Information is power and excessive use of power with little control will definitely corrupt or worst still destroy! Every borrowed idea from books, magazines, research journals and the almighty internet must be properly acknowledged. With our busy academic schedules as students coupled with family responsibilities, one may see research work as too tasking and may not really have the time to write from scratch. Unfortunately, as technology is advancing our dear lecturers are getting smarter by the day. Nigerian students are now interested in producing un-plagiarized papers as some schools are beginning to use anti-plagiarism softwares to screen term papers, essays and even research projects. However, no need for fears. Your concerns are mine too.
Know the Meaning of Plagiarism
To excel in your school papers without hitches, you must first understand what plagiarism is and what it is not. Plagiarism in simple English involves using other peoples’ ideas, theories, models etc. without referencing them. For example: Original Post: ‘’the rise in un-employment rate in Nigeria has resulted in the establishment of more small and medium scale enterprises in Nigeria’’ (Nnamoko, 2014: 13). Plagiarizing: The increase in un-employment rate in Nigeria has led to the establishment of numerous little and medium scale enterprises in Nigeria. Not Plagiarizing: The rapid growth of business ventures and entrepreneurial activities in Nigeria can be attributed to the alarming rate of un-employment in Nigeria (Nnamoko, 2014:13).
Plagiarism
Plagiarism is the act of plagiarizing or taking another person’s writing, conversation, song, or even idea and passing it off as your own without permission. Make sure that you do not copy verbatim more than two words in a row from the text you have consulted. If you do use more than two words together, you will have to use quotation marks. We will get into quoting properly soon. Therefore, Cite – Citing is one of the effective ways to “avoid plagiarism”.
Basic Steps to Avoid plagiarism:

• Paraphrase: Paraphrasing is using your own words to express someone’s idea. It is also a restatement of the meaning of a text or passage using other words. A paraphrase typically explains or clarifies the text that is being paraphrased. For example, “The signal was red” might be paraphrased as “The train was not allowed to pass because the signal was red”. A paraphrase is usually introduced with verbum dicendi-a declaratory expression to signal the transition to the paraphrase. For example, in “The signal was red, that is, the train was not allowed to proceed,” that is, signals the paraphrase that follows. FOR PARAPHRASING:
  Read original
  Try to write the ideas in your own words
  Look closely at unfamiliar words
  Check your own paraphrase.
  If the wording of the paraphrasing is too close to the original, then it is “PLAGIARISM”. Examples are:
  a) Original Sentence: Her life spanned years of the incredible change of women.
  b) Paraphrased Sentence: Many lived through an era of liberating reform for women.
• Cite:
  Citing means “to quote or refer to” (a book or author, for example) as an authority or example in making an argument.
  Citing is one of the effective ways to avoid plagiarism. Follow the document formatting guidelines (i.e. APA, MLA, Chicago, etc.) used by your educational institution or the institution that issued the research request. This usually entails the addition of the author(s) and the date of the publication or similar information. Citing is really that simple. Not citing properly can constitute plagiarism.
• Quoting
  When quoting a source, use the quote exactly the way it appears. No one wants to be misquoted. Most institutions of higher learning frown on “block quotes” or quotes of 40 words or more. A scholar should be able to effectively paraphrase most material. This process takes time, but the effort pays off! Quoting must be done correctly to avoid plagiarism allegations.
• Citing Quotes
  Citing a quote can be different than citing paraphrased material. This practice usually involves the addition of a page number, or a paragraph number in the case of web content.
• Citing Your Own Material
  If some of the material you are using for your research paper was used by you in your current class, a previous one, or anywhere else you must cite yourself. Treat the text the same as you would if someone else wrote it. It may sound odd, but using material you have used before is called self-plagiarism, and it is not acceptable.
• Referencing
  One of the most important ways to avoid plagiarism is including a reference page or page of works cited at the end of your research work. Again, this page must meet the document formatting guidelines used by your educational institution. This information is very specific and includes the author(s), date of publication, title, and source. Follow the directions for this page carefully. You will want to get the references right.

Author’s Advice
Always be sure to edit your research work carefully and check for plagiarism before submitting it your supervisor.
Reputation and respect can be lost if you plagiarize.
Grades can be affected because of plagiarism.
Possible delays and expulsion from school can be caused by deliberate plagiarism.
Awesome websites such as www.myproject.com.ng, Contemporary Project Topics and infoguidenigeria do not encourage plagiarism. Only use resources you get from the internet as a guide and do good by contributing to the body of knowledge!