English for Academic Purposes I (2021) L07 - Paraphrasing Skills

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L07 – Paraphrasing Skills

Paraphrasing means changing the wording of a text so that it is significantly different from
the original source, without changing the meaning. Effective paraphrasing is a key academic
skill needed to avoid the risk of plagiarism by demonstrates one’s understanding of a source.
This lecture focuses on techniques for paraphrasing as part of the note-making and
summarising process.

Why should we paraphrase?

1. It is an alternative to direct quotation.
2. We can rewrite others’ ideas without changing the meaning.
3. We can express others’ ideas in our own words.
4. We can support claims or provide evidence in our writing.

Paraphrasing and summarising are normally used together in essay writing. Paraphrasing
attempts to restate the relevant information, while summarising aims to reduce
information to a suitable length. Look at the following example.

Original: There has been much debate about the reasons for the industrial revolution
happening in eighteenth-century Britain, rather than in France or Germany.
Paraphrase: Why the industrial revolution occurred in Britain in the eighteenth century,
instead of on the continent, has been the subject of considerable discussion.

Note that an effective paraphrase usually:

 has a different structure to the original
 has mainly different vocabulary
 retains the same meaning
 keeps specialized phrases from the original that would be clumsy to simplify, such as
‘industrial revolution’.

Notice the changes which have been made in the following example.
Original: The mere physical proximity of one person to another is a potent facilitator of
attraction (Martin et al., 2007).
Paraphrase: Attraction between two people is greatly influenced by their physical closeness
(Martin et al., 2007).

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Original Paraphrase
Physical proximity Physical closeness
Of one person to another Between two people
X is a potent facilitator of Y Y is greatly influenced by X
‘Physical proximity’ is the subject of the ‘Attraction’ is the subject of the sentence
sentence

Group Task – Analysing paraphrases

Get into your group and identify the weakest paraphrase in Case 1 and Case 2
below. You have 10 minutes for discussion. After that, your lecturer will invite 2
(or more) groups to present their discussion results in front of the class. Get
ready to justify your answers.

Case 1
Original Text
Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder characterised by a severe decrease in eating.
The literal meaning of the word ‘anorexia’ suggests a loss of appetite, but people with
this disorder generally do not lose their appetite. (Martin et al., 2007)
Paraphrase 1
An extreme reduction in food consumed by a person may indicate they have the eating
disorder anorexia nervosa. Although the term ‘anorexia’ literally means losing your
appetite, this is generally not the case with sufferers. (Martin et al., 2007)
Paraphrase 2
Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder indicated by an extreme reduction in eating.
‘Anorexia’ literally means a loss of appetite, but people with this disorder do not generally
lose their hunger. (Martin et al., 2007)

Case 2
Original Text
Allen (2009) argued that the best explanation for the British location of the industrial
revolution is found by studying demand factors. By the early eighteenth century, high
wages and cheap energy were both features of the British economy. Consequently,
the mechanisation of industry through such inventions as the steam engine and
mechanical spinning was profitable because employers were able to economise in
labour by spending on coal. At that time, no other country had this particular
combination of expensive labour and abundant fuel.

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Paraphrase 3
A focus on demand may help to explain the UK origin of the industrial revolution. At
that time workers' pay was high, but energy from coal was inexpensive. This
encouraged the development of mechanical inventions based on steam power, which
enabled bosses to save money by mechanising production (Allen, 2009).
Paraphrase 4
The reason why Britain was the birthplace of the industrial revolution can be
understood by analysing demand in the early 1700s, according to Allen (2009). He
maintains that, uniquely, Britain had the critical combination of cheap energy from
coal and high labour costs. This encouraged the adoption of steam power to
mechanise production, thus saving on wages and increasing profitability.
Paraphrase 5
Allen (2009) claimed that the clearest explanation for the UK location of the industrial
revolution is seen by examining demand factors. By the eighteenth century cheap
energy and high wages were both aspects of the British economy. As a result, the
mechanisation of industry through inventions such as the steam engine and
mechanical spinning was profitable because employers were able to save money on
employees by spending on coal. At that time, Britain was the only country with
significant deposits of coal.
***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** *****
Techniques for paraphrasing
Try to locate the following changes in the paraphrases above.
(a) Changing vocabulary by using synonyms:
best explanation > clearest explanation
studying > examining
wages > labour costs

(b) Changing word class:

explanation (n.) > explain (v.)
mechanical (adj.) > mechanise (v.)
profitable (adj.) > profitability (n.)

(c) Changing word order:

... the best explanation for the British location of the industrial revolution is found by
studying demand factors.
>> A focus on demand may help explain the UK origin of the industrial revolution.

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What are synonyms?
Synonyms are different words with a similar meaning. A good writer uses them to avoid
repetition and thus provide more interest for the reader. Synonyms should also be used
when paraphrasing or note-making to avoid plagiarism.

Task 1 – How synonyms work?

Underline the synonyms in the following text and complete the table.
Royal Dutch Shell is the largest oil company in the world by revenue, with a
significant share of the global hydrocarbon market. The giant firm employs over
100,000 people internationally, including over 8,000 employees in Britain.

word / phrase synonym

largest giant
oil
company
in the world
people

Synonyms are not always exactly the same in meaning, but it is important not to change the
register. ‘Firm” is a good synonym for ‘company’, but ‘boss’ is too informal to use for
‘manager’. You have to remember that informal English should be avoided in academic
writing.

