How to Paraphrase: Student's Secret to Original Writing

To paraphrase means to modify what someone else has written. You’re changing some element of what another individual said, which is not the same as giving a direct quote. You are retaining the source material’s original meaning, but you are avoiding plagiarism.

In this article, we will discuss how to paraphrase properly. We will include examples, techniques, and best practices.

How Do You Paraphrase: Five Easy Steps to Follow

As the Scribbr website states, "In academic writing, it’s usually better to integrate sources by paraphrasing instead of quoting." There is definitely a best way to paraphrase, and then there are less desirable methods. Let’s talk about the steps you’d take to do it in an essay, for instance.

Make Sure You Comprehend the Original Text First

First, it is preferable to read the source material fully to make sure that you completely understand it. To rephrase something, you should have total comprehension of it.

Identify All the Key Ideas

Next, you can pick out all of the main points or ideas that you would like to feature in your modified version of the text.

Rewrite the Basic Concept in Your Own Words

At this point, you’ll need to understand how to start a paraphrase. Look at the original writing and attempt to convey the same meaning while changing the structure and wording of how you are presenting it. If there are some additional elements that you would like to add, you can certainly do that as well.

Compare What You’ve Written with the Original Text

Next, you can compare what you have written with the original version. Ideally, you should have taken the main concept and reworded it while still retaining its meaning.

Cite Your Source

To avoid an accusation of plagiarism by a professor or anyone else, you will often still need to provide a citation when you paraphrase. Paper writers in academic circles do this all the time.

Just make sure you know whether your instructor wants you to do so in MLA format, APA, Chicago, or something else. Each of these has a slightly different format.

How to Properly Paraphrase

It would be correct to say that there is a fine line between an individual who has learned to paraphrase properly and one who is outright plagiarizing. To paraphrase text, you need to make sure you have changed enough of the words so that what you come up with is mostly unique.

If you’re not sure you have changed enough of the words, though, you always have the option of adding citations. There are tons of online sites that can help you do that if you’re not familiar with any of the recommended styles.

How to Avoid Incorrect Paraphrasing

While paraphrasing in essays is something that many students do, there are ways to do it correctly and ones that are likely to get you in trouble with your instructor. Some examples of how to incorrectly paraphrase include:

• Failing to Change Enough of the Wording from the Source Material
  In the Purdue Owl’s article on paraphrasing, it states that you can "use quotation marks to identify any unique term or phraseology you have borrowed exactly from the source." When you do this, there can be no doubt that you have taken what someone else wrote and are using it directly as part of your paper. However, if you change just a word or two in a long quote and try to pass it off as your own writing, that is an incorrect way to paraphrase. Paragraph writers, article writers, or anyone else who does this can consider themselves at risk of getting a failing grade.
• Following the Unique Text Structure Too Closely
  When you set out to paraphrase, sentence and paragraph writers alike need to keep something in mind. Every individual writes with their own style. It’s notable when you’ve seen a few examples of their work. If you duplicate someone else’s writing style too closely, that is just as much an example of plagiarism as not changing enough words. You can potentially get yourself in trouble in the academic world if one of your professors notices that your writing style too closely resembles one of the main researchers or creative thinkers in the subject you are studying.

Proper Paraphrasing: Useful Tips

Paraphrasing is a method of creating your own interpretation of information someone else wrote. To take it a step further, in the APA style guide, it states that "paraphrasing allows you to summarize and synthesize information from one or more sources, focus on significant information, and compare and contrast relevant details."

Let us say that you intend to paraphrase. Article writers, individuals writing dissertations, or those creating any kind of output based in part on existing content should keep the following tips in mind:

• Change the Sentence Structure
  Alteration of sentence structure is an excellent way to change the content a little. You might change the sentence from active to passive voice, or the other way around. Remember that you don’t want to mangle the language too badly, though.
  
• Change the Vocabulary
  Changing some of the vocabulary that was used in the original piece of writing and replacing it with your own is another logical way to paraphrase. You can always Google some words and look for synonyms for them if you’re not able to think of any on your own.
  
• Attempt to Maintain the Original Meaning
  Remember, though, you are typically attempting to retain the original meaning when you paraphrase. You can always spin a concept off into a new direction, but only do so after you have rephrased or restructured the intended point.
  

Paraphrasing Examples

Now, let’s look at how to paraphrase examples. These should illustrate some of the points we’ve been making.

Consider the sentence: "It’s crucial that hotel owners use key performance indicators when creating their marketing strategies." Here is an example of how you might paraphrase that sentence: "It’s vital that the owners of hotels utilize key performance indicators as they figure out their marketing techniques."

The approximate meaning remains the same, but several of the words and the sentence’s structure have changed. While this is a reasonable example of a paraphrased concept, it would still be appropriate to consider citing the original source.

Here’s another sentence: "Children need structure and discipline if they are to become productive members of society." This could be a way to paraphrase that sentence: "Children need discipline and structure if they are to become productive members of society."

In this example, note that only two of the words are changed. This is a look at incorrect paraphrasing. The original meaning is still present, but the text has barely been altered at all.

How to Cite When You Paraphrase

Adding citations when you paraphrase is a way of covering your bases. It means you won’t get into any trouble in academic circles. The main ways to cite in academia are APA, MLA, and Chicago.

How to Paraphrase and Not Plagiarize

We have now discussed how to paraphrase a paragraph without plagiarizing. How might you make sure you’ve gotten it right, though?

This is where a reliable plagiarism checker comes in. You might use the Studybay Plagiarism Checker, for instance.

When you run what you have written through one of these checkers, in a few moments, you will get back a report that picks out any parts that you plagiarized, whether intentionally or not. If there are any sections that are highlighted, you can either add a citation or you’ll know to continue changing what you have written till the checker considers it to be original.

Paraphrasing vs. Quoting: How to Tell the Difference

Paraphrasing is not the same thing as quoting directly. When you quote a text directly, you’re using that quote word for word. When you paraphrase, you’re changing elements of the text.

You should learn and use the paraphrasing format only at certain times. For instance, if a professor tells you that it’s okay to do that, then you can write a paper that includes paraphrased quotes.

If an instructor says that you can’t paraphrase, that’s when you’ll need to put direct quotes in a paper. Make sure you know each professor’s policy on this topic if you attend an institution.

Paraphrasing vs. Summarizing

Paraphrasing rules and those governing summarization are similar to each other. While paraphrasing means changing some words while keeping a text’s original meaning, summarization is more about condensing an original text while still focusing on its main points.

Conclusion

Now, you should know how to paraphrase correctly. While a paper written by a human author is always optimal, you can also use Studybay AI if you’re interested in using artificial intelligence to paraphrase something for school or work. It’s an excellent tool that can save you time if you have an important paper due.

Resources

Gahan, C. (2022, April 8). How to Paraphrase | Step-by-Step Guide & Examples. Scribbr. https://www.scribbr.com/working-with-sources/how-to-paraphrase

Paraphrasing (2018). Purdue.edu. https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/using_research/quoting_paraphrasing_and_summarizing/paraphrasing.html

Paraphrases. (2019). Paraphrases. Https://Apastyle.apa.org. https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/citations/paraphrasing