Paraphrasing Skills

Study Skill 9.4 Paraphrasing

Introduction

Think about it

There are two main reasons to paraphrase.

For our own understanding. When reading a difficult text, putting the ideas into our own words helps us understand and remember it.
To support our writing. When we offer an opinion or information in an assignment or speech, we don’t want to fill our paper with direct quotes. Paraphrasing others’ ideas (and giving them credit) helps support our opinions while staying true to our voice.

To begin, look at this well-known poem by Emily Dickinson. It has some language in it that is hard to understand. Read the poem, and then practice paraphrasing what you think it says.

“Hope” is the thing with feathers

by Emily Dickinson

“Hope” is the thing with feathers —

That perches in the soul —

And sings the tune without the words —

And never stops — at all —

And sweetest — in the Gale — is heard —

And sore must be the storm —

That could abash the little Bird

That kept so many warm

— I’ve heard it in the chillest land

— And on the strangest Sea

— Yet — never — in Extremity

It asked a crumb — of Me.

Before reading more, take a moment to think about this poem. In one sentence, what do you think this poem is about?

Now, read each sentence one at a time. Stop after each one to decide what you think it means, and then click to reveal an example paraphrase.

When we put this paraphrase all together, we get this simple message:

Paraphrase

Hope is like a bird who sings a constant tune to cheer us up.

It is hard to stop hope, even in the worst situations.

Hope survives in extreme circumstances and helps us no matter what.

Learn about it

Now that you have experimented with paraphrasing, let’s look at how to use paraphrasing to help you understand what you read and use it to help support your own opinions.

Three Criteria for a Good Paraphrase

Same meaning

The first characteristic is that it has the same meaning as the original source.

All main ideas are included
No new ideas are added

Different structure

The second characteristic is that it is different enough from the original to be considered your own writing and to blend in with other sentences in your paper.

Uses no more than 4 or 5 words in a row from the original source
Changes grammar and vocabulary as much as possible

Cite source

The third characteristic is that it refers directly to (or cites) the original source in MLA format.

Includes the name of the author and/or source according to proper citation format
Page numbers included if appropriate (not common today when most sources are electronic, without page numbers)

Next, look at these examples of how to paraphrase. The first example shows an unacceptable paraphrase, and the second example shows two acceptable paraphrases.

Example 1: An unacceptable paraphrase

Original Source:

“Students frequently overuse direct quotation in taking notes, and as a result they overuse quotations in the final paper. Probably only about 30% of your final paper should appear as directly quoted matter. Therefore, you should strive to limit the amount of exact transcribing of source materials while taking notes.” Lester, J. Writing Research Papers. 2nd Ed. (1976): 46-47

Unacceptable Paraphrase
Students often use too many direct quotations in taking notes, resulting in the overuse of quotations in the final paper. Only approximately 30% of your final paper should be direct quotes. Consequently, you should try to limit how many quotes you write when taking notes.

This is an unacceptable paraphrase. There are too many repeated words and no citation of the original source. Notice how the paraphrase uses synonyms for some words but does little to put the overall message into a different structure with new wording.

Line-by-line comparison

Compare the original source to each paraphrased line. Notice how the structure is too similar to the original to be a true rewording of the source.

Original Source	Unacceptable Paraphrase
Students frequently overuse direct quotation in taking notes,	Students often use too many direct quotations in taking notes
and as a result they overuse quotations in the final paper.	resulting in the overuse of quotations in the final paper.
Probably only about 30% of your final paper should appear as directly quoted matter.	Only approximately 30% of your final paper should be direct quotes.
Therefore, you should strive to limit the amount of exact transcribing of source materials while taking notes.”	Consequently, you should try to limit how many quotes you write when taking notes.

Example 2: An acceptable paraphrase

Original Source:

Acceptable Paraphrase
In research papers students often quote excessively, failing to keep quoted material down to one-third or less. Since the problem usually originates during note taking, it is essential to minimize recording exact words (Lester, 46-47).

Students should take just a few notes in direct quotes from sources to help minimize the amount of quoted material in a research paper (Lester, 46-47).

These both are acceptable paraphrases. They have been reworded, are organized differently, are fairly short, and provide a citation.

Line-by-line comparison

Notice how each paraphrase uses a new structure and completely re-words the original source -- and gives credit to the author.

