The easiest way of getting rid of plagiarism is to cite, either literally or paraphrasing. On one hand, literal citations will be necessary whenever you determine that no one can state that information in a better way! If no one can say it better, then use the original phrase from the author; that is to quote, but be sure to acknowledge the source in detail, including the author’s surname, year of publication and/or the page in which the quote appears. This information can be useful for your readers, in case they want to look for the original source and its content. Do not forget to signal the literal citation by means of quotation marks or indented paragraphs, according to the citation style you are required to use.
On the other hand, paraphrasing is explaining with your own words a piece of information you read in other sources. This style of quoting still demands a source, but it offers readers more flexibility in terms of wording. It is useful with very technical information, which authors may want to restate in order to get to wider audiences out of the area of expertise. It is also useful with complex ideas for which you can offer a simpler explanation. Still, if you are using somebody else’s ideas, you should acknowledge them!
A good way of avoiding plagiarism is revising your text twice before its delivery. Writing takes time, and you should organize your time in order to provide space for error correction. A common mistake is missing quotations. For example, when we mention an author once, but soon after we still talk about the author’s ideas, a frequent mistake is not to mention the name or the source again. Why is it necessary to acknowledge the source every time I make use of the information? Because not all your audience is aware of the works you are quoting. In other words, you should bear in mind that the only person aware of your paper’s sources is yourself! Giving proper credit whenever we use published knowledge is not only good for writing, but it is also part of the ethical considerations that every writer should embrace.