How to Paraphrase Effectively for Students
Most of us have experienced a scenario where we have too little time to create original intellectual property for a certain school assignment and must resort to searching Google for help. Others either choose to copy and paste the content because they lack the motivation to revise or simply lack the skills and techniques needed to paraphrase properly. Still, some may have ethically done this by choosing to rewrite what they have read from a website or book based on their own understanding of the subject matter.
The second group is more vulnerable to a copyright lawsuit than the first group, although having the same problem because it appears they have appropriated someone else’s intellectual property and made it their own. Paraphrasing can be a simple way to get around the problem and reduce the possibility of a copyright violation.
Table of Contents
What is paraphrasing?
The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines paraphrasing as restating a text, piece, or work while offering an alternative interpretation of its meaning. Put simply, it’s the process of representing a text, passage, or other intellectual property in a different way while maintaining consistency with the original work’s meaning to prevent plagiarism.
Why is paraphrasing important for students?
An essential part of a student’s life is paraphrasing. Giving an intellectual property a new lease of life while maintaining its original meaning not only helps you avoid plagiarism and copyright violations from the original author but also tests your vocabulary and creative thinking.
Your thesis papers, or any other type of schoolwork, will appear much more credible and professional when you paraphrase a section correctly. If you carefully select your words and cite your sources, your work will seem to be full of proof supporting each claim. When it comes time to present your documents to the panel of judges, proof comes in rather handy.
Essays and reports can also benefit from paraphrasing; it’s not just for theses and research papers. A well-written paraphrase of a superior work will help you reduce the likelihood of making unsupported claims in your essay and help you better explain your views. You can also utilize paraphrasing in your regular assignments. For instance, you could paraphrase a renowned physicist’s explanation of why a hydrofoil is one of the primary components of an airplane’s lift. Paraphrasing is a very handy skill while studying and once mastered can lead you to a road of not having to worry about plagiarism or copyright strikes anymore.
How to paraphrase effectively?
Each person’s interpretation of a work, piece, or other intellectual property is distinct, demonstrating our individuality. On the other hand, we have provided a list of actions and methods you can follow to effectively paraphrase if you want to know how to do it the quickest. Furthermore, since this list begins with the fundamentals of paraphrasing, it shouldn’t be an issue if you’re new to it or have never done it before.
1. Understand the original work
The first stage in crafting a strong and well-organized paraphrase is figuring out what the original piece intends to convey or suggests. This is important because, aside from providing a fresh interpretation of the text or original work, a paraphrase should ideally preserve the meaning it set out to convey. If you were to simply rewrite a text, passage, or other intellectual property without comprehending the idea and meaning behind the original work, you might wind up adding extraneous words or phrases that have no bearing on the original work and are only there to act as filler for the parts you didn’t understand.
This will have the highly unwanted effect of making your paraphrase seem dull and irrelevant to the source material. You can read the original section several times over until you understand what the author is attempting to convey in order to reduce the likelihood that this would ever happen to you. By doing this, you understand the structure of the entire text, paragraph, or other intellectual property you are trying to paraphrase, in addition to realizing what the original work is attempting to convey. Then, you can create a paraphrase of your own that differs from the original work’s structure but conveys its message.
2. Start your own draft
You can begin to develop your own draft after you have a thorough comprehension of the original material, much like you would with a neighborhood guide. As long as it’s not a literal replication of the original work or an original creation heavily reliant on thesaurus usage, anything will do. You might begin your draft by focusing on a small number of key phrases and work your way up from there. Then, if you make sure the words and phrases you use are creative and show the original work in a fresh way, you can add even more details and information from the original work.
3. Include the important points
Making sure you have included the crucial details from the original work in your draft should be your next step. Items such as the real data, the population size, or any other pertinent information from the original study. You are free to change the order of the data if you think it makes sense or to use different words that you believe better reflect your paraphrasing. This will help your paraphrase sound new and fresh while keeping part of its original structure.
4. Review your rendition
There are still a few steps to take, but by this point, you should be confident with your paraphrase and have completed most of it. The next step is to evaluate your interpretation of the original piece and make an effort to view it objectively. Imagine it like searching through your favorite clothing for a stray thread. When you do locate one, it doesn’t feel good, but it can prolong the life of your beloved clothing. If you discover a mistake in your paraphrase, whether it’s a few superfluous words, a point that doesn’t add together, or a bad word choice. Make every effort to fix those errors; it will spare you the time and trouble of having to explain yourself or dispute whether the passage is actually a paraphrase or a copy with a lot of thesaurus usage.
In order to convey your paraphrase most effectively while maintaining fidelity to the source material, revision is a crucial step in the paraphrasing process.
5. Enclose unique passages with quotation marks
Some words or phrases will inevitably remain intentionally distinct and unchangeable, regardless of how brilliant you are with vocabulary. If you come across any such words or phrases, make sure to put them in quotation marks. This allows your professor or whoever is reading your paraphrase to understand that those words are uniquely used in the original work and have no substitute. You also dodge the plagiarism bullet by doing so as long as you give citations to the original work.
Quotation marks around distinctive passages demonstrate your comprehension of the original work’s unique sections. This results in a paraphrase that seems more professional and preserves the original use of the special passage while providing a fresh and original viewpoint on the source material.
6. Cite the source material
As stated before, one excellent strategy to escape the plagiarism bullet is to include citations to the original work. When paraphrasing, this is a crucial stage because, although you are trying to represent the original work in a new way, you still do not own the intellectual property you are expressing.
One of the worst things that may happen to students is plagiarism, which is readily preventable with correct citation of sources. Admitting that a 54-year-old French scientist provided the impressive evidence you used to support your points in your amazing essay is not a sign of weakness. On the other hand, you ought to feel proud of yourself since you have the knowledge to understand that citations are required and since you have taken the time to thoroughly study our assertions for your work.
The hassle of citing every source material may be detrimental to your willpower, but it can save you a whole lot of money and jail time from plagiarism. After all, a few minutes of writing down source material is still better than a year spent in jail due to plagiarism.
Conclusion
For students, paraphrasing is a crucial ability that not only helps them avoid plagiarism but also makes their academic work seem more credible and professional. Students may produce powerful paraphrases that preserve the original meaning while exhibiting their own interpretation by carefully reading the source text, composing their own version, adding important details, and editing their work afterward. Furthermore, by correctly crediting their sources and enclosing unique phrases in quotation marks, students may respect intellectual property rights and stay out of trouble for plagiarism.
Carelle
Carelle is a teacher who has been through the ups and downs of the teacher and learner life. She wishes for every learner to gain educational satisfaction that will help embody the people they want to be in the future.
