Using Paraphrasing in Academic Writing
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At university, you will read a lot of different sources when researching subjects for your assignments and trying to answer the research question you have set yourself.
To explain how your assignment is relevant to the overall subject area you need to find ways to incorporate the different theories, research, and themes from published research into your assignment.
Using paraphrasing you can show your understanding of the research and how it relates to your research question and assignment. You can paraphrase text from other sources and incorporate them into your assignment to:
Avoid plagiarism
Summarise information
Clarify the message or argument you are developing
Demonstrate your understanding
Add data and support to your argument
Similar to using quotations and summarising when you paraphrase text from another source you must include the appropriate citations and references.
What is paraphrasing
Paraphrasing is the process of rewriting a section of text in your own words and retaining the intent of the original author.
Paraphrasing is more than just rearranging a sentence or changing a couple of words. You must translate the ideas into your own words without changing the meaning of the original author.
To do this you must identify the key ideas and concepts in a text. Making sure you understand the text and then restate the ideas in your own words using synonyms, alternative sentence structures, and different phrasing.
To paraphrase a text, you must understand the source material and be able to explain and restate the key themes in a clear manner.
Although you’re using your own words, you still need to give credit to the original author for their idea, theory, concepts, research outcomes or anything another element you’ve drawn on by using in-text citations and details in the reference list or bibliography.
How to use paraphrasing in your writing
Paraphrasing in your academic writing involves reworking the ideas of another author into your own words. But you must not change the original meaning and intent of the author.
Paraphrasing is a useful tool when you are writing assignments because it allows you to incorporate the ideas, concepts, theories, and results of other researchers into your coursework.
Use paraphrasing to add support to your argument
When writing your assignment, you may want to use evidence from other sources to support the point you are making.
Paraphrasing ideas, and research results from published reports in your subject area can help provide this expert evidence for your assignment.
Integrating evidence from published sources into your own coursework can show that your ideas and hypothesis are based on existing research strengthening your argument and making it more convincing.
Use paraphrasing to show your understanding of the subject
Demonstrating your understanding of the subject area in your assignment is a key part of a successful assignment submission.
Explaining the meaning of a published source in your own words shows that you have understood the material and that you can communicate the core concepts within the context of your own work.
Use paraphrasing to clarify complex ideas
The understanding and synthesis of information from multiple sources in a clear and concise way that adds to your assignment can be shown through successful paraphrasing.
Sometimes the language used in research papers or other academic sources is very technical and may not fit with the tone of your own writing.
Using paraphrasing you can restate the information in a way that makes it easier to understand and in a way that suits the style of your writing.
Use paraphrasing to summarise information
When you are researching a subject, you may find there are multiple sources that have investigated similar topics and there are groups of similar views.
Using paraphrasing you can collate similar ideas, outcomes, or theories and summarise the information from multiple sources.
This is a fairly sophisticated way to integrate the ideas of others into your own work and evidence the range of your research.
However, when paraphrasing and summarising from multiple authors you must be extra careful not to change the meaning of the source text.
Use paraphrasing to avoid plagiarism
Whenever you use the words or ideas of another author in your work, you must give them proper credit. Paraphrasing allows you to use the ideas of others while still making it clear that the ideas are not your own.
By rewriting information in your own words and using citations to acknowledge the original author you can use paraphrasing to avoid plagiarism.
Any time you use the ideas, concepts or research outcomes from another author or source in your work you must give them credit through citations.
Paraphrasing a source and incorporating it into your own assignment can provide support for your argument, evidence a hypothesis you are making, or help you clarify a concept. However, if you use paraphrased text, always make sure to reference the original author.
Paraphrasing allows you to use the ideas of others in your own work while still giving credit to the original source.
How to cite a paraphrased text
When we paraphrase a journal or piece of text it requires intellectual effort so it can feel as though we have written the summary entirely in our own words.
However, the process of paraphrasing is subject to the requirements of good academic practice and must always include an in-text citation and reference to the original source and author to avoid accidental plagiarism.
When you’re paraphrasing using APA referencing, you’ll mention the information or idea using your own words, and then you’ll use parenthetical or narrative citation.
You must mention the author’s last name and date of publication between brackets, even though you’re not directly quoting from another source. You can also include the page or paragraph number, although it’s not a must in the case of paraphrasing.
When you continue paraphrasing the same source for several paragraphs, you don’t have to cite it every time.
Instead, you can cite the paraphrased work in the first mention if the work’s context shows that the same source is still paraphrased.
Using APA referencing while paraphrasing protects you from being accused of plagiarism. Students who don’t give credit to the work’s original author can risk getting a low grade, failing their course, or even getting expelled.
When you’re paraphrasing using Harvard referencing after the paraphrased extract, you should cite the details normally between brackets.
Summary
Use paraphrasing in your assignment writing to avoid plagiarism, summarise or synthesize information, clarify complex ideas, and integrate published evidence into your coursework.
Unlike quoting, you don’t copy the sentence or the author’s view precisely as it is. Instead, you write the author’s view in your own words without straying from the topic or changing the main idea.
Paraphrasing can be more challenging, but the rewards are worth the investment.
Paraphrasing shows your professor or lecturer that you understand what you have read and grasped the essential concepts within the text.
It elevates your assignment because you have developed strong, coherent arguments within the framework of published research in your field, in your voice and with your view of how they affect each other.
