Paraphrasing

What is paraphrasing?

Writing an academic essay involves paraphrasing. It is a way of including information into your essay from other sources.

Paraphrasing is NOT copying. It is borrowing someone else’s ideas and writing them in your words. REMEMBER,

your words and sentence structures should NOT be too similar with the original. You can paraphrase a sentence or a paragraph or a chapter.

Why do I need to paraphrase? To make your point stronger and/or clearer.

What does it involve? Understanding the meaning of the original Proper reference to the original.

How do I make a reference? You can begin by mentioning the name of the author whose ideas you are borrowing.

According to Zidan (1998), or Zidan (1998) said that… You can also give citation at the end of the paragraph wherein you put a bracket and

write the name of the author and year of publication, e.g. (Zidan, 1998).

What if I don’t make a proper reference to the original? Then you will be guilty of an academic theft, which is called Plagiarism.

Can I change some of the meanings of the original when I paraphrase? No, you can’t! You change the words, phrases and/or sentence structures but

not the meaning. However, you do not usually change some specialized words such as technical words.

Should a paraphrase be longer or shorter than the original? It can be shorter or longer but it is usually about the same length.

What are the steps to effective paraphrasing? First, read, read and reread the original until you understand its meaning fully.

What techniques do I use to paraphrase? Here are some techniques for you: You can change the words of the original. For example, you replace synonyms

(words with similar meaning).

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o I believe that Natural Science is a difficult subject.

I consider Natural Sciences as a challenging course.

You can change parts of speech (word classes) – a noun to a verb or an adverb

to an adjective.

o Mona is a fast runner Mona runs fast. (adj. to adv.)

o The country is known for exporting coffee to the world market The country is famous for its coffee exports. (verb to noun)

You can change the sentence structure of the original for example, from active

to passive voice.

o She called the Police. The Police were called.

You can change the order of words and clauses.o Because she is a hardworking student, she scores high every semester.

She gets top scores each semester because she is hardworking.

Finally Check your paraphrase with the original and see if you have recorded the

original meaning in your own words, phrases and expressions.

Make sure you make a proper reference to your source.

Have a look at the following two examples and note the differences between the original and the paraphrase.

Original ParaphraseOnce upon a time, a businessman named Ray Kroc discovered a restaurant owned by two brothers. The restaurant served just four things: hamburgers, French fries, milk shakes and coca cola. But it was clean and inexpensive, and the service was quick. Mr Kroc liked it so much that he paid the brothers so that he could use their idea and their name: Mc Donald's.

Long time ago, Ray Kroc went to dine in a restaurant where they sold only fast food and soda. Not only was he impressed by the neatness of the place but he also enjoyed the service and the fair price. He then decided to purchase this place, called McDonald’s, from the two brothers and own it himself.

Discuss what changes have been made in the paraphrase?

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Adapted from: http://www.tolearnenglish.com/exercises/exercise-english-2/exercise-english-8418.php

Exercises

Paraphrase the following short paragraphs.

1. Vicky has spent a lot of time thinking before making the decision to buy her new car. She liked it so much. It’s the very latest car, beautiful and spacious. But she was not sure about two things: the color and the price. Red was not really her favorite color and the price was also too expensive for a newly employed office girl like her.

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6. School uniforms can create a sense of togetherness in a school building. Students who attempt to make fashion statements by wearing designer clothing are virtually neutralized. School spirit is enhanced because a feeling of togetherness is created. The gap between the "haves" and the "have-nots" is narrowed due to the wearing of uniforms. Uniforms create social harmony due to the uniform- look of similarly clothed students.

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