On a daily basis, students are given assignments by teachers. Those assignments come with a certain deadline by which they need to be submitted. As a student, some of us have a habit of starting the assignment when the deadline approaches. Due to not knowing how to paraphrase correctly, the assignment is sometimes copied directly from outside sources. If the assignment is copied, then it is called plagiarism.

Today, plagiarism is a major problem among students. They copy the assignments to finish by the deadline. This creates a situation where the student does not learn what was given in the assignment, and they are not able to unleash the true capability of their writing. So nowadays, some of the colleges have established rules against plagiarism and it is considered a big crime if a student commits plagiarism. Plagiarism has led to the suspension of some of the students at DWIT college. The administration does not hesitate to discipline the students who copy assignments.

It is better to paraphrase than plagiarize an assignment. Paraphrasing means explaining or interpreting another person's ideas in one's own words. In academic writing, paraphrasing helps in restating, condensing, or clarifying the author's ideas, and it also provides credibility to one's own argument. It helps students write their own view on the topic. These are things which teachers expect in any student's assignments. Paraphrasing helps with strong writing, while unsuccessful paraphrasing can result in unintentional plagiarism which will cause problems for the students.

While paraphrasing any topic, students must know how to paraphrase a topic. Some of the points to remember while paraphrasing are:

1. First, read the passage and understand the full meaning of and intention behind the author's word.

2. Then write the passage in your own words as if your are explaining it to your friend without looking at the original passage.

3. Compare your writing with the original writing and ask yourself a few questions:

• Have I written the author's idea in a unique way or not?
• Have I tried to replicate the authors’ idea or have I simply changed words?

4. If you have copied any phrases from the original passage then put them in the quotation marks.

When a paragraph is paraphrased it also helps a students to gain knowledge about the topic. It is better for students to paraphrase a topic rather than to plagiarize the topic.