check-plagiarism

Check for Plagiarism

Overview

Reviews text for plagiarism indicators: near-copy passages, insufficient paraphrasing, missing citations, and style inconsistencies that suggest copy-paste. Does not replace Turnitin or iThenticate — those tools check against a database; this skill checks logic and patterns.

Important Limitation

This skill cannot compare your text against external databases (Turnitin, iThenticate, Copyscape, etc.). What it can do:

• Compare your text against sources you provide to flag near-copy matches
• Detect style inconsistencies that suggest unattributed copy-paste
• Check whether a paraphrase is sufficiently different from the original
• Flag missing citations on factual claims
• Identify self-plagiarism risk when you provide prior work

For a full similarity report, use a dedicated tool (Turnitin, iThenticate, Unicheck, or free tools like PlagScan).

Workflow

1. Identify check mode — ask which applies (see modes below)
2. Receive inputs — text to check, plus source material if comparing
3. Run checks — apply relevant detection methods
4. Report — list flagged passages with reason and severity
5. Suggest fixes — for each flag, recommend paraphrase, citation, or quotation

Check Modes

Mode	What to provide	What is checked
Compare to source	Your text + original source	Near-copy sentences, insufficient paraphrase
Style scan	Your text only	Sudden register shifts, inconsistent vocabulary suggesting copy-paste
Citation audit	Your text only	Factual claims, statistics, definitions lacking a citation marker
Self-plagiarism	New text + prior submitted work	Reused passages without disclosure

Near-Copy Detection (Compare Mode)

Flag a passage if it meets any of these:

Signal	Threshold
Identical string	5+ consecutive words unchanged
Synonym swap only	Same sentence structure, only nouns/verbs swapped
Word order change only	Clauses reordered but no real restructuring
Structural mirror	Sentence-by-sentence translation of the source's logic

Verdict per passage:

• Direct copy — identical or near-identical; must be quoted + cited or rewritten
• Insufficient paraphrase — too close; needs deeper restructuring (use paraphrase skill)
• Acceptable paraphrase — meaning preserved, structure genuinely different; add citation if missing
• Original — no similarity found

Style Inconsistency Scan (Style Mode)

Flags that suggest unattributed text from an external source:

• Sudden shift to significantly more formal or technical register
• Vocabulary or terminology inconsistent with the rest of the document
• Sentences markedly longer or more complex than surrounding text
• Tense or person shift without a structural reason
• Perfect grammar in a section surrounded by errors

These are indicators only — confirm by asking the user if the passage came from a source.

Plagiarism Types

Type	Description	Fix
Direct copying	Verbatim text without quotes or citation	Add quotation marks + cite, or paraphrase + cite
Mosaic plagiarism	Mix of copied phrases with a few changed words	Full paraphrase + cite
Paraphrase too close	Restructured but structurally mirrors source	Deeper rewrite using paraphrase skill
Missing citation	Own words, but borrowed idea with no credit	Add citation
Self-plagiarism	Reusing own prior submitted work without disclosure	Disclose and cite, or rewrite
Incorrect citation	Citation present but doesn't match the claim	Verify and correct source

Output Format

For each flagged passage:

[FLAG] Severity: HIGH / MEDIUM / LOW
Your text:   "…passage from the user's text…"
Source text: "…matching passage from source…"  (if compare mode)
Issue:       Direct copy / Insufficient paraphrase / Missing citation / Style anomaly
Fix:         Quote and cite | Rewrite using paraphrase skill | Add citation (Author, Year)

Ukrainian-Specific Notes

Topic	Guidance
Unicheck	The most widely used anti-plagiarism system in Ukrainian universities — recommend it for a full similarity report
Uniqueness threshold	Most Ukrainian ЗВО require ≥70–80% originality; check your institution's specific policy
Переклад без посилання	A common form of plagiarism in Ukrainian academic work: translating a Russian or English source into Ukrainian without attribution — flag any translated-sounding passages
Самоплагіат	Reusing your own coursework in a thesis without disclosure is considered plagiarism at most Ukrainian universities
Нормативні акти	Legal and regulatory texts (закони, постанови) are public domain and do not require a plagiarism waiver, but still require citation

Common Mistakes

Mistake	Fix
Claiming text is plagiarism-free without a database check	Always remind the user this is a pattern check, not a database scan
Flagging properly quoted and cited text	Only flag unattributed or improperly attributed text
Ignoring self-plagiarism	Reusing your own prior work without citation is plagiarism in most institutions
Flagging common academic phrases	Fixed expressions (the results suggest, as shown in Figure) are not plagiarism