found information that suits your research paper, read and understand it, then put it in your own words.

Ensure you do not write the above two words consecutively from the text you found.

In case you write the above four words in a row, it is advisable to use quotation marks.

2. Cite your Sources

Citing is the most effective way to avoid plagiarism. Follow the formatting guidelines of the document, such as MLA, APA, or Chicago, used by your college. Citing a quote is different from citing paraphrased material.

This practice involves adding a page number or adding a paragraph number when writing web content. To ensure a better score, get someone to format the paper for you if you do not know these referencing styles,

3. Properly use Quotation Marks

You must use quotation marks when you write a quote exactly as it appears from the source. No one likes to be misquoted. A scholar must be able to paraphrase most material effectively.

The process takes time, but the efforts are rewarding. Quoting should be done well to be free of plagiarism allegations.

4. Referencing your sources

The most effective way to avoid plagiarism is by adding a page of cited works or reference pages at the end of a research paper.

Also the page should also meet the formatting guidelines of referencing used by your college.

Difference between Similarity and Plagiarism

There is a difference between similarity and plagiarism. The teacher defines plagiarism as making a judgment that someone copied. Similarity, on the other hand, is the matching of content with another, as shown by the scanner’s report

Scanners like Turnitin and SafeAssign cannot scan for plagiarism; they only scan for similarity. It is from the similarity report that a professor can judge whether there is plagiarism or not.

Those two are different, and a similarity score does not imply plagiarism. Sometimes, you can get a false positive, where Turnitin says you plagiarized but didn’t , which needs the intervention of your teacher.

In most cases, some systems can have errors occasionally and scan the references. If the match is on the references, that is not considered plagiarism.

Final Take: Avoid Plagiarism at all cost

Turnitin is a plagiarism detection tool that detects the plagiarized content in your paper. It is always advisable for students to stay away from plagiarism by following the steps given in this write-up.

To avoid issues with your instructor, it is important that you know the acceptable percentage for Turnitin. This will help you know how much plagiarism is allowed for your essay in your institution.

However, if you are not confident that you will write an original paper, you can contact us to help with your essay and guarantee an original paper. NO PLAGIARISM HERE.

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FAQs on Acceptable Plagiarism Percentage

What does it mean when turnitin says 0 similarity.

A Turnitin similarity of 0% means that you did not copy anything from online sources word for word or directly. While it shows your work is original, it may also indicate your prowess in paraphrasing.

You might have copied but paraphrased to cheat Turnitin. As it is recommended by academic writing experts, it is ideal to have a 0% plagiarized paper if you want to score higher. However,

Is a little plagiarism good? If so, why and how little is too little?

A little plagiarism is good because it shows you included ideas and arguments from other writers or credible sources. A 0 score may indicate a lack of resourced content since a little plagiarism shows that you researched well. However, it should be noted that what is liked is a little plagiarism but not a lot. Anything less than 5-10% is good if well referenced and cited using the right referencing formats like APA, MLA, and Chicago. A little is good but not too much.

How do I remove similarity from Turnitin?

Ideally, the best way to remove similarity from the Turnitin score for your paper is to rewrite the affected content. You can read and understand the content, then write from your mind.

The other best way is to paraphrase the affected areas. Be sure to cite and reference the sources of your content properly.

Does Turnitin count References

Ideally, Turnitin does not count references because they are not part of the main content of a paper or an essay. However, this depends on your faculty/university’s settings for the plagiarism scanning system. In most cases, most universities do not allow the scanning of references. Therefore, this should not be a worry for you. Either way, references should not worry you because they are good for a paper and do not constitute plagiarism. In reality, references do not comprise the plagiarism report, even if scanned and highlighted for matching.

Watch this video to learn more about this.

Jessica Kasen is experienced in academic writing and academic assistance. She is well versed in academia and has a master’s degree in education. Kasen consults with us in helping students improve their grades. She also oversights the quality of work done by our writers.

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How much plagiarism is allowed?

The world is constantly changing, and so are our beliefs about it. That is why we need to establish an independent mindset and critical thinking to rely on. Originality in our manifestation, including writing, is a crucial part of it. That is why educators and content creators need to check their papers for similarity to avoid plagiarism.

