Plagiarism is defined by Wikipedia as the unauthorized use or close imitation of the language and thoughts of another author and the representation of them as one’s own original work. The availability of material in electronic format has made plagiarism easier than ever. If you are a writer you can imagine how devastating it would be to have someone steal your hard work. Preventing plagiarism isn’t as difficult as one might think. The following are some simple strategies that you can use can use to prevent plagiarism:

• It is important that all writers and publishers take steps to protect their content. The first step is to copyright all written material. This can be done by submitting your documents online through the U.S. Copyright office for $45 per submission.
• If you have your content on the web you do have options to protect it. Coypyscape is a service that allows you to search the web for possible copies of your content as well as automatic web monitoring.
• Another popular site Plagiarism.org which, for a fee, will let you upload your text/manuscripts and within 5 days they will email you results.