What Percentage of Plagiarism Is Acceptable?

In 1987, Joe Biden withdrew from the presidential race in a scandal.

The juicy details? Biden had directly lifted passages of a speech from a previous speech by a British politician, and forgot to give him credit.

Accidental or not, plagiarism is a serious accusation that can ruin careers, shatter legacies, and deliver significant financial consequences (even outside of academic institutions and the cutthroat world of The White House).

But is there a level of plagiarism that is acceptable?

If so, can we pin that acceptable percentage down?

What Is Plagiarism?

Plagiarism is when you use someone else’s work, ideas, or words, without giving them proper credit and passing it off as your own.

No matter whether you’re in academia or not, plagiarism is serious and, in some cases, might be considered a breach of the law.

However, plagiarism isn’t always a crime.

Unintentional plagiarism might arise if you accidentally forget to credit another person in your reference list, or use their ideas without noticing.

Plus, with the volume of work available online, it’s hard (if not impossible) to write an entirely unique essay on a popular topic.

Why Does Acceptable Plagiarism Percentage Matter?

So, if plagiarism can be accidental and reaching 100% originality is challenging, what is the acceptable percentage of plagiarism that students, writers, and business people can aim for?

First, let’s acknowledge that it’s always best to avoid plagiarism altogether.

Keep records of the resources, other sources, and research you did when creating your own work, and don’t forget to cite them all in your writing.

Never copy paste text directly into your document to avoid accidentally forgetting to use quotation marks or rewrite it in original content.

And make sure that direct quotes are clearly labelled and cited as such.

However careful you are, though, unintentional plagiarism is likely to creep in.

Yet keeping that score low and within an acceptable percentage is vital for students, researchers, scholars, and business people to maintain integrity in their work (and their academic and professional reputations).

How Much Plagiarism is Allowed?

How much plagiarism is allowed, then?

What’s deemed an ‘acceptable percentage?’ The answer is that it often depends on the who and the what of the work.

Plagiarism in General Academic Writing

For essays, research papers, or reports, most academic institutions accept less than 15% similarity score between student’s work as a general benchmark.

This allows room for irrelevant similarities, commonly used phrases or references, and direct quotes, provided the work is properly cited.

Plagiarism in Theses and Dissertations

In the case of theses and dissertations, academic institutions generally set a stricter standard, with an acceptable range of 5–10% similarity.

Why the difference between general writing?

Your thesis or final dissertation are high-stakes documents that demand academic integrity, and even small amounts of uncredited material can raise red flags.

Plagiarism in Published Journals

Published journals typically aim for less than a 5% plagiarism score.

Journals rely heavily on original research and writing, so the tolerance for plagiarism is minimal, ensuring that the content is fresh and groundbreaking.

Plagiarism in Blogs

Blogging to rank on search engines often involves more flexibility and less rigid rules.

However, many businesses still have high content originality standards to engage readers and maintain credibility.

While tools like plagiarism checkers are less frequently used, and AI generated content is acceptable, it’s wise to aim for less than 30% similarity.

Does Using AI Count as Plagiarism?

Using AI to help you with content creation isn’t inherently considered plagiarism, but it can become an issue if the output directly replicates existing work without proper modification or citation.

The problem is that AI doesn’t always create unique content and rarely cites its content accurately.

If you’re using AI tools in your writing, you must carefully check their output for accuracy and directly quoted material passed off as original.

Unfortunately, because of the way that AI works, you might inadvertently be stealing someone else’s work when you copy paste AI text directly.

AI-generated text should be treated like any other source. Make sure to review it, refine it, and ensure originality.

AI Tools to Detect Plagiarism

So, if plagiarism can be accidental, how can you catch it?

The good news is that there are many tools available to scan your document and give you a plagiarism score before you submit your work.

While universities use academic tools like Turnitin, this can be expensive for students and businesses. But there are many cheaper (or free!) alternatives available.

Undetectable AI’s Plagiarism Checker is one of the best, with a free tool you can use to paste your work in, then scan for plagiarism.

Simply enter your text, then click submit!

The tool will scan your work and check it for signs of AI in it.

Then, you’ll be able to make tweaks and changes so that you can stay under the maximum amount allowed.

You can also discover how our AI Detector work in the widget below!

A Comprehensive Checklist on How to Avoid Plagiarism

Here is our comprehensive checklist for ensuring your content is written in your own words and will pass the plagiarism checker with just a small percentage allowance.

1. Keep detailed records of every book, article, website, and journal you reference.
2. Familiarize yourself with the required citation style (e.g., APA, MLA, Chicago).
3. Summarize or paraphrase information in your own words during note-taking and never include copied text in your working document.
4. Always rewrite information completely in your own words, not just swapping a few terms.
5. Only include direct quotes when absolutely necessary and always cite quoted material with a proper citation.
6. Add in-text citations during drafting to avoid forgetting later.
7. Blend research with your unique perspective to create original work that features your own thoughts and critical thinking.
8. Use tools like Grammarly and Undetectable AI while drafting to catch issues early.
9. Double-check that in-text citations match the bibliography.
10. Carefully review for any uncredited sections or errors before you submit.
11. Get help from your teacher, team mate, or college peer for final reviews.

FAQs

Conclusion

Intentional plagiarism is a serious academic crime, but unintentional plagiarism can creep into your writing surprisingly easily, especially if you’re a little lax in your research phase or use AI tools to help you generate content.

To stay within acceptable percentages, it’s important to stay vigilant, both during the writing process and before submission, using tools and AI plagiarism checkers to analyze your text.

The good news is that Undetectable AI’s Plagiarism Checker is free, highly accurate, and easy to use, helping students, marketers, teachers, and even writing hobbyists check their own work without expensive academic tools.

Got an assignment to submit? Try the Plagiarism Checker on your work!