Paraphrasing
Paraphrasing means restating another writer's idea in your own words while keeping the same meaning and roughly the same length. It is one of three ways to use a source — the other two being quotation and summary.
| Quotation | Paraphrase | Summary | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Same words as original | yes | no | no |
| Same length as original | yes | yes | no (shorter) |
| Uses quotation marks " " | yes | no | no |
| Uses in-text citations | yes | yes | yes |
Paraphrase is the most common of the three: it shows you understand the source and lets you integrate the idea into your own writing. Three techniques (use a mix of all three): change the words (use synonyms), change the word forms (e.g. restating → restatement), and change the word order. Always cite the source, and never leave copied chunks (that is plagiarism).
Example: "Paraphrasing involves changing a text so that it is quite dissimilar to the source yet retains all the meaning" → "Paraphrase requires a text to be altered in a way which makes it different from the original while keeping the same meaning." (changed words, word forms, and word order).
Tip: Good paraphrasing mixes all three techniques — changing words, word forms, and word order — and still cites the source. Knowing a word's word family helps you change its form.
Common mistake: Changing only a few words and leaving copied chunks. That is part-quotation without quotation marks — a form of plagiarism. Reword fully and cite.
✏️ Test Yourself
1. Restating an idea in your own words, same length, is a ___ .
2. Does a paraphrase use quotation marks?
3. A summary is ___ than the original; a paraphrase is the same length.
4. Changing "restating" to "restatement" changes the word ___ .
📒 Words to learn
Meaning — to restate an idea in different words
“To paraphrase is to reword while keeping the meaning.”
Meaning — the exact words of a source, in quotation marks
“Quotation copies the original words exactly.”
Meaning — a short statement of the main points
“A summary is shorter than the original text.”
Meaning — using someone's work as your own without credit
“Good paraphrasing helps you avoid plagiarism.”
Meaning — to combine into a whole
“Paraphrasing lets you integrate ideas into your writing.”