"Originality" Question for Step-by-Step Tutorials

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EnormousWords
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Joined: Tue Nov 19, 2013 8:15 am

"Originality" Question for Step-by-Step Tutorials

Post by EnormousWords »

I've been writing away, lately focusing on tech tutorials. While my articles are original, I'm a bit concerned about being flagged for plagiarism. The reason being, one "How to Activate X Feature in Y Software" tutorial is pretty much like any other. There are only so many ways you can say "Open the Y menu and select Z item." In general, for most of the big software application out there, there's already a tutorial on a given topic.

I try to make mine stand out by providing helpful introductory material, and adding information giving the rationale behind steps when possible. Funny thing is, people don't really care about that stuff. They just want "Click this, open this, type that, you're done" presented with minimal intro and details. Heck, though, if I'm going to risk writing an article that reads 75% like another one on the same topic.

I enjoy writing this kind of article because it really is helpful stuff, has a clear structure, and it helps content managers build web traffic. But I'm feeling nervous.

"Originality" for a topic like this, on the web to boot, seems like it must have a pretty minimal definition, especailly for more basic tutorials. Or am I on thin ice?

Any thoughts about this? Am I in danger of being flagged for plagiarism if I do as I say, adding the info I usually add, even if the basic steps are essentially the same as articles on the web? Or is this dangerous?
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