Rewriting, Proofreading, Avoiding Plagiarism

Rewriting is the act of changing the sentence’s style while maintaining the original sentence’s meaning. In English, this procedure is known as paraphrasing or rewriting. During the rewriting process, additional comments are added to the text to enhance it and develop the contents and ideas.

• The original sentence/text is read multiple times until fully comprehended.
• The main idea of the sentence or text is stated in the original words after the original sentence or
text has been discarded. The source’s concept and sequence of emphasis are then rebuilt after the source’s highlighted expressions are preserved using several discourses. It is not necessary to include every element of the original sentence or text in the updated version.
• Furthermore, rewriting calls for analysis. It is possible to split certain phrases or paragraphs into two parts that each have a separate idea.
• The author’s usage of foreign terms is carefully analysed for meaning. Terms that are commonly used in the relevant field, in particular, are retained unchanged. It is not necessary to modify every
word or phrase.
• It is determined whether the rewritten section is appropriate for the original text’s style and
meaning, as well as whether the words in this section have changed or are close to the sentences in
the original sentence/text. It is regarded as plagiarism if the word order in the rewritten section is
very close to the source sentence/text.
• It is mentioned where the data come from. If a writer is cited, the name of the writer is made
explicitly visible in the clause.

Proofreading means re-reading spelling mistakes, punctuation errors, page structure, and grammatical errors in an article. Briefly and commonly, it is called proofreading. The purpose of proofreading is to enable the reader to understand the text (article, essay, story, contract, poem, deed, passport, etc.) from beginning to end clearly and unambiguously without confusion.

• Initially, review your text as a whole. While there are points in your writing that you need to
improve as a whole, it will be inefficient to make corrections on a sentence or word basis.
• After the first proofreading of your text, take a break for a while (15 minutes, one day, one week), and then do another proofreading of your text. Leaving the text for a while will help you spot errors more easily in your next review.
• Scan your text to remove unnecessary words before you start looking for errors. It is important to make clear and direct sentences.
• Know what you are looking for. Make a list for yourself by researching the most common errors during proofreading. You can also benefit from the opinions of proofreading experts on this subject.

• Study on output rather than computer screen. It should not be forgotten that some computer programs have functions that will help you find errors.
• Re-check your text by reading it aloud. In this way, you can notice problems that you missed while reading silently.
• To avoid distractions, use a white paper as a tracking tool while reading.
• Use the search function of your computer to find possible errors you may have made. Thanks to the output you get, after a detailed proofreading process, you can search for the mistakes you make on the computer and find the overlooked mistakes.
• If you are making too many mistakes, check for each area where you are likely to make mistakes. Number your possible errors in order of importance and proofread your text from the most important to the least important. With this technique, you can perform a higher quality error control, as you will focus on a different probability of error each time you scan your text.
• Finally, finish your proofreading process by checking the spelling. You can use a computer spelling checker for this, or you can check by reading word for word.

Before talking about error correction and the error correction codes that are used in writing activity, it will be beneficial to present the place of error correction in foreign language writing process in general. In recent years, there has been a lot of discussion on how to correct errors in a target language. Language learners’ errors were regarded as sins by some, and they were not allowed to make errors while learning. Language study has revealed that language learners’ errors are particularly effective as a strategy for learning a language in the error approach. Errors made by learners are accepted as a necessary element of the learning process. In fact, this strategy completely disregards explicit error correction made by teachers. This strategy does not imply that the errors should be ignored, but rather that they should be handled with care.

The use of error codes to assist students in correcting their work has been widely advocated as a useful way for facilitating error correction. It is seen to be an effective strategy for assisting students in correcting their own errors. When the related literature is examined, the importance of teachers not correcting learner errors or providing the proper answers to them right away is emphasised. Learners should be given cues so that they can remedy their own errors. This will increase their linguistic proficiency. As a result, this technique can help learners enhance their writing by rewarding good writing and allowing them to review and revise their work to make it a stronger piece of work before submitting it to the teacher.

