FAQs
Paraphrasing means expressing someone else's ideas in your own voice, while keeping the same essential meaning. Summarising means taking a long passage of text from someone else and condensing the main ideas in your own words.
What is the meaning of paraphrasing? ›
Paraphrase Definitions
As a verb, “to paraphrase” means “to express the meaning of the writer or speaker (or something written or spoken) using different words, especially to achieve greater clarity.” As a noun, “paraphrase” is defined as “a rewording of something written or spoken by someone else.”
What are the 4 R's of paraphrasing? ›
Key Resource: The 4 R's--A Paraphrasing Strategy
Review the graphic below that explains the 4 R's: Read, Restate, Recheck, and Repair and use the attached graphic organizer to help you practice paraphrasing by using this strategy.
What is a paraphrase example? ›
Original: Her life spanned years of incredible change for women. Paraphrase: Mary lived through an era of liberating reform for women. Original: Giraffes like Acacia leaves and hay and they can consume 75 pounds of food a day. Paraphrase: A giraffe can eat up to 75 pounds of Acacia leaves and hay every day.
Is paraphrasing good or bad? ›
Improper paraphrasing is a very common form of plagiarism. This occurs when one lifts a direct phrase from another work and changes just a few words - and then claims the work as wholly their own. Learning how to properly paraphrase is a very important component of good writing.
What is the difference between summary and paraphrase? ›
To paraphrase means to restate someone else's ideas in your own language at roughly the same level of detail. To summarize means to reduce the most essential points of someone else's work into a shorter form.
What is the easiest way to paraphrase? ›
Paraphrasing best practices
- 1 Target key information only. ...
- 2 Break down complex sentences. ...
- 3 Use narrative citations and transition phrasing. ...
- 4 Focus on meaning, not just vocabulary. ...
- 5 Avoid patchwriting. ...
- 6 Always cite, even when citations are optional.
What are the 5 C's in paraphrasing? ›
To introduce you to this world of academic writing, in this chapter I suggest that you should focus on five hierarchical characteristics of good writing, or the “5 Cs” of good academic writing, which include Clarity, Cogency, Conventionality, Completeness, and Concision.
What is the main rule of paraphrasing? ›
Identify the main point(s) and key words. Cover the original text and rewrite it in your own words. Check that you have included the main points and essential information. Write the paraphrase in your own style.
What is the golden rule of paraphrasing? ›
Simply put, paraphrasing means that when sharing someone else's ideas and information, you do so using your own words. The golden rule of paraphrasing is that you must fully understand the source information before attempting to re-write it.
1. Original—paraphrases should use your own fresh vocabulary, phrasing, and sentence structure, not the sentence structure, phrasing and words of your source. 2. Accurate—paraphrases must precisely reflect the ideas, tone, and emphasis of your source.
How can I practice paraphrasing? ›
Paraphrasing Tips
- Start the sentence at a different point from the original one.
- Use synonyms. Make use of a thesaurus if you can't think of any.
- Change the sentence structure. Try to change the voice from active to passive and vice versa.
- Break up longer sentences or combine shorter ones.
What is the best synonym for paraphrase? ›
paraphrase (verb as in interpret, translate) Strongest matches. rephrase transcribe. Strong matches. disambiguate recapitulate rehash render restate reword summarize.
What does paraphrasing mean for dummies? ›
Remember, paraphrasing is using your own words to express someone else's ideas. If the wording of the paraphrase is too close to the wording of the original, then it is plagiarism. The main ideas need to come through, but the wording has to be your own.
What is a good paraphrase? ›
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.
What does the word paraphrase literally mean? ›
As a verb: To paraphrase something means to express it in different words, while still keeping the same meaning.
Is paraphrase cheating? ›
Even though you use your own words, you must still cite the original source from which you obtained the content or idea (both in-text and in your references list). If you paraphrase a source but fail to cite the original source, you are committing plagiarism.
What is the purpose of paraphrasing? ›
Paraphrasing is important because it shows you understand the source well enough to write it in your own words. It also gives you a powerful alternative to using direct quotes, which should be used infrequently.
What are the two types of paraphrasing? ›
Direct Paraphrasing: Provides sentence-by-sentence rephrasing while maintaining the original meaning. Indirect Paraphrasing: Offers different ways to express the same ideas without closely following the original structure.