Paraphrasing

The Art of Paraphrasing

How to Paraphrase

Combining

Replace

Replace a word or a term by a synonym.

Combining information or ideas from many sentences into one.

Change order

Remove

Remove uncessary words or group of words.

Change the order of ideas in the text.

If you write or reformulate the ideas of others, you need to identify the source of these ideas. You also need to keep the original meaning and idea.

Adapted from Julie Noël et Sonia Blouin, L'art de la paraphrase, Service national du RÉCIT, domaine des langues, 2019

Using all these strategies allows you to express the author's ideas in your own words as an alternative to quoting. It is called paraphrasing.

Paraphrasing is telling someone else's ideas in your own words.

1. Read the text you want to paraphrase and make sure you understand its meaning.
2. Write down main ideas.
3. Try not to look at the original text.
4. Explain the idea out loud or to someone else
5. Write down the new text.
6. Compare with the original text.

Strategies involved when paraphrasing

• avoid quoting
• explain a point when the exact wording is not important or possible
• explain the essential ideas of a text
• clarify a short passage from a text

Paraphrase when you want to :

Source: Excelcior Online Reading Lab, Paraphrasing, [https://owl.excelsior.edu/orc/what-to-do-after-reading/paraphrasing/], Consulted on May 21 2022.

Source: George Mason University, The Writing Center, “When to Summarize, Paraphrase, and Quote”. [https://writingcenter.gmu.edu/guides/when-to-summarize-paraphrase-and-quote ]. Consulted on May 21 2022

Change Order Example: "Mr Hadley stood up, his smile now a thing of the past. He walked over to his wife." (Noughts & Crosses by Malorie Blackman, 2001) Change the order of the sentence. Here is the result: Mr Hadley walked over to his wife after he stood up and was no longer smiling. (Noughts & Crosses by Malorie Blackman, 2001)

Combining Example: "Mr Hadley stood up, his smile now a thing of the past. He walked over to his wife." (Noughts & Crosses by Malorie Blackman, 2001) Here is the result: After he stood up and was no longer smiling, Mr. Hadley walked over to his wife. (Noughts & Crosses by Malorie Blackman, 2001)

Replace Example: "Mr. Hadley stood up, his smile now a thing of the past. He walked over to his wife." (Noughts & Crosses by Malorie Blackman, 2001) Replace a word or a group of words to modify some elements. The word "wife" is replaced by "spouse". Here is the result: Mr. Hadley stood up, his smile now a thing of the past. He walked over to his spouse. (Noughts & Crosses by Malorie Blackman, 2001)

Remove Example: "Mr Hadley stood up, his smile now a thing of the past. He walked over to his wife." (Noughts & Crosses by Malorie Blackman, 2001) Here is the result: Mr Hadley stood up, whose smile was now a thing of the past walked over to his wife. (Noughts & Crosses by Malorie Blackman, 2001)

Reformulating Using all these strategies allows you to express the author's ideas in your own words as an alternative to quoting. It is called paraphrasing. Example: "Mr Hadley stood up, his smile now a thing of the past. He walked over to his wife." (Noughts & Crosses by Malorie Blackman, 2001) Reformulation: Mr Hadley walked over to his spouse and was no longer smiling. (Noughts & Crosses by Malorie Blackman, 2001)