Now it is just about cut, copy and paste, with some reformulation. Something that does not cease to be an illegal copy.

Full Plagiarism: When the original content is copied without any changes made, be it in the language, ideas or even punctuation is known as full plagiarism. Many scholars believe that is usually done by people who are not competent in the particular subject, or are simply too lazy to make the effort to write their own ideas.

Partial Plagiarism: When the content presented is a combination of two or three different sources, where the use of the reformulation and synonyms is very high it is known as a partial plagiarism. In this case, the author uses some originality. Insufficient knowledge about the particular issue is the most common reason in cases of partial plagiarism.

Minimalist Plagiarism: In this case, the plagiarist is more focused on the concepts, ideas, thoughts or opinions than on the form of the written word. Although many do not consider this to be plagiarism (probably those who do it), it can be considered as theft of the work done by someone else or even stealing their ideas and thoughts.

Citation of the original source: When information on the original source of content is cited, it is not always plagiarism. However, the information in a citation of the source varies greatly from case to case. Some authors cite the name of the source, but do not give any information about how to access the original creation. Others, unbelievable as it seems, give false references. Only a few give truthful information.

Self-plagiarism: This form of plagiarism is perhaps the most controversial because "it is" and "it is not". Using one's own work, in whole, in part, or even the same thought rewritten differently, is commonly known as self-plagiarism. The publication of the same material through different media without referencing to each other correctly is a very common habit among many bloggers. The content of many websites are a perfect examples of self-plagiarism. In the opinion of Professor Paul Brian, "self-plagiarism, or recycling of one’s own texts in a new way is also a robbery, and that the author deceives his readers.” A clear example of this is often guest-posting, so highly recommended by some gurus of the Internet as a way of generating personal branding and promotion on the web.

Plagiarism is a matter of personal and professional ethics. Knowing what is, and its distinct forms, not only to detect and prevent plagiarism of content, but also the way in which the self-plagiarism occurs, will be a way to promote and preserve authenticity and originality.

Do you know how to remove a plagiarized item from the Internet? Digital Media Rights does. Learn how.