Paraphrasing techniques

Paraphrasing Techniques
Academic Writing Skills
Copyright © 2021 Talent & Skills HuB
The Video of this content is available on
YouTube: https://youtu.be/i0rgahJDhgg

Introduction
While writing your assignments, you will be required to
provide evidence to support your claims. This will involve
using information from academic sources (such as books
and journals) in your writing.
In doing this, it is important to be able to reproduce this
information in your own words. This key academic skill is
known as paraphrasing.
This resource outlines the importance of paraphrasing, the
techniques you can employ, some of the potential pitfalls to
avoid, a guide to paraphrasing and steps for effective
paraphrasing.

Why is Paraphrasing Important?
There are four reasons why you should paraphrase:
1. To demonstrate your understanding of the source
2. To better incorporate the information into your discussion
3. To ensure you avoid plagiarism
4. To emphasise a particular point from a piece information found in a source

When Should I Paraphrase?
Most assignments require
students to provide
evidence from a range of
academic sources.
Your assessors will want to
see you demonstrate an
understanding of this
information and
paraphrasing allows you to
do this.
You should paraphrase
text when the meaning of
the source is more
important than the actual
wording (so you would not
normally paraphrase a
technical term).
This allows you to reproduce
this information in your own
words focusing on specific
details.

How Do I Effectively
Paraphrase?
There are three techniques you can
employ:
1) Change the words (vocabulary)
2) Change the word form
3) Change the structure

Change the Words (Vocabulary)
• You can change the words by finding other words with the same
meaning (synonyms).
Use synonyms
• ORIGINAL: Students found many aspects of the online library
difficult to comprehend (Smith, 2009)
• NEW: Smith (2009) reported that learners reported many parts of
the online library were challenging to understand
Example:

Change the Words (Vocabulary) Cont.
How it was done:

Change the Words (Vocabulary) Cont.
Use antonyms
• You can also change the words
by finding words with the
opposite meaning (antonyms)
Example:
• ORIGINAL: Students found
many aspects of the online
library difficult to comprehend
(Smith, 2009)
• NEW: Smith (2009) reported
that learners felt many parts of
the online library were not easy
to comprehend

Change the Word Form (Nouns / Adjectives / Verbs)
You can change the form by using some of the same words, but in a
different form
Example:
ORIGINAL: The rate of manufacturing increased in line with an expansion in
the mobile industry (Hendon, 2002).
NEW: Hendon (2002) described how an increase in the rate of
manufacturing occurred in line with the mobile industry expanding

Change the Word Form (Nouns / Adjectives / Verbs)
How it was done:

Change the Structure
You can change the structure of the source by changing the sentences from
an active to a passive voice.
Passive voice structures are more common in academic writing.
Example:
ORIGINAL: The findings from the study demonstrated the relationship
between employee job satisfaction and productivity (Crusco, 2012).
NEW: Crusco (2012) outlines how the relationship between employee job
satisfaction and productivity was demonstrated in the study.

Change the Structure Cont.
How this was done:

Potential Pitfalls to Avoid
Do not rely on a single paraphrasing technique
Never change the meaning of the statement but paraphrase the text
(word)
Never forget to keep notes of the sources when doing your research (this is to
ensure that you don’t forget the source you need to reference)
Never assume that a piece of information is common knowledge and
doesn’t need to be referenced
Never fail to link the piece of text paraphrased to the rest of the
paragraph

Guide To Paraphrasing (5C
Rules)
Rule 1: Comprehend- understand the text (the
sentence)
Rule 2: Change- change the words and the structure of
the sentence
Rule3: Combine: combine ideas (different paraphrasing
styles).
Rule 4: Check: check if the meaning has not changed
Rule 5: Cite: cite the reference/source of the
information.

Steps For Effective Paraphrasing
Step 1
Read the original passage (sentence)
Reread the original passage until you understand its full meaning.
Step 2
Set the original aside, and write your paraphrase on a note card
or paper.
Step 3
Check your version with the original to make sure that your
version accurately expresses all the essential information in a new
form.
Step 4
Record the source on your note card so that you can cite and
reference it in your assignment

Further Support
At Talent and Skills Hub, you can be supported by our instructors, academic skills
advisors and mentors for sessions on quality academic writing and study skills. You
can book an appointment for one-to-one or group tutoring through our appointment
booking page at ts-hub.com
Watch the video of this content on YouTube: https://youtu.be/i0rgahJDhgg
Email: contactus@ts-hub.com

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