Unit 2: Paraphrasing and Avoiding Plagiarism
1 Paraphrasing Introduction
Preview Questions:
- What is paraphrasing?
- When do we have to paraphrase?
- Why do we have to paraphrase?
- Paraphrasing is a really difficult thing to do. Why can’t I just use a direct quotation every time I want to use somebody else’s idea as supporting evidence for my own writing?
- What are the criteria for a good paraphrase?
- Why do I have to learn how to paraphrase? Can’t I just use an AI-based paraphrasing tool to write my paraphrases for me?
Paraphrasing is an important skill we use in our daily lives. We might share a story we heard from a friend. When we do this, we use our own way of explaining the story. Learning how to paraphrase effectively will be useful when you write about the ideas you have read in sources.
Although there are many AI-based paraphrasing tools, learning how to paraphrase yourself is an important skill in the journey of developing your own writing.
Three criteria for a good paraphrase
- A good paraphrase has the same meaning as the original.
- All main ideas included.
- No new ideas added.
- A good paraphrase is different from the original.
- Uses no more than THREE words in a row from the original source.
- Changes grammar and vocabulary as much as possible.
- A good paraphrase refers directly to (or cites) the original source.
- Includes the name of the author or the name of the source (a citation).
- A good paraphrase does not rely exclusively on AI-based paraphrasing tools.
- You must be able to evaluate the effectiveness yourself and ensure you have the correct citation.
Citation Examples
In-text citations (APA Style)
- Baker (2017) reports that 70% of Instagram users are under 35 years old (p. 3).
- Seventy percent of Instagram users are under 35 years old (Baker, 2017, p. 3).
Adapted from: Dollahite, N.E. & Huan, J. (2012). SourceWork: Academic Writing for Success.
Paraphrase examples
1) Writer versus idea focused
Notice how the examples meet the above criteria, yet are slightly different.
Original: “More than 150 million people use Facebook to keep in touch with friends, share photographs and videos and post regular updates of their movements and thoughts.” – From David Derbyshire, “Social Websites Harm Children’s Brains,” (2009), p. 2.
Paraphrase 1 (writer focused): Derbyshire (2009) states that over 150 million people frequently share photos and updates with friends through Facebook (p. 2).
Paraphrase 2 (idea focused): Facebook has enabled over 150 million users to share pictures and updates regularly with their friends (Derbyshire, 2009, p. 2).
2) Paraphrase of 2 or more sentences
Below are two methods for paraphrasing multiple sentences. (Note that the paraphrased information is shorter than the original; this example combines the skills of paraphrasing and summarizing.)
Original: “The pandemic tested the resilience of colleges and universities as they executed online learning on a massive scale by creating online courses, adopting and adapting to unfamiliar technologies, engaging faculty en masse in remote teaching, and successfully meeting the instructional needs of students. Those experiences and lessons should not be discarded. The next phase for higher education in a post-COVID-19 world is to harness what worked well during the emergency response period and use those experiences to improve institutional practices for the benefit of both internal and external constituencies in the future.” From John Nworie, “Beyond COVID-19: What’s next for online teaching and learning in higher education,” (2021), p. 7.
Paraphrase 1 (writer focused): Nworie (2021) recommends that the valuable lessons higher education institutions learned in response to the pandemic be applied to future education models. The development of large-scale online courses while adapting to technological challenges in the process did allow students educational needs to be met (p. 7).
Paraphrase 2 (idea focused): The valuable lessons higher education institutions learned in response to the pandemic can be applied to future education models; the development of large-scale online courses while adapting to technological challenges in the process did allow students educational needs to be met (Nworie, 2021, p. 7).
Knowledge Check
Exercise: Decide which of the paraphrases below is most effective.
Knowledge Check
Exercise: Test your knowledge about plagiarism.
From Excelsior Online Writing Lab, https://owl.excelsior.edu/plagiarism/plagiarism-how-much-do-you-know/
