Paraphrasing

When you paraphrase an idea or information from a source, you express that idea or information in your own words.

Writers typically paraphrase, instead of using direct quotation, when they want to

  • focus on the source’s idea rather than the language used to express it
  • express the source’s idea in simpler language than the source used
  • explain a point when exact wording isn’t important
  • avoid overusing quotations in their paper
  •  report numerical data or statistics (preferred in APA papers)

In the sciences and engineering disciplines, paraphrase and summary are used much more frequently than direct quotation.

How not to paraphrase

Some writers try to paraphrase by inserting synonyms word by word in the source passage. This method creates an unacceptable paraphrase that is called “patch writing” and can be considered to be plagiarism. This is an example:

Source passage Unacceptable paraphrase
“What our students really wanted was to “get” college writing in a fundamental sense—to learn its unstated assumptions and understand what college writers are supposed to be striving for—in order to erase what they perceived as a deficit in their high-school curricula.” (Denny et al., 2018, 78) What Denny’s interviewees desired was to understand university writing in a basic way—to grasp its hidden rules and discern what university students should try to do—with the goal of eliminating what they saw as a gap in their secondary school education. (Denny et al., 2018, 78)

In the unacceptable paraphrase above, the writer has switched in synonyms word by word, retaining the source author’s sentence structure and sequence of ideas. Using this method of paraphrase, the writer does not have to understand what the source passage means. Moreover, the writer has not shaped the idea to fit their own purpose for using it.

How to paraphrase: Consider Your purpose in using the source

You are using your source’s idea or information for a reason. You may be using it to support a point you are making. You may be using it to provide specific information as background or context. You may be using it as part of a story you are telling.

Whatever your purpose, your paraphrase should fit its purpose and fit into the prose than comes before and after it. To do this, your paraphrase may re-order the source passage’s sequence of ideas or even emphasize one aspect of the source’s idea over other aspects. Thus, you cannot think only about switching words around.

Sample paraphrases

The passages below begin with the point the writer is making with the source material. The paraphrase of the source, which supports the writer’s own point, is the second sentence. Each paraphrase’s language, structure, and emphasis are composed to support the point it helps the writer make.

Many students are aware that academic writing has unwritten rules they aren’t familiar with. The students interviewed in Denny et al.’s (2018) study wanted help understanding the unspoken conventions and purposes of college writing (p. 78). 

Students don’t come to the writing center for grammar help alone. The students Denny et al. (2018) interviewed wanted help understanding the broader aspects of college writing; they wanted information about its unspoken rules and purposes (p. 78). 

One reason students use academic support services is to fill in gaps left they think their high school education should have filled. The students interviewed by Denny et al. (2018) wanted the writing center to help them navigate the challenges of academic discourse, which they thought their high schools had left them unprepared to do (p. 78). 

Notice that the paraphrases retain some key words from the source passage: students, writing, high school. We would expect to find these words in any discussion of this topic. On the other hand, words like get, fundamental, unstated, striving, erase, and deficit are more reflective of the source author’s individual voice.

How to paraphrase: Tips and techniques

  1.  First, it’s important to understand the source text’s meaning. If you don’t understand what the source is saying, you can’t paraphrase it!
  2. Think about your purpose for using the source material you are paraphrasing. What aspect of the source’s information is most relevant to your purpose in using it? What aspect of the source’s idea is most relevant to the point you are using it to make or the story you are trying to tell? Thinking about your purpose for using the source’s idea or information can help you choose the words for expressing it.
  3. Put the source aside. Without looking at it, talk through your point and your paraphrase, as though you were explaining it to someone. If you like, record what you say, then write it down. 
  4. Check what you have written to make sure it is an accurate representation of the source’s idea.