Plagiarism vs. Paraphrasing: What Every Student Needs to Know Before Submitting

Confused between plagiarism and paraphrasing? Learn how to write original assignments the right way and avoid common academic mistakes. A must-read for international students.

Let’s be honest—plagiarism can feel like a scary word.You’re working on a tight deadline, juggling other classes, maybe even a part-time job. So, when you find helpful material online, it’s tempting to copy “just a little” — right?

But here's the truth: universities take plagiarism seriously, and what you think is harmless can lead to academic penalties, re-submissions, or worse — expulsion.

So how do you avoid it while still using research? The answer lies in understanding the difference between plagiarism and proper paraphrasing.

What Is Plagiarism?

Plagiarism is when you use someone else’s words, ideas, or structure without proper credit.It can include:

• Copy-pasting from websites or journals

• Submitting someone else's work as your own

• Failing to use quotation marks for direct quotes

• Rewording just a few words of a sentence but keeping the structure

• Using AI tools like ChatGPT and pretending it’s your own writing

Even unintentional plagiarism can result in serious consequences. What Is Paraphrasing (Done Right)?

Paraphrasing means rewriting someone else’s ideas in your own words — while giving credit.

Good paraphrasing:

✅ Uses completely new sentence structure ✅ Changes the vocabulary without changing meaning ✅ Includes a proper in-text citation ✅ Maintains academic tone and clarity

💡 Bad paraphrasing = plagiarism.Good paraphrasing = learning, understanding, and original expression. Real Example:

Original Text:"Climate change is likely to increase the frequency of extreme weather events such as floods and droughts."

Bad Paraphrasing (Plagiarism):"Climate change will probably lead to more floods and droughts."

Proper Paraphrasing (with Citation):According to recent studies, extreme weather patterns like flooding and drought may become more common due to the growing impact of climate change (Smith, 2022).