How to write a PhD dissertation without plagiary


One of the cardinal sins in writing is plagiary. Plagiarism is the act of using someone else’s ideas or words without giving them credit. It is against the law and against the rules of your school to plagiarize someone else’s work without properly citing it.

When you are doing research for your PhD dissertation, it is essential that you make sure to quote every source that you use. If the idea is not your own or the words are not your own, you have to give credit to where these ideas or words came from. When doing research, you should always take notes by stating the source that you are taking notes on. For large research papers, it is essential that every exact quote is cited properly and word for word. You can not site a source without giving the writer credit for his or her work and you can’t manipulate their words without making a notation about the changes.

Research papers require the use of resources because the idea is to find solid written proof to coincide with your ideas. The information that you learn during your research has to be cited unless it is considered common knowledge. Since it is hard to determine what is considered to be common knowledge, you should cite anything that you paraphrase and any direct quotes all of the time.

Here are some tips to ensure that you are not plagiarizing:

  1. When taking notes, write the full citation information at the top of your note paper before you write down your first note.
  2. Use index cards to write down any direct quotes that you intend to use in your paper. On the back of each index card, be sure to write down the full citation information including any page numbers. This can be used to properly cite the source if you use it later.
  3. Be aware of how to properly cite the source so that the author is given proper credit.
  4. Use a plagiarism checker if available before submitting any work. This may be available through your writing center at your school or you can find one on the internet. This will tell you exactly how much of your paper is exactly the same as another published work.

These tips should help you write your PhD dissertation without plagiarizing anyone else’s work. You wouldn’t want to spend all those months preparing this document and not receive credit because you improperly cited or forgot to cite a source.