Research Methodology 2022 Paraphrasing Resource Sheet

Materials adapted from Writers Inc*

A paraphrase (noun) is a restatement of the idea and words of another author

(writer/creator). To paraphrase (verb) is the action of preparing a paraphrase.

WHY PARAPHRASE?
In order to properly (that is honestly, and with respect for the person/people who
developed the idea) recognise the work of others. With correct paraphrasing you will avoid
plagiarism.

PLAGIARISM: The action or practice of taking someone else’s

work, idea, etc., and passing it off as one’s own; literary theft.
(Oxford English Dictionary)

STEPS IN PREPARING A PARAPHRASE

1. Keep a record of passages/articles/sources that may be useful to you in your
assignment
 Develop the habit of recording the url or details from the book/source so you
are able to locate it again later + the idea that you thought
interesting/relevant
2. When you are ready to paraphrase, read over /listen to the resource again and be
sure you are clear about the meaning – identify and check the definitions of key
words/phrases
3. Without looking at the source material, try to list the main points being made
4. Check your list of main points with the original source materials – did you really get
all the main points? (at this stage, you should be writing in point form only)
5. Write your paraphrase of the source
 Use your list of the main points
 Develop clear sentences about the ideas you want to use from the list of
main points
 If you feel you need to use the exact words of the original source, put
quotation marks (“”) around the selection
 Arrange your sentences in a smooth, logical way
6. Check your paraphrase – it should accurately reflect the original source material
7. Consider using an online paraphrase checking tool to confirm your paraphrase is not
plagiarising the work of others

*Great Source Education Group (2006) Writers Inc. Houghton Mifflin Company, Wilmington, MA.
Research Methodology 2022 Paraphrasing Resource Sheet
Materials adapted from Writers Inc*

EXAMPLE PARAPHRASE
Reference: Smith, M. A., Blunt, J. R., Whiffen, J. W., & Karpicke, J. D. (2016). Does providing
prompts during retrieval practice improve learning? Applied Cognitive Psychology, 30, 544–
553.) Here is a summary of the article from the journal website:
The purpose of this investigation was to identify ways to prompt retrieval practice to
make recall even more effective at producing meaningful learning. In two
experiments, subjects read educational texts and practiced retrieval across two
periods. During prompted retrieval, subjects were cued to explain and describe
concepts from the text, whereas during free recall, subjects recalled as much of the
material from the text as they could. A reading control condition was also included.
Learning was assessed using both verbatim and higher‐order questions 1 week later.
Practicing retrieval improved learning relative to the control on both types of
questions; however, whether subjects practiced free or prompted retrieval did not
matter for learning. Subjects rated prompted retrieval as less enjoyable and
interesting than the other retrieval conditions. Results demonstrate practicing
retrieval promoted meaningful learning, and that subjects' initial retrieval success was
highest when they used their own retrieval strategies during recall.

USING THE STEPS OUTLINED ABOVE

Reference (APA style) Smith, M. A., Blunt, J. R., Whiffen, J. W., & Karpicke, J. D. (2016). Does
providing prompts during retrieval practice improve learning? Applied Cognitive Psychology, 30,
544–553. Summary accessed on https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/acp.3227

Identify/check meaning of key words/phrases

e.g. retrieval practice/recall/prompted retrieval/ meaningful learning …..
Main points being made

 authors’ purpose - is there any difference in learning (that is the ability to explain
specific concepts) among students given practice in retrieving the information in
different ways
 control group who only read the material
 results indicated that practising (doing) active recollection of the material
throughout either prompted or in “free recall” was positive in terms of desired
learning (the concepts were remembered and could be explained)
Check your list of main points with the original source materials – did you really get all
the main points?

 didn’t mention student preference for free recall practice rather than prompted
recall
 didn’t mention that there were two experiments

*Great Source Education Group (2006) Writers Inc. Houghton Mifflin Company, Wilmington, MA.
Research Methodology 2022 Paraphrasing Resource Sheet
Materials adapted from Writers Inc*

Write your paraphrase of the source

Helping students to develop efficient learning skills is important. Recent research
(Smith et.al., 2016) indicates that including activities that require students to
bring to mind the concepts that they are trying to learn at regular intervals will
help them really remember and understand. Interestingly the researchers found
that it didn’t matter if the “retrieval practice” was specifically prompted by the
teacher, or if it was part of an activity where any information remembered about
the concept was recalled.
Check your paraphrase – it should accurately reflect the original source material
Consider using an online paraphrase checking tool to avoid plagiarism

*Great Source Education Group (2006) Writers Inc. Houghton Mifflin Company, Wilmington, MA.