Paraphrasing

Two ways that students use to evidence reading in their work are quoting and paraphrasing.

Definitions

Quoting means accurately repeating, inside speech marks, what is written or said
word for word.

Paraphrasing means rewriting information using your own words

What does paraphrasing involve?

Paraphrasing is demonstrating your understanding of the texts you are reading by writing
them in your own words. To do this you need to write an accurate account of the text you
have read and include references in the appropriate style to show exactly where the
information has come from. If you do not reference, you are not acknowledging the work
that has been done by someone else and this is called plagiarising. Your tutor will point this
out to you and it is a form of ‘academic dishonesty’.

Sometimes paraphrasing is also referred to as summarising although this is slightly different

in that you need to write more precisely and convey the meaning in as few words as
possible.

Why paraphrase?
Paraphrasing is better than quoting, because a quote in your writing only shows your ability
to copy from a text but does not demonstrate any understanding of your reading unless you
then include an interpretation of the quote. However, this is then a waste of words.

Paraphrasing is a way of showing your understanding of the information you have read but it
is a descriptive way of writing. It is a good starting point for developing your academic
writing style and learning to understand the need to reference in your first year at university
but as you move into later years you will need to develop a more critical approach. To
develop your writing further you need to read the critical thinking factsheet.

Paraphrasing (or summarising) allows you to:

• Show your understanding of the original source.

• Discuss links and connections between the cited work and the point that you are making.
• Ensure the reader can grasp broad ideas or arguments without reading the source text.
It provides a context for the topic.
• Compare and contrast sources, making you more able to demonstrate that you have
adopted a critical approach to your reading.

To develop your ability to paraphrase:

• Keep the paraphrase as simple as possible.
• Express the points concisely.
• Use your own words and do not be tempted to copy from the original text unless there is
to include technical language.

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What not to do when paraphrasing:
• Use the same sentence structure as the original source: for example, only changing a
few words.
• Only slightly adapt the original source and then pass this off as your own summary or
paraphrase.
• Copy useful pieces of the original text and pad it out using your own words.
• You must not use bits of the original sentence(s) without referencing these
appropriately otherwise you risk being accused of plagiarism.
• Change each word to a similar one, a synonym, as you go along a sentence, so
technically it is all changed. This it does not demonstrate your understanding of the
source read.

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