1. PARAPHRASING
How to do it!

2. Outline of Presentation
Academic writing skills – what’s involved
Differences between paraphrasing, summarising and quoting
Examples of above
7 Steps for paraphrasing
6 Exercises – good or bad examples of paraphrasing
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3. Academic Writing Skills
Information for writing your assignments comes from:
Your own ideas - formed through critical thinking
Information, evidence and ideas from others - found when researching your topic
There needs to be a good balance between your own ideas and what you discover from your research.
Paraphrasing, summarising and quoting are the 3 different ways of including the works of others (what you find when researching) in your assignment.
(University of Technology Sydney, 2015)
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Differences
1. Paraphrasing – rewriting the information in your own words
2. Summarising – rewriting the information in your own words in a shorter form
3. Quoting – using the author’s exact words
(University of Technology Sydney, 2015)
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1. Paraphrasing
Paraphrasing is expressing someone else’s ideas in your own words without changing the original meaning.
You need to change the words or phrases and the structure of the sentences.
Although you have used your own words, you must still acknowledge the original source of the information by providing a reference.
Paraphrasing involves replacing words, restructuring sentences and rewriting the information in your own words.
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2. Summarising
A summary is a brief account in your own words of someone else’s ideas and is shorter than a paraphrase.
The main aim of summarising is to condense a text to its most important points.
You should summarise much more often than you quote or paraphrase as it shows that you understand what you have read.
Although you have used your own words, you must still acknowledge the original source of the information by providing a reference.
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3. Quoting
Quoting means copying word for word exactly from an information source, with no changes.
Only use quotations if you have a very good reason as most papers should be written in your own words.
For short quotations use quotations marks “…” and preferably integrate it into a sentence.
Long quotations should start on a new line and be indented.
You must acknowledge where you got the quotation from by providing a reference.
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Examples
Paraphrasing: As students do not obtain study skills automatically, it is very important to teach them these skills (Jordan, 2010). Summarising: It is important to teach study skills to students (Jordan, 2010). Quoting: In discussing the importance of teaching study skills, Jordan (2010, p. 8) comments that “study skills are not something acquired instinctively”.
(University of Melbourne, 2014)
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9. 7 Steps for Paraphrasing
Read the original information carefully, ensuring you understand it fully.
Identify the main points and keywords and highlight them.
Determine what you can change vs what cannot be changed.
Cover the text so you can’t see any of it.
Write out the idea in your own words using synonyms or phrases of similar meaning where possible.
Change the order of the words or structure of the sentences.
Then check your paraphrase against the original to be sure that you have not changed the meaning and that the information is accurate.
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10. Exercises on Paraphrasing
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11. Features of Good Examples
A good paraphrase will have:
Kept the meaning
Changed the sentence structure
Changed the words
Included a reference
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Exercise 1:
Original text: Technology can improve the quality of life and governments need to plan carefully for the future (Turnbull, 2015). Paraphrase: Governments need to plan carefully for the future as technology can improve the quality of life. Bad example OR Good example Why?
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Answer to Exercise 1:
Bad example
Why?
Kept the meaning
Changed the sentence structure
Didn’t change any of the words
Didn’t provide a reference
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Exercise 2:
Original text: The hardest language to learn is Mandarin as fluency requires memorising thousands of characters (Johnson, 2014). Paraphrase: Mandarin is one of the most difficult languages to master because fluency requires remembering thousands of characters (Johnson, 2014). Bad example OR Good example Why?
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Answer to Exercise 2:
Good example
Why?
Kept the meaning
Changed the sentence structure
Changed the words
Included a reference
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Exercise 3:
Original text: In recent years there has been growing concern among environmentalists and some car owners about the pollutants that cars emit into the atmosphere (Elliot, 2005). Paraphrase: Recently, there has been increasing concern among environmentalists and some car owners about the pollutants that cars send out into the atmosphere. Bad example OR Good example Why?
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Answer to Exercise 3:
Bad example
Why?
Kept the meaning
Changed some of the words
Didn’t change the structure of the sentences
Didn’t provide a reference
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Exercise 4:
Original text: The first Chinese immigrants to Australia arrived in 1848 as shepherds, land clearers and general farm hands (Irwin, 2001, p. 8). Paraphrase: Chinese immigrants to Australia in the mid-nineteenth century initially found employment in the rural sector (Irwin, 2001, p. 8). Bad example OR Good example Why?
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Answer to Exercise 4:
Good example
Why?
Kept the meaning
Changed the sentence structure
Changed the words
Included a reference
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Exercise 5:
Original text: Brazil’s Amazon jungle is alive with millions of plant and animal species. But the jungle is shrinking. Loggers cut down trees for wood and paper (Better Lesson, 2011). Paraphrase: There is an abundance of plant and animal life in the Amazon rainforest in Brazil. However, it is decreasing in size due to loggers who are sawing down trees for wood products (Better Lesson, 2011). Bad example OR Good example Why?
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Answer to Exercise 5:
Good example
Why?
Kept the meaning
Changed the sentence structure
Changed the words
Included a reference
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Exercise 6:
Original text: Cleopatra ruled Egypt more than 2000 years ago. Much is known about the powerful queen. But a mystery remains as to where she was buried (Better Lesson, 2011). Paraphrase: Searchers have never been able to locate the burial site of the powerful queen Cleopatra who governed Egypt late BC, even though a lot is known about her and the life she led (Better Lesson, 2011). Bad example OR Good example Why?
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Answer to Exercise 6:
Good example
Why?
Kept the meaning
Changed the sentence structure
Changed the words
Included a reference
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Further Information
Watch these You Tube Clips:
Avoid Plagiarism in Research Papers
Paraphrasing: The basic steps
Refer to the online APA Quick
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References
Better Lesson. (2011). Paraphrase! Retrieved from
University of Melbourne. (2014). Using sources and avoiding plagiarism. Retrieved from
University of NSW. (2015). Paraphrasing, summarising and quoting. Retrieved from
University of Technology Sydney (2015). Avoiding plagiarism . Retrieved from
Note: Copyright permission to use their above resources given by the University of Melbourne and the University of Technology Sydney.
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