Task 2 – Read the following text and then practise the techniques illustrated on page 3.
Four Wheels Good
The growth of the car industry parallels the development of modern capitalism. It
began in France and Germany, but took off in the United States. There Henry Ford
adapted the moving production line from the Chicago meat industry to motor
manufacturing, thus inventing mass production. In the 1920s Alfred Sloan's
management theories helped General Motors to become the world's dominant car
company. After the Second World War the car makers focused on the styling of their
products to encourage more frequent model changes. From the 1970s there was
criticism of the industry due to the inefficiency of most vehicles, which used petrol
wastefully. At the same time, trades unions became increasingly militant in defence of
their members' jobs. Today the industry owns some of the most famous brands in the
world. However, many car makers are currently threatened by increased competition
and saturated markets.

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A. Find synonyms for the words underlined.

(i) The growth of the car industry parallels the development of modern capitalism.
rise ____________ ____________ progress ____________
(ii) It began in France and Germany, but took off in the United States.
____________ _______________
(iii) … adapted the moving production line from……to motor manufacturing, thus inventing…
_____________ _______________ ______________ ______________

B. Change the word class of the underlined words, and then re-write the sentences.
(i) In the 1920s Alfred Sloan's management theories helped General Motors to become
the world's dominant car company.
>> In the 1920s, with help from the managerial theories of Alfred Sloan, General Motors
_________________ the world's car companies.
(ii) After the Second World War, the car makers focused on the … …
>> After the Second World War, the _________________ of car makers was on the … …

(iii) From the 1970s there was criticism of the industry due to the inefficiency of most
vehicles, which used petrol wastefully.
>> From the 1970s the industry was _________________ for its _________________
vehicles which _________________ petrol.

C. Change the word order of the following sentences (other changes may be needed).
(i) At the same time, trades unions became increasingly militant in defence of their
members’ jobs.
>> At the same time increasingly militant trades unions defended their members’ jobs.
(ii) Today the industry owns some of the most famous brands in the world.

(iii) However, many car makers are currently threatened by increased competition and
saturated markets.

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Homework (optional)
Combine all these techniques to paraphrase the text “Four Wheels Good” in Task 4 as fully
as possible.

Task 3 – Good or bad paraphrasing?

From the journal article From the student’s assignment
In the mid-20th century, nearly 9% of the It has been predicted that by 2050, the
population grew up speaking English as percentage of people worldwide who speak
their first language, but that proportion is English as their first language (rather than as
declining – toward nearer 5% by 2050. a second language) will fall by almost half
(Graddol, 2004).
Decide if the following sentences are True or False.
1. The paraphrased version kept the meaning. ( T / F )
2. The paraphrased version modified the word order. ( T / F )
3. The paraphrased version changed most of the words. ( T / F )
4. The paraphrased version provided reference details (i.e. in-text citation). ( T / F )

Task 4 – Six steps to paraphrase

Fill in the blanks with the words in the box below.
proofread / underline / rewrite / synonyms / structure / original

1) Make sure you understand the _______________ text.

2) Find the important ideas (words and phrases) and _______________ them.
3) Find _______________ or alternative phrases for those words (a thesaurus would
help). You do not need to change specialised vocabulary.
4) Change the _______________ of the text. This includes:
a. changing adjectives to adverbs and nouns to verbs
b. breaking up long sentences and combining short sentences
c. identifying the relationships between words and ideas and expressing them in a
different way. (Be careful you do not change the meaning.)
5) After completing the above steps, you can begin to _______________ the main ideas
in complete sentences combining your notes into a piece of continuous writing.
6) _______________ your work.

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Task 5 – Paraphrasing Challenges
Complete the second sentence so that it has a similar meaning to the first sentence, using
the word given. Do not change the word given.

Example: Do you mind if I watch you while you paint?

 objection
Do you have any objection to my watching you while you paint?

1. Alan was not a confident person, and that was the reason why he was so shy.
 due to
Alan’s ___________________________________________________ of confidence.
2. Only passengers with Gold Star tickets may use the executive lounge.
 restricted
Use of the executive lounge ______________________________________ in possession
of Gold Star tickets.
3. You should not lock this door for any reason when the building is open to the public.
 circumstances
Under ______________________________________________ locked when the building
is open to the public.
4. In Colin’s opinion, he hasn’t done anything he should apologise for.
 concerned
As _____________________________ , he hasn’t done anything he should apologise for.
5. The writer’s stylistic writing style contrasted sharply with his spoken language.
 contrast
There _____________________________________ the writer’s spoken language and his
stylistic written style.
6. The committee said there was no possibility of discussing the matter any further.
 discussion
The committee said that further _____________________________________ question.
7. She had her own reasons for not telling us anything about her past.
 dark
As to her past, she kept us ________________________________________ reasons.

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8. When I started work I was so inexperienced that I couldn’t send a fax.

 clue
I didn’t ________________________________________ send a fax when I started work.
9. Peter is not very aware of other people’s feelings.
 lacks
Peter ________________________________________ comes to other people’s feelings.
10. Many people believe that all cats have tails, but they are wrong.
 popular
Contrary __________________________________________________ cats have tails.
11. This plant often gets attacked by insects.
 prone
This plant ________________________________________ by insects.
12. David paid little attention to his brother’s warnings.
 notice
David didn’t ________________________________________ his brother’s warnings.
13. Alison bought the big house because she wanted to open a hotel.
 view
Alison bought the big house ________________________________________ a hotel.
14. It is not very likely that Angela will be given the leading role.
 chance
Angela has ________________________________________ the leading role.

Acknowledgement
Material in this lecture handout is adapted from:
rd
Bailey, S. (2011). Academic writing: A handbook for international students. 3 ed. New York, NY: Routledge.
Gillet, A., Hammond, A., & Martala, M. (2009). Successful academic writing. New York, NY: Pearson Education.
Kissner, E. (2006). Summarizing, paraphrasing and retelling: Skills for better reading, writing and test taking. Portsmouth,
NH: Heinemann.
University of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate. (2001). Cambridge certificate of proficiency in English 1:
Examination papers. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.