Today, originality is extremely hard to achieve, but it is still an essential characteristic for a good academic text. That is why more and more learners are looking for online anti-plagiarism software that will surely tell them whether everything is alright with their research. It is important to have a tool that is able to point out what is wrong in the work so that the writer knows how to fix the problem fast and well. It goes without saying that anti-plagiarism programs should be user-friendly and detect many plagiarism types. Still, you will be able to choose the best one only after understanding the mechanisms that allow various services to detect plagiarism and weighing all the possibilities, offered by different tools. There is a lot to unpack, so let’s jump right into it.
The most desirable characteristics
Overall, programs for plagiarism detection scan the databases with works by different authors and look for identical strings of words. As simple as it is, many dishonest learners find more and more ways to deceive anti plagiarism software used by universities, so these resources have to become better too.
Modern tools do more than find word-for-word matches, also looking for paraphrased content and determining the uniqueness of the so-called fingerprint of the text. That is something every writer wants because such technologies can assess originality on multiple levels and give the user more to work with than basic software.
It is also important to find the program with the widest database possible, the one that can really place your work into the globalized context. You should pay attention to what you are going to check because academic essays will not really benefit from comparisons with fiction prose, and vice versa.
This power should be properly harnessed, meaning that good anti-plagiarism tools need to have intuitively understandable interfaces and visualize the differences between various source types. One of the most common ways to do that is to highlight them in different colors, showing how similar the text is to another person’s written work. Moreover, trustworthy plagiarism checkers usually have live support, just in case something is still unclear.
Safety should not come last as well, so many users want guarantees that the online anti-plagiarism tool they are using will not store their texts and distribute them later. It is natural to be worried about that since the internet is a place where frauds have learned to thrive. That is why a reliable plagiarism checker will offer you complete control over the data you have chosen to upload. It never hurts to read the guarantees of the service before using it, too. However, if there are no official reassurances, it is recommended to avoid using the tool.
Should a good anti-plagiarism tool be free?
Now that we know what users value about plagiarism checkers, let’s ask if all that is worth real money. Students are not the richest people in the world, so it is a very important question. Is free anti-plagiarism software that is also really great a myth, or can it be real? Yes and no. Let’s see how that is possible.
- Most quality plagiarism checkers offer a free trial, but then you have to pay. It’s not astounding that trustworthy services that have most of the features described above ask people for money. After all, many experts work hard to keep those resources running, and they deserve appropriate rewards.
- There are subscription-based platforms and services that charge users for every individual check. For example, the lowest price of running your essay through Scribbr is $19.95. It can increase according to the word count. In contrast, Quetext offers a subscription for $9.95 per month. As you can see, it is a pretty flexible system.
- Which option is better for students? That depends on how often you write essays and research papers. If it does not happen every month, it might be wiser to pay for a single check. Still, if you get multiple assignments or work on a dissertation, it is advisable to buy a subscription.
- It is a good investment because it grants you confidence and additional opportunities. You will have better marks if you check your written assignments for plagiarism and fix them, but there is even more behind that simple process. You can develop scrupulosity and a whole set of useful skills with help of anti-plagiarism software. Furthermore, you can read more details about that below.
Excellent plagiarism checkers are more than controlling tools
The learners who try their hardest to find a plagiarism check for students and teachers typically succeed and discover that it is much more than a tool to punish dishonest students. It can open an entirely new world to you if you dedicate some time to analysis. There are multiple opportunities behind each check, so let’s look at some of them.
You will see what areas you need to improve. Most students get a high plagiarism score just because of forgetting about quotation marks or creating inconsistent in-text citations. Of course, other issues are also possible. A good plagiarism checker will show you what features of your writing need upgrading, so you can improve your style, knowing exactly what you are doing.
You will develop real academic rigor. When it comes to consistent citations, excellent bibliographies, and other formal elements, details are everything. You’ll have the possibility to develop your memory to work fast and well with any kind of precise data. That’s a skill that’s very hard to develop in today’s reality because many people depend on gadgets.
You can learn to paraphrase masterfully. Quality plagiarism checkers will show you the quotes you did not change enough. You can analyze them and train to change the structure of the phrases so that they fit your text perfectly. Such exercises really help many people to find their own voice.
These skills and qualities will benefit you in the future. Obviously, great memory, responsibility, attention, and unique writing style will help you find an excellent job after you graduate. Your brain capacity will also increase, boosting your overall performance and benefitting your mental health.
The bottom line
As you can see, anti-plagiarism software has complex mechanisms, but there are distinct characteristics that show how good a specific program is. Whatever you choose after reading, you should understand that it is important to look for the software that helps you learn, not just some plagiarism tool for teachers. The digital analysis of your work will surely grant you advanced possibilities if you can interpret it well. If there are any troubles with that, you can always ask your peers or instructors for assistance. That way, you are sure to achieve great academic results that will provide you with essential skills to build your career.
