Why Paraphrase?
If
your purpose is one of the following, you may wish to paraphrase a portion of a
text:
- to
make sure that you fully understand what the text says (for example, a poem or
a Bible verse or a speech from a play by Shakespeare);
- to
discuss someone's argument or text directly;
- to
use as expert evidence for a point you are making in your own argumentative
text;
- to
present an opposing point of view that you wish to refute.
How to Paraphrase a Text
- Use
alternative wording to the author's throughout your paraphrase.
- If
you use the author's words to name important ideas, enclose his or her phrases
in quotation marks.
- Present
the ideas of the original using your own sentence structure as well as your own
word choice. Following the author's
sentence structure, even if you use alternative wording, is considered
plagiarizing.
- Cite
your source, even if you do not use a direct quotation from the source.
- When
including a paraphrase in your text, introduce the topic in your own words, but
make it clear that you are presenting someone else's ideas with wording like
"H. H. Smith argues that . . ." or "According to medical researcher Donald
Smith, . . ." or "Smith also claims that . . .".
Taken from Bridgewater College
