Paraphrasing

When producing assessments, supporting evidence and information from other sources needs to be incorporated through paraphrasing, summarising, or quoting, and this information must be referenced.  

To paraphrase is to rewrite text so that the information stays the same while other aspects of the source literature—language, vocabulary, structure—are changed.  

In contrast to a summary, which would be far shorter than the original text, a paraphrase might be of the same length, or even longer. What defines a good paraphrase is not its length, but the degree to which the original text has been reworded and referenced effectively and appropriately while accurately conveying the original meaning of the source. 
Being able to paraphrase well is a challenging and creative part of academic writing. Doing it well demonstrates to your assessor your sound understanding of the original source. Good paraphrasing also helps to avoid plagiarism: plagiarism occurs not just when we forget to reference, but when we do not paraphrase thoroughly and are too dependent on the original source’s phrasing. 

If your writing is too close to the original, it might be considered plagiarised. The examples below illustrate poor and proper paraphrasing. 

Original text: “The repute of cinema art and of the film industry can be enhanced by their capacity to incorporate Shakespeare; the institution of Shakespeare itself benefits from that transaction by a confirmation of its persistent universality” (Holderness, 1994, p. 206). 

Paraphrase attempt 1: Cinema and the film industry’s repute are enhanced by their capacity to incorporate Shakespeare, while Shakespeare benefits from their transaction because his universality is confirmed. 

The above attempt is not adequate. No in-text reference is provided and the structure and phrasing are too close to the source, therefore this might be deemed plagiarism.  

Paraphrase attempt 2: The relationship between film and Shakespeare is mutually beneficial: cinema’s cultural cachet is strengthened through adapting Shakespeare, and film adaptations reinforce Shakespeare’s universality (Holderness, 1994, p. 206). 

This attempt at paraphrasing is much better. An in-text reference is provided and the core idea is conveyed effectively in the student’s own words. 

How do I paraphrase?

Follow the steps below to effectively paraphrase sources in your academic writing. 

• Read and understand your sources. Take notes in your own words while reading to begin the paraphrasing process.  

• When incorporating evidence and information into your essay, write from your notes or re-read the information then write from memory. Do not copy and paste text from your source and then change word by word using synonyms, as this is not genuine paraphrasing and can produce awkward or unclear writing.  

• Aim to change structure and phrasing to convey the meaning in your own voice and to support your argument, but preserve key terminology for accuracy where needed. For example, if writing about global warming, use this term and not ‘earth heating’.  

• Compare to the original to ensure the meaning has remained while structure and phrasing are sufficiently different. 

• Reference the source, because even though it is phrased in your words, the information originated elsewhere. 

Ultimately, do not be too focused on the language: paraphrase the idea, not the words.   

Reference

Holderness, G. (1994). Radical potentiality and institutional closure: Shakespeare in film and television. In J. Dollimore & A. Sinfield (Eds.), Political Shakespeare: Essays in cultural materialism (pp. 206-225). Cornell University Press.