Check Your Work for Plagiarism Before Submitting
It’s the final step before sending a draft to editors
I’m no word thief. You can hang me out to dry if I ever lift someone else’s work. Yet, I run a detailed check for plagiarism on everything I write — twice if I make any significant changes. You should do the same.
As an editor, this crucial check to make sure I’m not approving a piece riddled with stolen words is step number one. I don’t even consider a submission until the report is complete. Who wants to waste time reading and editing something that belongs to someone else?
Most writers, though, don’t even think about it. Why run your writing through such a test if you know it’s entirely original? Because chances are, something’s going to pop up. Let’s nip it before it becomes a problem.
Most everything we write includes replications
Nearly every submission has some level of content flagged. It’s typically short phrases or cliches, like:
- Who wouldn’t want to make money?
- The rule of thumb is…
- And just like that…
I also used one in the first paragraph above: hang me out to dry.
