Whether you’re a student writing an essay, a professional writing some web copy for your site, or a blogger preparing a post, it’s important to avoid plagiarism. Not only is it bad practice to copy other people’s work, but it can also lead to various penalties and problems.
Microsoft Word has a helpful plagiarism checker, called the “Similarity Detector” built-in to help with this. Here’s how to use the Word plagiarism checker.
How to Use Word Plagiarism Checker
You can access the Word Similarity Detector in Word 365, Office 365, or Word for the web. If you’re using an older version of Word, like Word 2010, it won’t be available. So, check that you’re working with the right version of Word first of all, then proceed to follow these steps.
Step 1. Open the document you want to check for plagiarism.
Step 2. Find the “Editor” button. It’s in the top-right corner on the “Home” tab. Or, you can switch to the “Review” tab and find it there as well, on the left side.
Step 3. Click on “Editor” to open up the Editor menu. It’ll appear on the right side and show various bits of information about your text, including a percentage “Editor Score” and info about any spelling or grammar issues you need to fix.
Step 4. Scroll down in the Editor menu to find the part labeled “Similarity” and click the button marked “Check for similarity to online sources.” Then, wait a moment while the Editor scans your text against various online sources to see if any of it is too similar or directly copied. It’ll eventually give you a percentage score, showing how much of the text (if any) seems plagiarized.
Step 5. You can then review the text and hover your mouse over various sections to see which parts have been flagged for similarity. Then, it’s up to you to either cite your sources or rewrite and replace the offending sections. Note that after you make changes, your “Similarity Checker” score should decrease the next time you run it. You can run the checker as often as you like.
Benefits of the Word Plagiarism Checker
Here’s why you might like to make the Word plagiarism checker one of your go-to tools when working in Word.
Avoiding Plagiarism Penalties
Plagiarism often doesn’t go unpunished. If you’re a student and hand in a plagiarized piece of work, for example, you could end up with a fail grade or have to repeat the assignment. If you try to post plagiarized content online, too, Google can detect it, leading to a negative impact on your SEO and ranking.
By scanning for plagiarism and then removing sections that are copied from other sources from your work, you’ll be able to evade these problems.
Working with AI-Generated Text
Nowadays, there are many generative AI tools you can use to create content quickly and conveniently. You can ask an AI bot to write something for you, then copy it over into Word and continue to expand on it or edit it.
However, AI draws most of its knowledge from online sources. As such, it might directly copy certain passages or paraphrase info from the web. Using the Word plagiarism checker helps you avoid plagiarism accusations in AI-generated content.
Was this helpful?
Last updated on 28 October, 2024
Read Next
Why You Need to Activate Windows 10 on Your Computer: GT Explains
Microsoft changed a lot of things with the launch of Windows 10.
How to Activate Windows 11 for Free: 2 Best Ways
Are you looking to activate Windows 11 on your device but want to avoid paying for a product key?
5 Fixes for “Could Not Activate Cellular Data Network” Error on iPhone
Try Basic Fixes Make sure airplane mode is off: A common reason why your iPhone may not be able to activate or use cellular data is if Airplane mode is
Apple Pages vs Microsoft Word: Which Word Processing Software Is Better
Every major tech company out there is offering their version of the productivity suite.
Google Docs vs. Microsoft Word Online: Which Word Processor Is Better
Google Docs vs.
6 Ways to Spell Check Is Not Working in Microsoft Word
Before you begin, try to restart Microsoft Word to fix temporary bugs and glitches.
How to Create a Custom Dictionary in Microsoft Word
Have you ever typed a certain word in Microsoft Word only to get the red zig-zag line underneath?
4 Fixes for Can’t Select or Highlight Text in Microsoft Word for Windows
Try Basic Fixes Rule out issues with your mouse or touchpad: A malfunctioning mouse or touchpad might fail to register clicks and drag motions.
The article above may contain affiliate links which help support Guiding Tech. The content remains unbiased and authentic and will never affect our editorial integrity.
