PARAPHRASING Adapted from Macmillan Writing Series

WHAT IS PARAPHRASING?  A challenging but a valuable skill.  Your own way of expressing essential information and ideas expressed by someone else.

WHY IS PARAPHRASING IMPORTANT?  You highlight the most important points and help the reader understand better  It helps you control the temptation to quote too much.  The mental process required for successful paraphrasing helps you to grasp the full meaning of the original.

For effective paraphrasing:  Reread the original passage until you understand its full meaning.  Identify some key words that cannot be omitted and include them in your paraphrased version  Set the original aside, and write your paraphrase somewhere else.  Check your version with the original to make sure that it accurately expresses all the essential information in a new form.

Weak vs. Strong paraphrases “To be or not to be, that is the question.” (W. Shakespeare, Hamlet)  Being or not being, that is the query, from Hamlet by W. Shakespeare.  Shakespeare’s Hamlet questions whether it would be better for him to live or die.  Shakespeare’s Hamlet asks the question to be or not to be.

Examples: English Sayings 1. “An apple a day keeps the doctor away.” a. Doctors are afraid of fruit. b. Eating good food keeps you healthy. c. One of the best ways to stay out of the hospital is simply to eat nutritious food.

Examples: English Sayings 2. “A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.” a. An English saying stresses that it is better to be satisfied with something small that you have than to crave something large that you don’t. b. A bird that you are holding is more valuable than two birds sitting in a tree, according to an English proverb. c. As English speakers say, a bird in captivity is better than many birds that are free.

Examples: English Sayings 3. “Don’t judge a man until you’ve walked in his boots.” a. It’s impossible to judge whether people are good or bad without knowing about their life because you don’t understand their motivations. b. Until you have walked in their boots, you shouldn’t judge people. c. Don’t evaluate a person until you’ve worn his or her footware.

Paraphrase the following popular sayings:  Nothing ventured, nothing gained.  The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.  Don’t judge a book by its cover.

Paraphrasing Academic English  The original passage: Students frequently overuse direct quotation in taking notes, and as a result they overuse quotations in the final [research] paper. Probably only about 10% of your final manuscript should appear as directly quoted matter. Therefore, you should strive to limit the amount of exact transcribing of source materials while taking notes. Lester, James D. Writing Research Papers. 2nd ed. (1976):

 A legitimate paraphrase: In research papers students often quote excessively, failing to keep quoted material down to a desirable level. Since the problem usually originates during note taking, it is essential to minimize the material recorded verbatim (Lester 46-47). The original passage: Students frequently overuse direct quotation in taking notes, and as a result they overuse quotations in the final [research] paper. Probably only about 10% of your final manuscript should appear as directly quoted matter. Therefore, you should strive to limit the amount of exact transcribing of source materials while taking notes. Lester, James D. Writing Research Papers. 2nd ed. (1976):

 An acceptable summary: Students should take just a few notes in direct quotation from sources to help minimize the amount of quoted material in a research paper (Lester 46-47). The original passage: Students frequently overuse direct quotation in taking notes, and as a result they overuse quotations in the final [research] paper. Probably only about 10% of your final manuscript should appear as directly quoted matter. Therefore, you should strive to limit the amount of exact transcribing of source materials while taking notes. Lester, James D. Writing Research Papers. 2nd ed. (1976):

 A plagiarized version: Students often use too many direct quotations when they take notes, resulting in too many of them in the final research paper. In fact, probably only about 10% of the final copy should consist of directly quoted material. So it is important to limit the amount of source material copied while taking notes. The original passage: Students frequently overuse direct quotation in taking notes, and as a result they overuse quotations in the final [research] paper. Probably only about 10% of your final manuscript should appear as directly quoted matter. Therefore, you should strive to limit the amount of exact transcribing of source materials while taking notes. Lester, James D. Writing Research Papers. 2nd ed. (1976):

WHAT COUNTS AS PLAGIARISM?  Everything you borrow without mentioning the original source and writer.  To mention this kind of information we use specific styles such as the APA and MLA citation styles.

EXAMPLE PARAPHRASES Original passage: Statements that seem complimentary in one context may be inappropriate in another. For example, women in business are usually uncomfortable if male colleagues or superiors compliment them on their appearance: the comments suggest that the women are being treated as visual decoration rather than as contributing workers. (Locker, 2003, p. 323)

Statements that seem complimentary in one context may be inappropriate in another. For example, women in business are usually uncomfortable if male colleagues or superiors compliment them on their appearance: the comments suggest that the women are being treated as visual decoration rather than as contributing workers. (Locker, 2003, p. 323) Words or expressions which appear favorable in one situation might be improper in a different situation. For instance, employed females are often uneasy when they are given positive comments on their looks. These remarks imply that the females are being viewed as adornment instead of as productive employees (Locker, 2003).

Although this paraphrase does a good job of changing the wording, it is not effective for two main reasons. First, it follows the sentence structure of the original passage too closely. Second, it fails to mention anything about "male colleagues or superiors." It also follows the same order or structure of ideas.

Statements that seem complimentary in one context may be inappropriate in another. For example, women in business are usually uncomfortable if male colleagues or superiors compliment them on their appearance: the comments suggest that the women are being treated as visual decoration rather than as contributing workers. (Locker, 2003, p. 323)  Paraphrase B: Some statements may be inappropriate in one context, even though they are complimentary in another. Compliments by male colleagues or superiors regarding a female coworker’s appearance, for example, often make the woman feel uncomfortable. Instead of treating the women as contributing workers, men obviously think of them as visual decoration (Locker, 2003).

 While this paraphrase does a better job of changing the sentence structure, it also is uneffective. It uses too many of the words from the original passage. Further, it changes the meaning when it declares that "men obviously think ofthem as visual decoration." It also follows the same order or structure of ideas.

Statements that seem complimentary in one context may be inappropriate in another. For example, women in business are usually uncomfortable if male colleagues or superiors compliment them on their appearance: the comments suggest that the women are being treated as visual decoration rather than as contributing workers. (Locker, 2003, p. 323)  Paraphrase C Women may feel uneasy upon receiving ordinarily positive comments on their appearance from male coworkers or supervisors. To these women, the remarks carry an implied meaning: instead of being thought of as productive employees, they are actually being viewed as just a pretty part of the atmosphere. Depending on the situation, words or expressions which appear favorable may actually be unsuitable in a conversation (Locker, 2003).

This paraphrase is the most effective. In addition to changing both the wording and sentence structure, it includes all points and retains the meaning of the original passage. It also changes the order of ideas.