The most widely accepted answer to the question “What is plagiarism?” is the act of a researcher or author to present someone else’s work as if it were her / his own work. In other words, plagiarism is the copying of texts or ideas without citing the source, without appropriate reference to these sources or by misreferencing, and presenting them as if they belonged to you.

If an article is discovered to be plagiarised, there are severe consequences: for example, the submitted homework or thesis may be invalidated, the individual may be dismissed from school, or the person’s title may be removed. Plagiarism is illegal, just like violating someone else’s copyright.

The main types of plagiarism can be summarised as follows:
• Self-plagiarism,
• Auto-plagiarism
• Global plagiarism
• Verbatim plagiarism, copy and paste
• Mosaic / patchwork plagiarism
• Incorrect citation
• Paraphrasing plagiarism

Self-plagiarism is the publication of your previously published article as if it were a new work, and it means the unethical reuse of this previously published work. Even if it is your own work, republishing a piece that you have already published is not regarded as an honest act and is deemed plagiarism.

Global plagiarism occurs when you copy a whole chunk of somebody else’s work and publish it as if it were your own. This might happen, for example, when someone else produces an article, homework, or master’s or doctorate thesis for you, or when you locate an internet content and copy it verbatim without crediting the source. Global plagiarism, a common kind of plagiarism, is regarded as one of the most serious sorts of plagiarism since it entails the act of purposeful and direct deception about the authorship of an academic work, and it can have severe consequences.

Mosaic plagiarism is the act of copying phrases, sections, and ideas from several sources and combining them to produce a new text. In essence, this entails minor rewriting of parts while keeping the majority of the original work’s language and structure. Although it appears to be more innocent at first look since it needs more work, especially when compared to copy-paste plagiarism, it is really regarded as more opportunistic and devious conduct. It should be noted, however, that it is easily identified by institutions and systems that check for plagiarism and similarity, such as Turnitin.

Paraphrasing is the process of restating someone else’s material such that it has the same meaning as your own words. One of the most prevalent kinds of plagiarism is changing phrases or words by paraphrasing without citing.

APA format is one of the frequently used citation formats in academic studies. Therefore, the APA format is widely used by many scientists. APA comes from the initials of the words “American Psychological Association”.

• Two-author article
Author, A., & Author, B. (2009). The name of the article is written so that only the first word of the first sentence of the study is written in capital letters. Every Word of the Journal Name Begins with a Capital Letter, 3(2), 11-22.

Articles with a DOI number
Author, A., & Author, B. (2009). The name of the article is written so that only the first word of the
first sentence of the study is written in capital letters. Every Word of the Journal Name Begins with a Capital Letter, 3(2), 11-22. doi:10.1017/0118-61443.27.2.7245

The Modern Language Association (MLA) style is one of the most commonly used citation styles in language studies, cultural studies, and other humanities. Adopting the MLA publication format aims to facilitate readers’ perception of key references in the text and access to sources, and to ensure consistency in the use of English language and formatting rules in academic studies. In this section, you will find the basic rules on how to format your academic studies according to the MLA publication style

Page margins: The margins of your document should be set to 2.5 cm (1 inch) from the top, bottom and sides.
Font: Use a legible font, such as Times New Roman, and make sure that italics appear different from the regular font.
Text formatting: Generally, 12 point font size is preferred.
Upper/lower case: The first letter of each word should be capitalised for headings.
Paragraph indent: The first words of paragraphs should be set with a 1.27 cm (1/2 inch) paragraph
indent.
Line spacing: All text should be set to double line spacing.
Page title: Author’s name and page number should be added to the top right of each page.
Citations: Citations should include the author’s name, publication year and page number and should not be separated by commas.

* Interpret appropriately instead of quoting one-to-one!

* Do not copy and paste!

* Properly accredit authors!

* Do not neglect simultaneously citing sources with your writing process!

* Utilise plagiarism check tools to see your plagiarism rate!