How to Read a Plagiarism Report and Which Results to Look At (Must Master These Skills)

In modern society, as a student, when completing writing tasks such as papers and reports, it is inevitable to use some reference materials. However, at this time, we need to consider the essential issue in writing: originality. To avoid plagiarism, we need to conduct plagiarism checks. But in the plagiarism report, how can you tell whether the results are acceptable? Today, we will delve into this issue.

Understanding Plagiarism Detection Tools

What is a Plagiarism Detection Tool?

A plagiarism detection tool refers to software used to detect whether a work contains plagiarized content, also known as a screening tool or detector. Through this tool, you can quickly and easily check whether your paper has been plagiarized.

What Are the Main Functions?

The main functions of plagiarism detection tools include the following:

• Text similarity detection: By comparing the original text with your own article, it matches and compares aspects such as language, sentence structure, content, etc.
• Plagiarism detection: Identifies possible instances of plagiarism and highlights identical or similar sentences.
• Comparative detection: Compares the text with online articles to find duplicate or highly similar content.
• Clipboard monitoring: Records clipboard content and checks it.
• Barcode detection: Checks the document’s barcode to ensure the text is not garbled.
• File format: Supports multiple file formats, including .doc, .docx, .rtf, .pdf, .txt, etc.

What Issues Should You Pay Attention To?

When using plagiarism detection tools, you need to pay special attention to the following issues:

• Different plagiarism detection software processes results differently, so results from different tools cannot be compared.
• For plagiarism in foreign languages, try searching on overseas websites first to avoid being wrongly accused due to different language habits.
• Before using a plagiarism detection tool, you need to understand the topic and content of each paper, familiarize yourself with citation standards and requirements, and then proceed with the detection.

How to Read a Plagiarism Report and Which Results to Look At?

Check Similarity

Instead of focusing solely on the “overall similarity” given in the table report, you should pay attention to the similarity results of each paragraph. If the overall similarity exceeds 10-20%, you may need to rewrite your paper to ensure plagiarism is avoided.

Review the Summary Report

Many plagiarism detection tools provide additional information in the summary report, such as copied text, violations in legal documents, etc. You need to take this information seriously. If there is no additional information in the summary report, it may indicate that the test results are good.

Examine the Marked Report

The marked report is a document containing all duplicated parts of the article, and you need to read it in detail. We strongly recommend reading all the markings, as they may include application errors, misjudgments, or other misleading situations.

Check the User Interface

Plagiarism detection software provides many user interfaces to help you fully understand the detection results. If the software allows, you need to carefully check the copied text and confirm that there are no misjudgments. Finally, never take anything for granted.

Summary

The results of the plagiarism report play a crucial role in the quality of our papers. Therefore, we need to make full use of plagiarism detection tools, summary reports, marked reports, and user interfaces to conduct self-checks and avoid unnecessary trouble. Finally, the overall similarity should be a reference indicator, and you should carefully review the similarity of each paragraph.