Nowadays there is so much content on the web about various topics that it feels like there is nothing new or unique left to be said.
However, although it feels like,it’s not really true.
Every person is different. They have different values, experiences, and perspectives about things. You can always write something unique about a topic because you can approach it differently than others.
By adopting your unique approach in your writing, you can ensure that your content is free of plagiarism.
Repurposing old content is a great way to ensure that your content is relevant and up-to-date. Repurposing means to take some old content, brush it up a little with more recent facts and figures and use it for something else.
In repurposing, it is important to notethat only the content you created yourself is eligible for repurposing. If you use other people’s work (without their permission) then it will be considered plagiarism.
So, considering this difference, here are some tips to avoid plagiarism and repurposing old content.
Tips to Avoid Plagiarism and Repurpose Old Content
1. Research from Many Sources
When writing content, there is a lot of research involved. You have to find a lot of relevant data related to the topic and understand it. Without such research, it is not possible to create good content.
During the research phase, you should take care to gather data from multiple sources. This serves two purposes:
- You can cross-examine the data to verify its validity.
- It prevents you from being affected by bias.
However, the most important thing it does is save you from committing plagiarism. If you only read from one source, you unconsciously start copying their blog structure and words.
This results in plagiarism.
But, when you research from multiple sources, you remain unaffected by one source. Thus, your content remains safe from duplication.
When you have researched well, you get enough knowledge to write confidently. It is usually the unconfident writer that copies others because they do not believe in themselves.
2. Use Plagiarism Detectors
There is a type of plagiarism called “Accidental Plagiarism”. As its name implies, it happens without a writer’s intention. It can occur in a writer’s work because of some reasons such as:
- Improper Citation
- Forgetting which source, the information came from
- Unconsciously imitating another writer’s words because they resonated with you
Since this type of plagiarism is unintentional, writers should always use a plagiarism checker to detect it.
Plagiarism detectors can accurately find out which part of your content matches with which source. They also underline or highlight the parts which are duplicated, so that you can have an easier time editing them.
Plagiarism checkers are essential for every writer as they can save them from potentially destroying their career.
3. Use Plagiarism Removers
Detecting plagiarism is one thing and removing it is another. Plagiarism can be removed manually after detecting it. The two simplest ways are to either remove the duplicated content completely or edit it.
This process can be made much easier by using a plagiarism remover. Plagiarism removers are tools that use artificial intelligence to rewrite text while removing plagiarism from it.
Plagiarism removers are very useful as they are more accurate as compared to humans and more efficient as well. Since they are powered by artificial intelligence, they can rewrite content in a way that is truly unique. Humans are not capable of rewriting things while simultaneously keeping track of whether their rewritten content is duplicated or not.
Hence, employing plagiarism removers can save a writer both time and effort.
4. Proper Citations
It is impossible to come up with content that is a hundred percent unique. You sometimes have to lean on other people’s work or ideas in order to support your own. However, this does not mean that you have to resort to plagiarism.
Plagiarism is when you use someone’s work without crediting them. So, as long as you give them credit, you can use other people’s work to support your own.
There are quite a few ways of crediting. The most common and effective way is to use citations and references. Citations are short, inline pieces of text that contain some of the following information depending on the format:
- Author name
- Date of publication
- Journal name
- Title of the work
All four of these pieces of information are not presented in the citation.Usually, only the author’s name and date of publication are mentioned.
This is where references come in. References and citations are a pair i.e., every source that you cite has an entry in the reference list which shows the complete info about the source.
Citations and references are usually used in academic research papers and technical documents.
Proper citations make your work free of plagiarism as they can enable you to credit to the original author. You should take care to not incorrectly cite anything as that counts as “source-based” plagiarism.
5. Use Your Content When Repurposing
Repurposing old content is a useful SEO trick that makes your old content stay relevant. However, people tend to be liberal with repurposing old content. They feel as if old content of other people is also fair game…which it is definitely not.
If you are using other people’s work in any capacity, you have to cite them.It does not matter how old the content is.
That’s why it is better to just use your own old content.
Content repurposing (otherwise known as content recycling) is the act of using your old content and updating or reformatting it so that it stays relevant.
This increases the content’s lifespan and can effectively contribute to your website’s SEO.
To keep the repurposed content unique and free of plagiarism, just don’t use other people’s content in the first place.That’s unprofessional and unethical (unless they give you permission first).
6. Add Unique Graphics
Content uniqueness doesn’t just depend on the text that you write but also on the format and styling. If you can portray some information in the form of an infographic or an image then that will alsocontribute to the uniqueness of your content.
Images, graphs, tables, and infographics are very effective methods of providing information in a clean and concise manner.
Humans are creatures who are usually easily affected by their impressions and preconceptions about things. Unique images can instill the impression that the content is unique. Once that preconception is made, the rest of the content is also automatically assumed to be unique as well.
Hence, adding unique graphics in various parts of your content make it look and feel unique to your readers.
Conclusion
Writing content is a seemingly straightforward and easy task. But once you set foot in a professional setting, you realize that plagiarism complicates things a lot.
However, there are ways to combat plagiarism effectively. Writers can take some steps to avoid plagiarism such as doing proper research before writing,citing any and all sources that they borrow from, and using tools such as plagiarism checkers and plagiarism removers.
Read More: Ansuman Pattanayak Crowned as Entrepreneur Of The Year Award 2021
Plagiarism is a hassle to deal with when repurposing old content. That can be dealt with by updating the old content on the same domain in which it was posted and using only your own content. This saves you from committing plagiarism.
Following these tips can help a writer avoid plagiarism in their work.
Comments 1