Paraphrasing

TIP NUMBER 1
Putting an author’s idea into your own words is called “paraphrasing.”

A good paraphrase includes the following elements:

• totally different words and sentence structure from the original

• the name of the original author and text

• a page citation (unless you also present the direct quote--in that case, you can just cite the quote
itself)

In the following example, the direct quote is taken from Michael Moore's book Dude, Where's My
Country. The paraphrase contains the same idea as the quotation, but it does not use any of the same
words or sentence structure. It also includes the author's name. Both versions include a page citation to
show where the quote is from:

direct quote:

“Who attacked the United States on September 11—a guy on dialysis from a cave in Afghanistan, or your
friends, Saudi Arabia?” (15).

paraphrase:

Michael Moore suggests that Saudi Arabia might be to blame for the attacks on the World Trade Center
(15).

When and why would I use a paraphrase?

There are a number of reasons that you might paraphrase a text, including the following:

• You are including the information from the text in a research paper.

• You are writing a summary. (learn more about writing summaries)

• You are explaining a quotation before or after you present it. (learn more about discussing
quotations)

• You are doing an assignment that asks you to explain the meaning of a passage.

• You are studying for a test and want to see if you understand the ideas from a text.

How different should the paraphrase be from the original?

When you paraphrase, make sure you are not copying the author’s phrases or sentence structure. A
paraphrase should show that you have taken in the author's idea, understood it, and can explain it in
your own words. Therefore, your rewrite should look totally different from the original.

The following examples show an incorrect and correct paraphrase of a quotation from “In Praise of the F
Word” by Mary Sherry:

original quote

“Passing students who have not mastered the work cheats them and the employers who expect
graduates to have basic skills” (512).
incorrect paraphrase: too similar

When we pass students who have not mastered the work, we cheat them and the employers who expect
graduates to have particular skills (512).

correct paraphrase: completely different

According to Mary Sherry, it is not fair to pass students who have not done strong work in school. She
argues that passing these students will hurt them in their future careers (512).

Notice that the correct paraphrase uses almost none of the original words or phrasing. It also names the
author or text of the original passage. This paraphrase shows that you have understood the passage and
re-explained its main ideas in your own words.

NOTE:

• Use Synonyms

• Use a Different Word Form

• Change from the Active to the Passive

• Change the word order

• Use a combination of techniques

TIP NUMBER 2
The Writing Center

PARAPHRASING: HOW AND WHEN

Paraphrasing has two key elements:

• Giving credit to an author for his or her ideas.

• Expressing these ideas in your words, not in the author's words.

Your Biggest Enemy in Paraphrasing is Being Tired

When you work on your paper and are very tired, there is a great temptation to change only 1 or 2
words and to consider that a paraphrase. If you do this, you are really plagiarizing because even the
sentence structure is considered the author's. The whole paper needs to be written in your voice, unless
the field of study you are in requires many direct quotes.

An Example

Here is an example of a quote that is not exactly the greatest thing to put in your essay because there
are phrases that would not read well if quoted exactly. It is by psychologist Otto Rank, who is writing
about the ability that great artists have to put themselves into their work and to overcome the many
struggles they face.
“The artist, however, here also, in spite of many difficulties and struggles, finds a constructive, a middle
way: he avoids the complete loss of himself in life, not by remaining in a negative attitude, but by living
himself out entirely in creative work. This fact is so obvious that, when we intuitively admire some great
work of art, we say the whole artist is in it and expresses himself in it.”

Now let us see this quote paraphrased so that Rank is given credit and the ideas are handled as you wish
to handle them.

Otto Rank, in his book Art and Artist (1932), believed that the chief distinction of great artists was their
ability not to lose themselves in everyday life, but rather to live their lives and to express themselves
fully in their artwork (p. 373). They did not get overwhelmed either by the details of life or of their art.

Why Paraphrasing Is Important and Difficult

Paraphrasing is required in college writing because it is so much shorter than quoting and allows you
control over the ideas or content. To paraphrase well, consider your focus or thesis, and let that guide
you in shaping the sentence.

Ref: paraphrasing. https://www.csuohio.edu/writing-center/paraphrasing-how-and-when