17 Paraphrasing
Paraphrasing means to rewrite someone else’s idea in your own words. When paraphrasing, you maintain the original meaning of a source but change the structure. Paraphrasing also helps to avoid the overuse of quotes in your writing. A paraphrase is usually shorter than the original text.
Key Takeaways
Use paraphrasing to[1]:
- To present, compare, or contrast the contributions of others in your own writing style
- To show that you understand the information you are using by rewording and restructuring it rather than simply copying it
- To maintain the flow of your writing
- To eliminate less relevant information
Paraphrasing vs. Patchwriting
Paraphrasing
Paraphrasing means to rewrite someone else’s idea in your own words while changing the structure of the original.
Patchwriting
In patchwriting a writer attempts to paraphrase but ultimately imitates the sentence structure or vocabulary of the source (Howard 233). Patchwriting is a common mistake, but it is not an accepted form of writing in academia and is considered a form of plagiarism even if you cite your source.
Paraphrasing vs patchwriting: Example
Have a look at the original text below and compare it to the two restatements. In the first example, the writer uses several exact phrases from the original and several synonyms or phrases that are very close to the original. In addition, much of the structure of the paragraph is the same. This is an example of patchwriting and, despite a proper citation being included, an instance of plagiarism.
In the second example, the writer uses their own voice to express the idea of the original text. Besides a few individual words that would be difficult to replace, such as “Shreveport”, “river monster” and “DNA”, the original has been entirely rewritten and the structure has been changed significantly. This is an example of proper paraphrasing.
Original Text:
Historians are uncertain of the true origins of the Louisiana river monster, but new evidence suggests the creature may have closer ties to humanity than previously thought. Student researchers recently tracked down a notorious river monster in the Shreveport area and obtained a DNA sample. After mailing the results to an online ancestry service, the students were shocked to find that the river monster shares distant relatives with many Shreveport natives.
Restatement 1:
Rogers asserts that the Louisiana river monster and Shreveport citizens may have closer connections to humanity than previously believed as a DNA analysis indicates that the river monster shares distant relatives with many Shreveport natives (47).
Restatement 2:
Rogers theorizes that the Louisiana river monster and Shreveport citizens are distantly related as a DNA analysis found common relatives between the creature and Shreveport residents (47).
How to Paraphrase
Write a paraphrase using the five-step method:
1. Read the original text in its context.
You cannot simply grab pieces of information out of context because this can lead to misunderstanding the information. Read your source in its context and ask questions like:
- What is the focus?
- How does this information relate to my research topic?
- What is the main thing that the authors found?
Once you have answered these questions, you will be prepared to identify the specific pieces of information that are relevant to your paper and that you may want to paraphrase.
The original text in its context:
This study quantitatively and qualitatively evaluates the extent to which incorporating an artistic class assignment into a traditional lecture course stimulates student enjoyment and enhances the students’ perceived retention of course material. The results indicate that the project provides great benefit to college students by incorporating a variety of teaching methods and learning strategies. Artistic and creative assignments, such as the one described in this article, allow for student engagement, repetition of material, and processing and application of ideas. (Wellman 32)
After reading the source in its context, you decide to paraphrase the part in italics. Underline key words and check words and concepts in a monolingual dictionary:
- engagement = being involved with someone or something in order to understand it
- processing = dealing with something through a series of steps
2. Break up the original part you want to paraphrase into chunks of meaning and number these chunks.
3. Without looking at the original text, write a first draft of the paraphrase.
First draft: By allowing students to complete creative activities as a part of a post-secondary course, students were more deeply involved with the course material, thinking about it and remembering it more effectively.
4. Check the paraphrase with the checklist below. Did I…
- Change the sentence structure?
- Change the order of the words?
- Use synonyms for words that are not key words?
- Use different types of connecting words?
- Change the order of the ideas (where possible)?
Revise the paraphrase.
Original
(1) The results indicate that (2) the project provides great benefit to college students (3) by incorporating a variety of teaching methods and (4) learning strategies. (5) Artistic and creative assignments, (6) such as the one described in this article, (7) allow for student engagement, (8) repetition of material, and (9) processing and (10) application of ideas.
Paraphrase First Draft:
By allowing students to complete creative activities as a part of a post-secondary course, students were more deeply involved with the course material, thinking about it and remembering it more effectively.
Paraphrase Final Version:
When students are encouraged to complete creative activities as a part of a post-secondary course, they are more deeply involved with course material, thinking about it and remembering it more effectively.
5. Integrate your final paraphrase in your writeup and include a citation.
Let’s look at an example:
Original Text
Historians are uncertain of the true origins of the Louisiana river monster, but new evidence suggests the creature may have closer ties to humanity than previously thought. Student researchers recently tracked down a notorious river monster in the Shreveport area and obtained a DNA sample. After mailing the results to an online ancestry service, the students were shocked to find that the river monster shares distant relatives with many Shreveport natives.
- (Stern 12). ↵
