How to tell if an article is original?

Discussion in 'Copywriting' started by namd3r, Mar 12, 2007.

  1. sundaybrew

    sundaybrew Numerati

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    #21

    Agreed.....dude....just write it with your words and your thoughts

    Copy and the paste function is NOT a writers tool ....remember that
     
    sundaybrew, Mar 13, 2007 IP
  2. DeniseJ

    DeniseJ Live, Laugh, Love

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    #22
    Look, if you have to copyscape your own work to tell whether it's plagiarized or not, that's an issue.

    But if you are concerned about one or two words being highlighted, that's nothing to worry about. You'd only need to be concerned if there were whole sentences highlighted, which means you've obviously copied from another source.
     
    DeniseJ, Mar 13, 2007 IP
  3. sundaybrew

    sundaybrew Numerati

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    #23
    Yea.........lmao....thats a good point :):p
     
    sundaybrew, Mar 13, 2007 IP
  4. LastLevel

    LastLevel Guest

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    #24
    lol its just cuz my comp froze when i was typing one and i had to restart comp then it recovered it but i forgot to delete part of the article i was rewording so it got stuck in there, unhappy client so i wanted to make sure i dont do anything dumb any more lol
     
    LastLevel, Mar 13, 2007 IP
  5. DeniseJ

    DeniseJ Live, Laugh, Love

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    #25
    If you want to make sure you don't do anything "dumb" anymore, then I would suggest not tackling articles on topics you're unfamiliar with. This isn't to offend you, but if you really want to write for a living then you need to specialize in a niche you have experience in.
     
    DeniseJ, Mar 13, 2007 IP
  6. LastLevel

    LastLevel Guest

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    #26
    I reworded everything right, when I took out the mistake i said above there were no matched words or w.e
     
    LastLevel, Mar 13, 2007 IP
  7. stilloutthere

    stilloutthere Peon

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    #27
    If you pick a phrase out of an article, say "beautiful Hawaiian beaches" and run it through copyscape and get a hit, that doesn't mean an article is plagiarized. You are supposed to actually look at the article and see whether it is the same. If you choose, or your buyer chooses, words like Panama and banking and offshore to copyscape an article about offshore banking in Panama, every article that has ever been written about the subject is going to get hit. Even if you choose something like "contributions from offshore accounts to the Panamanian economy" might get a hit. But if it is only one phrase out of a 1000 word article, that doesn't constitute plagiarism. Even a complete sentence, if it is simple enough, might not indicate plagiarism. "Baby elephants follow their mothers." Twenty people could come up with that independently.
     
    stilloutthere, Mar 14, 2007 IP
    DeniseJ likes this.
  8. cjwriter

    cjwriter Peon

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    #28
    Argh, guys. It is relatively easy to rewrite an article so that it has exactly the same "meat", without having the same "trimmings" that will show on Copyscape . This requires a slightly higher-level of proficiency with the English language, as well as some creativity. You could also use Article-Spinning software, but none of those that I've seen actually work very well.

    Example of what I'm talking about:

    Listen: While an article copied directly using cut and paste will set off Copyscape, it is possible to rewrite the article so that it will not. This is actually rather easy, although it is helpful if you have taken college-level English classes. A bit of creativity would help as well. I would not recommend Article-Spinning software, as my experience shows that they do not work.

    See how both of the above paragraphs basically say the same thing in different ways? See how they have roughly the same keyword density? If you do this to an entire 500-word article, it will (for purposes of Copyscape) be a new article.

    I don't do this myself because it leads to "incestuous content", where everyone's copying off of one guy who might not've actually known what he was talking about. It's also still a bit shakey in a legal sense (if someone really pushed it).

    I'd recommend you don't either (get out and research offline! You'll come up with unique content where YOU'LL be copied!). AT LEAST weave together two or more sources if you're going to do this.
     
    cjwriter, Mar 16, 2007 IP
  9. pholpher

    pholpher Active Member

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    #29
    I try to find at least three sources if I'm gonna rewrite. Or you could just rewrite one PLR article.
     
    pholpher, Mar 16, 2007 IP
  10. epublishuk

    epublishuk Peon

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    #30
    Hi,

    I'm in England and this may not help, but we don't use those words for what you are describing.

    'Real Estate' is 'Property' or 'Houses'. 'Flipping' is 'Turning' or 'Developing'. And 'Panama' is well, 'Panama'.

    Hope that helps a bit.

    Kevin
     
    epublishuk, Mar 24, 2007 IP
  11. Kalyse

    Kalyse Peon

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    #31
    I agree with many people, google is a good way. Just pick out 5 random clauses or phrases.
     
    Kalyse, Mar 24, 2007 IP
  12. Person

    Person Guest

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    #32
    I don't plagarize myself, but a lot of people I know do. A few of them have been caught, but they usually get away because they will just substitute a whole bunch of synonyms for whatever the work originally said, or throw in extra adjectives or something. Nobody seems to bother to check very much anyway...

    But I still wouldn't do it.
     
    Person, Mar 24, 2007 IP
  13. DeniseJ

    DeniseJ Live, Laugh, Love

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    #33
    So you're telling people how to plagiarize? You're a smart one, aren't you.
     
    DeniseJ, Mar 25, 2007 IP
  14. Your Content

    Your Content Banned

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    #34
    On in other words, Person is referring to himself as to "people I know" and "how I do it" :rolleyes:
     
    Your Content, Mar 25, 2007 IP