Writing

Paraphrasing a source

Watch the video, read the short explanation, then practice fixing paraphrases.

Paraphrasing a source

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In short

A paraphrase is one passage in your words and your structure. It keeps the same meaning in new sentences, and it is still cited, with the author and year. Paraphrase when:

You need the details of one passage.
The idea is the point, and the author’s exact words will not make your argument stronger.
The original is too complex, and plainer words will help your audience follow it.

A paraphrasing process that works

Read it until you understand it.
Look away from the source.
Explain it the way your audience needs.
Write from that explanation, not from the source.
Check it against the original. Did you keep a distinctive phrase? Rewrite it or quote it.
Cite it.

Swapping synonyms is patchwriting. A citation credits the idea, but the sentence is still the author’s. Change the structure first. Keep technical terms. And keep it short: a paraphrase should not grow longer because of filler words.

Review: Fix the paraphrase

Read each example and decide what is wrong. Then click to check. The sources are made up.

Example 1: Same sentence, different words

Original: When teachers invited families to share their home languages in class, children participated more and families attended more school events. Hernandez (2021), p. 27.

Needs a fix When teachers asked families to share their home languages in class, kids took part more and families came to more school events (Hernandez, 2021).

Click to reveal the fix

Better version Hernandez (2021) linked classroom invitations to share home languages with higher participation among children and better family turnout at school events.

What changed: The first version swaps a few words but keeps the author’s sentence structure from start to finish. That is patchwriting. The better version changes the structure and keeps the meaning.

Example 2: Too many words

Original: Toddlers who were read to daily had larger vocabularies at age three than toddlers who were rarely read to. Cho (2020), p. 12.

Needs a fix In a study that was conducted by Cho (2020), it was found that, in terms of vocabulary size, toddlers who happened to be read to on a daily basis ended up having bigger vocabularies at the age of three than those toddlers who were only rarely read to.

Click to reveal the fix

Better version By age three, toddlers who were read to daily knew more words than toddlers who were rarely read to (Cho, 2020).

What changed: The first version is longer than the original and repeats ideas with filler such as it was found that and in terms of. The better version keeps the key idea in fewer words. Notice that the citation has the author and year only, with no page number.

Example 3: The technical term disappeared

Original: Formative assessment gives teachers evidence of what students understand while there is still time to adjust instruction. Ruiz (2022), p. 5.

Needs a fix Quizzes that teachers give along the way show how well students are doing so the lesson can be changed (Ruiz, 2022).

Click to reveal the fix

Better version Because formative assessment shows what students understand in the middle of a unit, teachers can change their lessons before it is too late (Ruiz, 2022).

What changed: Formative assessment is a technical term, and a quiz is only one kind of it. Your audience in education needs the real term. Change the structure first, and change a term only if your audience would not know it.