If you’d be embarrassed to explain how you did the work, you probably didn’t do the work.

Embarrassment about method is a reliable signal, and it usually arrives before you have admitted anything to yourself. If the route you took would need hiding, some part of you already knows the result is not really yours. The test is quick and hard to argue with. It also catches the things that are technically allowed but feel thin.

Before you hand something in, imagine describing exactly how you made it to the person marking it. If you flinch, change something now rather than hoping nobody asks. Redoing even one section honestly puts you back on ground you can stand on.