When you paraphrase you present other people’s ideas, theories and data in your own words.

It is an important part of writing a paper. Remember:

• It is important to paraphrase properly.
• Paraphrasing, even though you are using your own words, must be properly referenced.

Paraphrasing can be difficult at first. We have all struggled to paraphrase appropriately, but as your writing skills develop so will your ability to paraphrase.

In most cases, when writing a paper, paraphrasing is preferred to quoting because:

• it is an "active process" that makes you think about what you are reading;
• it improves your understanding of the material; and
• it shows your reader (often your instructor) that you are familiar with the material and know how to integrate other people’s ideas into your argument.

A paraphrase should not resemble the original source in:

• form; or
• words used.

The paraphrase should:

• represent the original ideas accurately;
• not be twisted to support your argument; and
• be integrated into your paper.

Steps to Proper Paraphrasing

1. Read the source article or section of the book carefully.
2. Decide what you are going to include, read it carefully and then close the book and/or turn over the article.
3. Write, in your own words, your understanding of that idea, data or theory.
4. Re-read the source and make sure that:
   • you have represented their ideas, data, theories accurately;
   • you have included the whole idea, theory and/or data; and
   • you haven’t copied their sentence structure and/or word usage.
5. Integrate that paraphrase properly into your paper/presentation.

As noted earlier, understanding the material you are reading and using in your paper is key to proper paraphrasing (and a good paper).

You should never include other's ideas, data or theories unless you know why you are including them.

Proper referencing is critical!

All ideas that you have found in your research and that you have decided to use must be referenced even if you had that thought before you read it in an article.

Why?

• You must reference them in order to give the other author credit. Both of you had the same idea.
• It gives your argument more authority. Other people agree with you.

Let’s look carefully at some examples of paraphrasing. These examples of paraphrasing are also taken from The Fundamental Values of Academic Integrity. To enhance your understanding you might want to look at the quotes in their original context.

Tip: When reading an article, look for the original article from which the author took the idea that s/he paraphrased. This is an excellent way to learn how other writers paraphrase.

Original content:

"All campus constituencies have a role in ensuring fairness, and a lapse by one member of the community does not excuse misconduct by another. Rationalizations such as 'everyone does it' or 'the curve was too high' do not justify or excuse dishonesty" (The Centre for Academic Integrity, 1999, p.7).

A good paraphrase could look like this:

Some members of the community might claim it is acceptable to cheat because others do it, or because the work is unfairly marked. These reasons do not excuse academic dishonesty. The entire campus community should take responsibility for not cheating (The Centre for Academic Integrity, 1999). Original content:

"All campus constituencies have a role in ensuring fairness, and a lapse by one member of the community does not excuse misconduct by another. Rationalizations such as 'everyone does it' or 'the curve was too high' do not justify or excuse dishonesty" (The Centre for Academic Integrity, 1999, p.7).

A good paraphrase could look like this:

Some members of the community might claim it is acceptable to cheat because others do it, or because the work is unfairly marked. These reasons do not excuse academic dishonesty. The entire campus community should take responsibility for not cheating (The Centre for Academic Integrity, 1999).

Let's look at this quote again.

"All campus constituencies have a role in ensuring fairness, and a lapse by one member of the community does not excuse misconduct by another. Rationalizations such as 'everyone does it' or 'the curve was too high' do not justify or excuse dishonesty" (The Centre for Academic Integrity, 1999, p. 7).

Is this a good paraphrase?

All campus communities are involved in ensuring fairness, and a mistake by one member of the group does not pardon misconduct by others. Excuses such as 'everyone does it' or 'the curve was too high' do not make dishonesty o.k. (The Centre for Academic Integrity, 1999).

 Yes
 No

Try this one yourself. Here is the original material:

"All campus constituencies have a role in ensuring fairness, and a lapse by one member of the community does not excuse misconduct by another. Rationalizations such as 'everyone does it' or 'the curve was too high' do not justify or excuse dishonesty" (The Centre for Academic Integrity, 1999, p. 7).

Is this a good paraphrase?

Some members of the community might claim it is acceptable to cheat because others do it, or because the work is unfairly marked. These reasons do not excuse academic dishonesty. The entire campus community should take responsibility for not cheating (The Centre for Academic integrity, 1999).

 Yes
 No

Here is another one. Here is the original material:

"Blaming, blaming, blaming!! Many faculty blame lack of integrity on student apathy. Many students blame faculty for not upholding policy. Both don't uphold their own responsibilities out of fear or lack of trust in the other group. Each group needs to uphold [its] own responsibility and do it well, without making excuses, for academic integrity to truly flourish" (The Centre for Academic Integrity, 1999, p. 9).

Is this a good paraphrase?

A student attending a conference hosted by The Centre for Academic Integrity felt that if both the faculty and the students take responsibility for their own actions then academic integrity could “truly flourish.” He noted that faculty tend to blame academic dishonesty on student laziness and lack of caring, while students blame faculty for not following through on their own policies (The Centre for Academic Integrity, 1999).

 Yes
 No

One more, Here is the original material:

"All campus constituencies have a role in ensuring fairness, and a lapse by one member of the community does not excuse misconduct by another. Rationalizations such as 'everyone does it' or 'the curve was too high' do not justify or excuse dishonesty" (The Centre for Academic Integrity, 1999, p.7).

Is this a good paraphrase?

The Centre for Academic Integrity (1999) notes that some students say its o.k. to cheat because others do it and its too hard to get good grades. However, professors should take responsibility for cheating too!

 Yes
 No

1. Read "The Fundamental Values of Academic Integrity." (http://www.academicintegrity.org/pdf/FVProject.pdf).
2. Pick one section (a paragraph or a major section of a longer paragraph) and paraphrase it.
3. Put the paraphrase in your research log with all the appropriate information.
   • Include the original form (this will give you a chance to quote and reference properly).
   • Follow the original form with your paraphrase, properly referenced.
4. Ask another student in your class to review your paraphrase.