Avoiding Plagiarism Through Personal Statement Samples
By: Todd Long
Submitted: 2010-12-30 08:41:54 | Word Count: 481
Writing your admission essay to college can be challenging and even overwhelming, however the challenge should never motivate you to pass off someone else's work as your own. Plagiarism is a serious writing offense, and a plagiarized personal statement can cost you your acceptance at the school of your choice. Although personal statement samples can serve as an excellent guide for you, they are not meant for you to be claimed as your own work. Here are four effective tips in avoiding plagiarism in your essays for admission.
Place quotations whenever needed
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One of the most surefire ways to avoid committing plagiarism is to place quotation marks whenever necessary. If you must quote someone or use a quotation as a part of your essay, placing the right quotations will show that you are giving the right credit where it is due. This way, even if you are using the words uttered by someone else originally, you will not be accused of stealing someone else's work.
Proofread and edit your essay
Proofreading your essay for admission is another means for you to check whether you have in fact plagiarized some parts of your essay. You may have unknowingly or unintentionally plagiarized on someone else's written work without meaning to. In order to avoid committing these grave mistakes, you can always edit and proofread your essay before submitting them for admissions.
Document the right sources
In order to avoid plagiarism more easily, you can document the right sources ahead of time. This will allow you to see which information you have sourced from other authors or writers and which parts of your essay you have written on your own. Writing your personal statement can get pretty confusing, especially if you have used multiple sources and in some instances you may end up making erroneous quotations. By documenting the right sources, you will be able to attribute the needed credit to the right sources.
Strive for originality
A fresh and original personal statement will surely get the attention of its readers. This is why writing an original statement is highly suggested, if you want to impress the selections committee and not merely avoid plagiarism. Infuse some creativity into your essay to make it stand out from hundreds of other personal statements. Even though you might want to use personal statement samples as your guide, you can always choose to be more creative and to focus on originality at all times.
Whether consciously committed or otherwise, plagiarism is a serious offense which can place your personal statement at risk. Your essay for admissions is one of the most crucial requirements when it comes to applying at any specific college or university. Writing an original, interesting, and proofread composition will show you as a responsible and ideal future student and will help you earn the respect of the admissions board or committee.
