To entrench the foot in academics, research scholars often aim at publishing their journal paper in a high-impact journal. But it comes as unfortunate when the journal paper gets rejected by the journals. As per a report, the rejection rate by the journals is around 72–90%. Some of the main reasons for the paper rejection are: it was submitted to an irrelevant journal, target journal format was not followed, research was not novel, poor writing style, usage of inappropriate statistical methods, and many more. However, many a time, the crucial reason for the rejection of the journal paper is proved to be plagiarism. 

Plagiarism is considered as an offence in the academic world. Not all the time scholars intend to duplicate the content from other sources. But they do fall into plagiarism trap via accidental plagiarism. It should be noted that even accidentally plagiarised content doesn’t have any place in the journal. However, referring to the sources while avoiding plagiarism isn’t a next to impossible task. Some of the easy tips that let you refer the sample papers and get through the board of the journal editorial through flying colours are:

1. Sample papers/sources consist of tons of information required for completing your research. However, you cannot include them directly in your journal paper. The best way to use the reference sources to get plenty of information from without actually copying them is to read through the sources, understand the crucial ideas presented in it and then write those ideas in your own words. This ensures that your paper is novel and is of the highest quality. 
2. Another important and proven way to avoid plagiarism is referencing. That is, incorporate a reference page or page of works that are cited at the end of your journal paper. The information included here is very specific and incorporate the name of the author(s), publication date, title, and source. However, while referencing you must ensure that you adhere to the guidelines laid by the University as well as the target journal. 
3. Citing the sources is the ultimate solution for the plagiarism. Citing your reference sources might seem like as easy as pie but in reality, citing the sources is another story altogether. Double-check your bibliography to ensure that you have inserted all the required information in an organised order. Also, ensure you have followed the same citation style as demanded by your University and target journal. 

Plagiarism can ruin the hard work you have put into while crafting the journal paper and thereby your research. Hence it is a must for you to maintain integrity while writing the journal paper. However, your paper has already been rejected by the journal, do not mope. Follow the aforementioned tips and get rid of the plagiarised content before the second submission.