Original Source	Acceptable Paraphrase A
Students frequently overuse direct quotation in taking notes,	In research papers students often quote excessively, failing to keep quoted material down to one-third or less.
and as a result they overuse quotations in the final paper.
Probably only about 30% of your final paper should appear as directly quoted matter.
Therefore, you should strive to limit the amount of exact transcribing of source materials while taking notes.”	Since the problem usually originates during note taking, it is essential to minimize recording exact words (Lester, 46-47).

Original Source	Acceptable Paraphrase B
Students frequently overuse direct quotation in taking notes,	Students should take just a few notes in direct quotes from sources to help minimize the amount of quoted material in a research paper (Lester, 46-47).
and as a result they overuse quotations in the final paper.
Probably only about 30% of your final paper should appear as directly quoted matter.
Therefore, you should strive to limit the amount of exact transcribing of source materials while taking notes.”

Tips for Paraphrasing

These two strategies will help you learn to paraphrase like a pro. For more ideas, check out the resources at the end of this module.

Tell a friend

One way to paraphrase is to focus on the meaning of the passage and find a completely new way to explain it. This works well when you are paraphrasing a short passage.

Read the original and concentrate on what it means.
Cover the original so that you cannot see it.
Imagine you are talking to a good friend. How would you explain this idea to your friend? Write down your explanation.
Go back and read the original again to see if it means the same as your paraphrase and check if you have made substantial changes that avoid using too many of the same words.

Example

Original: “Leadership by birth apparently holds for both genders. Studies have found that female executives are much more likely to be firstborns than later-borns.” Koselka, R. and Shook, C. “Born to Rebel? Or Born to Conserve?” 1997

Paraphrase: Not only firstborn men, but also firstborn women are more likely to be executives than people who were later born (Koselka & Shook, 1997)

Note that while the key ideas from the original are included in the paraphrase, the structure of the paraphrase is very different.

Chunking

Another way to paraphrase is to divide or cut the original into parts or “chunks” and concentrate on what each chunk means.

A chunk is a group of words that expresses a key idea in a passage you are working with. Chunks are often noun, adjective or adverb clauses. This method works well for longer, more complex passages.

Example

When I was a child, I always admired adults who acted selflessly.

When I was a child,	I always admired	adults who acted selflessly.
chunk 1	chunk 2	chunk 3

How chunking works

Read the original passage several times to develop a basic understanding of the ideas.
Then, divide the passage into chunks by underlining the main ideas. As you divide the passage, focus on phrases or clauses (chunks!) rather than individual words.
Explain each chunk using your own words.
Combine these explanations into one or more sentences to create a paraphrase. As you combine these chunks, you will need to think about how the ideas relate to each other. You can even rearrange these chunks into a new order in your paraphrase.
Go back and read the original again to see if it means the same as your paraphrase and check if you have made substantial changes that avoid using too many of the same words.

Example

Original:

“It’s estimated that hunger and malnutrition could be eliminated globally for less than is spent on pet food in Europe and the US; universal literacy could be achieved for one third of what is spent annually on perfumes.” Knickerbocker, B. “If Poor Get Richer, Does World See Progress?” The Christian Science Monitor, Jan. 22, 2004

It’s estimated that hunger and malnutrition could be eliminated globally	for less than is spent on pet food in Europe and the US;	universal literacy could be achieved	for one third of what is spent annually on perfumes.”
chunk 1	chunk 2	chunk 3	chunk 4

Now we'll paraphrase the chunks:

It’s estimated that hunger and malnutrition could be eliminated globally

for less than is spent on pet food in Europe and the US;

universal literacy could be achieved

for one third of what is spent annually on perfumes.”

chunk 1 paraphrase

Problems of famine could be solved worldwide

chunk 2 paraphrase

For less money than it costs people to feed their pets in the US and Europe

chunk 3 paraphrase

Everyone could learn to read and write

chunk 4 paraphrase

For about 33 percent of the amount that people spend on perfume every year

Now look at the new, paraphrased version:

Knickerbocker (2004) noted that problems of famine could be solved worldwide for less money than it costs people to feed their pets in the US and Europe, and everyone could learn to read and write for about 33% of the amount that people spend on perfume every year.

Note: This paraphrase follows the same order as the original, but synonyms have been used for key words, and the semi-colon as been changed to a comma with and.

