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Is the use of synonyms considered plagiarism?

Students, lecturers, writers, and other specialists create written papers and articles of different formats. Some beginner authors need to know how to use synonyms and paraphrase correctly. This results in risks of being accused of plagiarism.

What is synchronized plagiarism?

Synonymized plagiarism replaces certain words in the original text with synonyms. As a result, you get the exact copied text with slight alterations. The thought and structure are the same; the words are different yet similar.
Search engines would evaluate such a text as unique. However, synonymized plagiarism has its adversities:
  • It offers nothing new. There is no original idea or creativity in the synonymized content.
  • Synonymized plagiarism negatively affects the development of science and education. Universities, colleges, and schools punish students for such plagiarism.
  • Companies experience a financial loss. The texts are no different from that of the competitors. The client lands on a website but reads the same information he has seen numerous times. He is not interested and does not become a buyer.

Does plagiarism checker find a replacement by synonyms?

The author can plagiarize unintentionally. For example, he could have studied numerous sources and accidentally forgot to make a citation or reference. He could also rephrase a quote using a synonym because he may have forgotten the original or was in a hurry to decide that the idea was his.
Modern programs quickly detect synonyms. Some programs use artificial intelligence, which shows the exact percentage of plagiarism.
For example, the Skandy synonym checker protects your work from plagiarism and notifies you of incorrect citing or synonym usage.

What is the danger of using synonymous plagiarism and how to avoid it?

Although paraphrasing with synonyms is often unintended, there is a punishment for plagiarism.
After the detection of plagiarism, the student could get expelled from the university, and a specialist could get fined or fired. Any plagiarism is a gross violation of academic ethics and is considered a criminal offense if the author receives money for his work.
Here are a few tips on how to avoid plagiarism:
  1. When working with numerous sources, get a separate folder where you can store quotes you'll use. Highlight them and double-check that you specified the authors correctly.
  2. Change the sentence structure and add your idea and opinion. If you're working on an article for a blog – change the paragraph structure.
  3. Use accurate tools to check for plagiarism.
The Skandy synonym detector will specify all matching cases in your text and show the sources the phrases were taken from. You can, thus, improve your work and not stress about it.
Text author: Columbia Proof

March 29th, 2023

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