Professional writing isn’t about using others work as your own. Instead, find and use your own reliable sources, cite those sources, and avoid plagiarism and all the effects of it. Make it your goal to provide superb content, and the outcome will present promise and credibility.

One major rule is to use and cite trustworthy scholarly sources. A scholarly source is used as an academic tool for research. When using scholarly sources, remember that the author is expertly trained in his field of study. Journals that have a scholarly status sometimes cite their sources in bibliographic format. Also, as a way of sharing information among colleagues, author’s of scholarly articles propose original research and experiments to provide further knowledge of the subject matter.

Equally necessary in this process is to cite your sources. Always know how to properly cite a source as well as how to provide a source that provides where you retained that knowledge from. Providing citations gives your writing credibility; it gives the original author credit for supplying the content; and it gives your readers an optional outlet for further knowledge of the topic. Most importantly, citing sources prevents the writer from plagiarizing other authors.

Plagiarizing is a huge no-no in any industry. Serious consequences can be met if plagiarism is committed. Plagiarism is the worst offense in the academic world of content writing. As one definition states, “plagiarism is the unauthorized use or close imitation of the language and thoughts of another author and the representation of them as oneâ??s own original work.â? (dictionary.com)

Sometimes plagiarizing someone else’s work can even happen if you’re not trying to. Typically what happens is the writer rewrites the original content thinking they havenâ??t plagiarized, but when they donâ??t give credit to the original writer, it becomes plagiarism.

Regardless of your particular situation, keep to the facts and cite everything that’s not your own and you will be just fine.