What percentage of plagiarism is acceptable ? The question is worth 10.3 billion search results. Well, to those looking for a simple answer: no, there’s no single benchmark. Or could zero plagiarism count? Different universities, colleges, and high schools have different standards. What is good and allowed for one, will be a red flag for another one.

Mostly, no more than 20% of text coincidence can be tolerated, while more means the text is not original. Although, even if that 20% is just a single copy-pasted piece of text, it’s considered borrowed.

What percentage of plagiarism is acceptable in university

How much plagiarism is allowed also depends on the type of the paper. The acceptable percentage varies within the limit of the mentioned 20%. Each case is individual, and the educational institution, the teacher, and the nature of the detected similarities should be taken into account. However, obviously, how much plagiarism is allowed in research paper differs when we talk about a regular essay or a dissertation.

One should keep in mind that the similarities found may be unintentional plagiarism. It happens that the students accidentally copy someone else’s ideas out of pure coincidence or based on the resources they have studied without realizing they are repeating the information.

That’s why if you notice plagiarism in your student’s work, it’s time to talk to them, figure out the reasons, and map the possible ways out. To help you do this, we’ve prepared a checklist you can share with your students. You can send it to them the way it is, or use it as an inspiration to create your own one—it’s up to you.

A Comprehensive Checklist on How to Avoid Plagiarism

The obvious answer is to produce original content. But cases might differ, so check out a few tips to polish your writing.

#1. Avoid Direct Quotes and Paraphrasing

First, say your goodbyes to copy-pasting or rephrasing someone else’s thoughts. Instead, read different sources of information on your topic, jot down key points, and then write their essence in your own words. Examples:

#2. Proper referencing

To err is human. Spotting and fixing the mistakes (and learning from them) can make you superhuman. Double-checking the text can enable you to find those “Oh, I’ve already read it somewhere” parts. Here, I mean that sometimes you can mimic your own style, even not knowing that.  Reviewing the same content after a while can help you have a fresh look at it and find those self-plagiarized sentences or paragraphs. It can also allow you to discover tricky referencing issues when you might have missed citing something properly. In case you don’t trust yourself, ask one of your mates to review your paper.

#4. Enriching vocabulary to avoid clichés

Another common reason for plagiarism is using the same phrases you can come across on thousands of websites. It’s not about some industry-specific terms you might desperately need in your physics, nursing, marketing, or any other assignment. I mean rather generic phrases and idioms like “as easy as a pie,” “sky’s the limit,” “sad but true,” etc. Not to mention some of them might be inappropriate for academic writing, if you overuse them, they’ll drop your content originality. To avoid that, we recommend:

• Reading more books, scientific journals, and so on to expand your general knowledge and vocabulary, as a result.
• Jotting down new words and phrases you haven’t known before and trying to use them in your speaking or writing. If applicable, of course.
• Using synonyms to eliminate tautology. You can find some good ones in the Thesaurus , or Power Thesaurus . Feel free to use those tools whenever you see some repeated words or idioms.

#5. Scanning texts with plagiarism checkers

To be on the safe side, I would advise checking your paper with specialized tools, like PlagiarismCheck.org before submitting it. This will help you make sure you’ve produced an original piece of content. A huge plus of such tools is that they can define all possible types of plagiarism, including copying your own style. For example, PlagiarismCheck.org delivers a report with highlights of the matching parts and links to the sources those pieces of text come from.

Let’s wrap it up

If we come back to our initial question: “ How much plagiarism is allowed ?”, the answer is still “None in a perfect world.” Yet, we live in reality, so up to 20% might be tolerated. We suggest minimizing even those numbers by educating your students on how to produce unique content.

Anyways, if you need to scan for plagiarism , try PlagiarismCheck.org . We’ve built it with academic integrity in mind, so it includes AI checker GPT and can spot ghostwriting by comparing student’s writing style from previous works and the current ones. And if you have any questions—be sure to get in touch with our team.

Discover how PlagiarismCheck.org can empower your workflow!

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