If you’re struggling to avoid plagiarism, you must know how to paraphrase in your writing.
According to ThoughtCo.com, a paraphrase is a “restatement of a text in another for or other words, often simplify or clarify meaning”. Paraphrasing can be simply defined as an attempt to rewriting other opinion in your own words. We can use paraphrasing as a way of demonstrating critical thinking skills and developing shared understanding.
Here is an example of paraphrase:
Original source:
“Differentiation as an instructional approach promotes a balance between a student’s style and a student’s ability. Differentiated instruction provides the student with options for processing and internalizing the content, and for constructing new learning in order to progress academically”
Paraphrase:
“Teachers use differentiated instruction to help students learn, allowing the teacher to cater lessons to the way each student learns and each student’s skill (Thompson, 2009).”
We have three useful strategies to help you create a satisfactory paraphrase.
- Immerse yourself in the text
Read the paragraph several times and quickly review the important points and key statements. Close the cited book or article and make notes, if necessary.
- Change words and sentence structure
When you paraphrase, you can’t simply replace a few words. To paraphrase a source, you can emphasize your interpretation by rewording and rewriting phrases and sentences without changing the meaning from the original text. You can also use thesaurus to find synonyms and other similar terms.
- Use a signal phrase
A paraphrase must be cited by attributing to the original source. Signaling terms (e.g., “they write”, “Smith notes that…” “He believes that…”) lets the reader know that you are introducing a source and where the paraphrase starts.
References:
A Guide to Paraphrasing in Research Paper. Retrieved from: https://wordvice.com/a-guide-to-paraphrasing-in-research-papers-apa-ama/
Paraphrase. Retrieved from: https://www.thoughtco.com/what-is-a-paraphrase-1691573
Using Evidence: Examples of Paraphrasing. Retrieved from: https://academicguides.waldenu.edu/writingcenter/evidence/paraphrase/examples