Paraphrasing

A paraphrase is...

• your own rendition of essential information

and ideas expressed by someone else,
presented in a new form.
• one legitimate way (when accompanied by
accurate documentation) to borrow from a
source.
• a more detailed restatement than a summary,
which focuses concisely on a single main idea.
• Has a different structure to the original
• Has a mainly different vocabulary
• Retains the same meaning
• Keeps some phrases from the original that are
in common use e.g. ‘artificial intelligence’ or
‘social media’
 Paraphrasing is a valuable skill because...

• it is better than quoting

• controls the temptation to quote too much.
• grasp the full meaning of the original.
What is NOT Paraphrasing

• -Changing a
couple of words.
• -Deleting a couple
words or phrases.
• -Rearranging the
order of the
words.
 So How Do We Do It?

o Read the passage

carefully PARAPHRASE
o Decide the main ME!
ideas of the passage
o Identify important
words or phrases
o Put the main points
in your own words
 Techniques
• Changing vocabulary by using synonyms
– Argues> claims
– 1700’s
– Wages
– Economize
• Changing word class
– Explanation
– Mechanical
– Profitable
• 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
 Steps to Effective Paraphrasing

• Reread the original passage until you

understand its full meaning.
• Set the original aside, and write your
paraphrase on a note card.
• Take notes that will help you
• Check your rendition with the original to make
sure that your version accurately expresses all
the essential information in a new form.
• Use quotation marks to identify any unique
term or phraseology you have borrowed
exactly from the source.

• Record the source (including the page) on

your note card so that you can credit it easily if
you decide to incorporate the material into
your paper.
 Quoting directly can be used when...

• You want to add the power of an author’s

words to support your argument
• You want to disagree with an author’s
argument
• You are comparing and contrasting specific
points of view
• You want to highlight particularly powerful
or effective phrases.
 When to paraphrase (most of the time):

• You want to use your own “voice” to present

information
• You want to incorporate the author’s ideas
into your own writing
• You want to avoid over-quotation!
 Summarise when...
• You want to establish the background to a
topic
• You want to offer an overview of a topic
• You want to describe common knowledge
from several sources about a topic
• You want to communicate the main ideas of a
single source.
 Original Passage:
Students frequently overuse direct quotation in taking notes, and as a result they
overuse quotations in the final [research] paper. Probably only about 10% of
your final manuscript should appear as directly quoted matter. Therefore, you
should strive to limit the amount of exact transcribing of source material while
taking notes.
Lester, James D. Writing Research Papers. 2nd ed. (1976): 4647.
A Legitimate Paraphrase: An Acceptable Summary:
In research papers students often Students should take just a few notes in
quote excessively, failing to keep
quoted material down to a direct quotation from sources to help
desirable level. Since the problem minimize the amount of quoted material in
usually originates during note a research paper (Lester 4647).
taking, it is essential to minimize
the material recorded verbatim
(Lester 4647).
A Plagiarized Version:
Students often use too many direct quotations when they take notes, resulting in
too many of them in the final research paper. In fact, probably only about 10% of
the final copy should consist of directly quoted material. So it is important to
limit the amount of source material copied while taking notes.