Paraphrasing 101

THREE Ineffective Paraphrases

TWO Effective Paraphrases

POINTERS ON HOW TO AVOID PLAGIARISM

WHAT IS PARPHRASING?
When you paraphrase you do 2
things:

• 1. Rephrase an original text in

YOUR OWN Words.

• 2. Credit the original writer by

mentioning his/her name
and/or the source of the
information.
Guidelines:
1. Include all of the ideas that are present in the original piece. You are not
summarizing.

2. Make sure you do not add any detail that is not in the original.

3: Carefully review for tense, spelling, word choice, syntax etc.

4. Keep your approach strictly objective!

* Do not add your opinion to the original passage. For instance, if the
writer mentions something in a factual way, do not add a personal value
judgment, for example that something thing is tragic, sad, or exciting.
A Sample Text to Paraphrase
ORIGINAL TEXT: There is a popular notion that single-sex education is better for students, and
particularly for girls. The extensive body of research into the relative merits of single-sex and co-
education doesn’t come down conclusively on either side, but this perception informs the choices of
many Irish parents (Harris, 2018).

FAULTY PARAPHRASE #1
Boys do not benefit from going to the same schools as girls. Studies have made
this point clear. For that reason, separate schools for boys and girls are popular in
Ireland.

Why is this paraphrase faulty? Is there anything that is done well?

Explanation of “Faulty Paraphrase #1”
Red = omitted detail / Underlined text = inaccurate detail

ORIGINAL TEXT: There is a popular notion that single-sex education is better for
students, and particularly for girls. The extensive body of research into the relative
merits of single-sex and co-education doesn’t come down conclusively on either
side, but this perception informs the choices of many Irish parents (Harris, 2018).
-- -- -- -- --
Boys do not benefit from going to the same schools as girls. Studies
have made this point clear. For that reason, separate schools for boys
and girls are popular in Ireland. (No citation)
Ineffective Paraphrase #2
ORIGINAL TEXT: There is a popular notion that single-sex education is better for students, and
particularly for girls. The extensive body of research into the relative merits of single-sex and co-
education doesn’t come down conclusively on either side, but this perception informs the choices of
many Irish parents (Harris, 2018).

According to Harris (2018) sex education is important in Ireland. Most

of educators in Ireland believe that boys and girls should be educated
in different schools because there is a lot of researches that support
this idea.

• Why is this paraphrase faulty? Is there anything that is done well?

Explanation of Faulty Paraphrase #2
Red = omitted detail / Underlined text = inaccurate detail Green = faulty
language
ORIGINAL TEXT: There is a popular notion that single-sex education is better for students, and
particularly for girls. The extensive body of research into the relative merits of single-sex and co-
education doesn’t come down conclusively on either side, but this perception informs the choices of many
Irish parents (Harris, 2018).

According to Harris (2018) sex education is important in Ireland. Most of educators in Ireland believe
that boys and girls should be educated in different schools because there is a lot of researches that
support[s] this idea.

• Well done: According to Harris (2018)…

• This passage is not discussing “sex education.”
• Research is a non-count noun and can NEVER be pluralized in English.
• Incorrect: Most of + noun [This form is ALWAYS incorrect]
• Correct: Most of the educators or Most educators
Ineffective Paraphrase #3
ORIGINAL TEXT: There is a popular notion that single-sex education is better for students, and
particularly for girls. The extensive body of research into the relative merits of single-sex and co-
education doesn’t come down conclusively on either side, but this perception informs the choices of
many Irish parents (Harris, 2018).

There is a very accepted notion that single-sex education is good for students,
especially for female students. The large amount of research into the relative merits
of single-sex and co-education does not establish conclusively which is more
beneficial. However, this belief affects the choices of many Irish mothers and
fathers (Harris, 2018).

Why is this paraphrase faulty? Is there anything that is done well?

 Explanation of ineffective paraphrase #3
1. The exact structure of the sentences is copied.
2.Underlined words and phrases are taken directly from the original.
3. Brown = Synonyms are merely plugged in.

ORIGINAL TEXT: There is a popular notion that single-sex education is better for students, and
particularly for girls. The extensive body of research into the relative merits of single-sex and co-
education doesn’t come down conclusively on either side, but this perception informs the choices of
many Irish parents (Harris, 2018).

There is a very accepted notion that single-sex education is good for students,
especially for female students. The large amount of research into the relative merits
of single-sex and co-education does not establish conclusively which is more
beneficial. However, this belief influences the choices of many Irish mothers and
fathers (Harris, 2018).

• Well done: Not much!!!

 Effective Paraphrase #1 – Hurray!
ORIGINAL TEXT: There is a popular notion that single-sex education is better for
students, and particularly for girls. The extensive body of research into the relative
merits of single-sex and co-education doesn’t come down conclusively on either
side, but this perception informs the choices of many Irish parents (Harris, 2018).
-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
1. Despite the fact that many studies have not established that separate schools for
boys and girls should be the goal of education, it is generally believed that all
children, especially girls, would benefit from such schools. In Ireland schools where
both boys and girls study together are not preferred by parents [are not the norm]
(Harris, 2018).
 Effective Paraphrase #2—Bravo!
ORIGINAL TEXT: There is a popular notion that single-sex education is
better for students, and particularly for girls. The extensive body of
research into the relative merits of single-sex and co-education doesn’t
come down conclusively on either side, but this perception informs the
choices of many Irish parents (Harris, 2018).

2. According to Harris (2018), the general belief that schools should not be
mixed with both male and female students has not been supported by the
many studies that have been conducted. Despite this fact, all-boys and all-
girls schools are preferred by parents in Ireland
Rephrasing Some Key Words
SINGLE-SEX EDUCATION

• Gender-specific schools
• The establishment of schools according to gender
• All-boys and all-girls schools
• Separate schools for boys and girls
• The separate education of boys and girls

CO-EDUCATION
• Mixed-gender education
How To Avoid Plagiarism (A)

1. Read the text carefully and take notes.

2. To avoid UNINTENTIONAL PLAGIARISM when summarizing or
paraphrasing, CLOSE THE BOOK CONTAINING THE ORIGINAL SOURCE
MATERIAL. By doing so, you must rely on your own understanding and
memory of the original content.
3. This should prevent copying.
4. Once you have completed your summary or paraphrase, crosscheck
it with the original to ensure that you are not indebted to the author
for any word—phrase—or sentence structure.
How To Avoid Plagiarism (B)
Remember the following:
1.Do not borrow the exact sentence structure of the original and then merely replace some
of the original words with synonyms. This is a kind of plagiarism. You need to restructure the
text as much as possible. Then, give the author credit for the ideas by using a citation

2. If you put the original in your own words but do NOT cite the source, you are telling the
reader that the ideas are your own. The result is plagiarism.

3. If you copy the words of the text but then cite the author, this is definitely plagiarism.
What you are telling the reader is that the ideas belong to the cited author, but the wording is
your own! If you copy the words you MUST use “quotation marks.“ If possible, do not use
“quotation marks.” However, sometimes, you will put technical words in quotation marks.
Make a couple of drafts first!

• Give yourself enough time to do a good job.

• The, you’re ready to submit your paraphrase!