Dig Deeper

To make sure you are paraphrasing correctly, ask these three questions:

Does your wording have the same meaning as the original?
Have you changed the vocabulary, grammar, and word order?
Have you cited the source?

If your answers are “Yes!” then you are on the right track. Let’s review what you have learned in the next two practice exercises.

Directions: Look at the original source and each paraphrase of the paragraph. Use what you have learned to decide if each one is an acceptable paraphrase. If it is, check the box.

Using Direct Quotes

When an author has said something particularly compelling that you want to emphasize, you may choose us a direct quote rather than a paraphrase. Direct quotations allow you to point to strong information that is important to share word-for-word. You can incorporate direct quotes and cite them much like you do for a paraphrase.

If you use the author’s name to introduce the quote, include the page number after the quote.
If you don’t use the author’s name to introduce your quote, then include both the author’s name and the page number after the quote.

Let's look at some examples:

Direct quote 1:

In-text citation

Lester pointed out, “Students frequently overuse direct quotation in taking notes, and as a result they overuse quotations in the final paper. Probably only about 30% of your final paper should appear as directly quoted matter. Therefore, you should strive to limit the amount of exact transcribing of source materials while taking notes” (46-47).

Direct quote 2:

“Genuine multi-tasking, too, has been exposed as a myth, not just by laboratory studies but by the familiar site of an S.U.V. undulating between lanes as the driver cuts deals on his cellphone.”

In-text citation

Pinker said, ““Genuine multi-tasking, too, has been exposed as a myth, not just by laboratory studies but by the familiar site of an S.U.V. undulating between lanes as the driver cuts deals on his cellphone” (142).

“Genuine multi-tasking, too, has been exposed as a myth, not just by laboratory studies but by the familiar site of an S.U.V. undulating between lanes as the driver cuts deals on his cellphone” (Pinker, 142).

Remember:

Use your own thoughts and ideas first.
Use paraphrasing to support those ideas when necessary.
Then, use direct quotes for when it’s necessary to share the exact words from the original.

Practice it

Now that you know more about paraphrasing, give it a try. Look at each original source, below. Jot down your own paraphrase of it, and then click to see an example.

Remember to ask these three questions to make sure you are paraphrasing correctly:

Does your wording have the same meaning as the original?
Have you changed the vocabulary, grammar, and word order?
Have you cited the source?

Practice Source 1

Literature enables students to experience a safe “practice run” through the great issues confronting us, and having students reflect on their reading by connecting it to a contemporary point of view is essential. One of my favorite essay questions when students finish reading a book is simply, “Why did we read this? Write an essay explaining the value this book holds for the modern teenager.” Gallagher, Kelly. Deeper Reading: Comprehending Challenging Texts, 4-12. Portland, Me., Stenhouse Publishers, 2004.

Check your paraphrase

This is just one of several ways to paraphrase this paragraph:

When students read a book, they can find meaning by drawing comparisons between what is happening in the book and their own lives and the world they live in. In this way, reading gives them space to consider how they would react to real situations. Every book has something important to give, and students should consider why they are reading it (Gallagher, 20).

Practice Source 2

Teaching a student to write is like teaching a student to play basketball. The student needs to see how “real” players dribble, pass, shoot, set screens, defend, rebound, and move their feet. Coaches who stand on the sideline and scream, “Pass the ball better!” are coaches who are not helping their players develop. Gallagher, Kelly. Write Like This : Teaching Real-World Writing through Modeling & Mentor Texts. Portland, Me., Stenhouse Publishers, 2011.

Check your paraphrase

According to author and teacher Kelly Gallagher, it takes modeling, time, and practice to become a strong writer. Students learn to write by seeing how writers write and then practicing often to develop their own skills (226).

In our next module, you will learn more about how to cite paraphrases and direct quotations that you use in your work.

Resources

Watch Shmoop’s “Quoting, Paraphrasing, & Summarizing Links to an external site.” (2:21)
Watch Scribbr’s “How to Paraphrase in 5 Easy Steps Links to an external site.” (3:55)
Watch Powtoon’s “Quote vs. Paraphrase Links to an external site.” (2:16)
Visit Purdue’s Online Writing Lab on quoting, paraphrasing, and summarizing Links to an external site.