You can employ several techniques to avoid plagiarism. At the macrolevel, some learners like to use the Turnitin Originality Report to identify parts of their paper where they may have plagiarized. If Turnitin has highlighted a section of your paper, and the highlighted text is not accompanied by a citation or common language in your discipline, you may have plagiarized.

At the microlevel, as you write, be sure to include quotation marks and/or parenthetical in-text citations any time you use someone else’s words or ideas. While the acceptable percentage of matches on your Turnitin report may vary by degree level and instructor, your goal should be to get your percentage match as low as possible. Limiting the use of direct quotes, and paraphrasing instead, can help reduce the number of matches in your essay. Consult with your instructor if you have outstanding questions about an acceptable percentage match.