Paraphrasing for Beginners

'Paraphrasing' means rewriting the same information in a different way. It helps you better to integrate the ideas into the particular piece you are writing.

Contents

1. Step-by-step paraphrasing
2. Text Comparison: Example original text and paraphrased text
3. Sentence Analysis

Step-by-step paraphrasing

1. Decide what the key information is, for the purposes of your discussion.
2. Change the order of the ideas and the words. This can help you to emphasise your interpretation of the original text.
3. Change the word form/grammatical form if necessary.
4. Use synonyms if appropriate, but do not change any specific terminology. In the example below, terms such as 'plagiarism management', 'universities', 'students' and 'distance' were not changed. The best place to find suitable synonyms will be elsewhere in the same article.
5. If some words stay the same in the same order (three or more consecutive words), you need to use quotation marks around these words.
6. Repeat the author's name or a pronoun through the paraphrase, so it is clear that we are still reading a paraphrase.
7. Add a detail about where the information came from, if necessary. In the example below, the information 'through her study of eighteen policies on plagiarism from different universities' was added, to give some context to the claims.
8. Keep the author name and page number. (You may have been told that you do not need the page number for a paraphrase, but if the idea came from one specific page, it is still useful to include it. That way, you can check the information again if you need to.)

Sentence Analysis

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Sentence 1

Original: Universities also place the burden of understanding plagiarism and attribution conventions on students.
Paraphrase: The responsibility for learning how to reference correctly and avoid plagiarism tends to be passed from the university to the students, as Sutherland-Smith (2010:9) found.

Here, the following changes have been made:

• Order of ideas or words (look for where 'university' appears)
• Word form (active 'place the burden on' changed to passive 'to be passed to')
• Synonyms ('understanding' changed to 'learning how to', 'plagiarism and attribution conventions' changed to 'reference correctly and avoid plagiarism'). Note some key terms have not been changed.

Sentence 2

Original: There are myriad information-laden web-based self-help tutorials and workshops on related sites for the universities in this study.
Paraphrase: She also points out that [...] many universities provide online self-access resources for students to try to learn more about this area,

Here, the following changes have been made:

• Order of ideas or words (look for where 'university' appears)
• Word form (descriptive 'There are' changed to active 'many universities provide')
• Synonyms (' information-laden web-based self-help tutorials and workshops on related sites' changed to 'online self-access resources', 'myriad' changed to 'many'). Note some key terms have not been changed.
• Some information has been added, to help explain the meaning ('for students to try to learn more about this area')

Sentence 3

Many are excellent resources and can be helpful.

Comment: This sentence was not included in the new paraphrase, as the writer felt it was not important for their discussion.

Sentence 4

Original:  Nevertheless, the lack of additional, detailed individual assistance about the techniques of engaging in academic writing conventions, particularly for students studying in off-campus or distance modes, raises issues of equity for plagiarism management policy makers.

Paraphrase:  ...the support provided is, on the whole, inadequate. Sutherland-Smith expands further to explain that this inadequacy is partly because the advice provided is not specific enough for each student, and partly because distance students will often receive even less support. She concludes that these issues carry implications for the decisions around plagiarism management, as some students may receive more assistance than others, leading to questions of inequity.

Here, the following changes have been made:

• The information has been divided into sub-points, to try to express the point more clearly. Some explanatory words and linking words have been added, to help explain the meaning and to show that it is the original author who has made these claims ('Sutherland-Smith expands further to explain that...')
• Synonyms ('issues of equity' changed to 'questions of inequity', 'raises issues' changed to 'carry implications'). Note some key terms have not been changed.

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