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Paraphrasing

Well-Written Paraphrase

Creating a well-written paraphrase can be a challenging skill to learn. Understanding the qualities of a "good" paraphrase can help. A well-written paraphrase includes the following qualities:

  • Includes all the important details
    • All of the main details in the original appear in the paraphrase
  • True to the original
    • The paraphrase does not change the original author's meaning.
  • Same length or shorter than the original
    • ​The paraphrase is roughly the same length or shorter than the original. 
  • In your own words
    • ​The paraphrase is written using language, tone, and style that is your own.
  • Source is cited in-text and in the References list.
    • ​Paraphrased material must include both an in-text citation and a reference in the References list.

Original v. Plagiarism v. Paraphrase

Take a look at the following examples:

Original Passage: 

  • University of Tulsa psychologist Judy Berry studied seventy-three Oklahoma eighth graders who had taken a parenting course.  For ten days, each student had to care for a ten-pound sack of flour as if it were a baby.  Berry’s research on her young subjects suggests the course worked: The teenagers in the study had a sounder sense of parental responsibility than they did before they took the course.

Plagiarized Version: 

  • University of Tulsa psychologist Judy Berry conducted a study of eight graders who had taken a ten day parenting course. Students had to treat a ten-pound sack of flour as if it were a baby. According to Berry’s research, the course worked. After the course, students had a better understanding of parental responsibility than they did before they took the course. 

(Notice that much of the text is taken directly from the original source. This passage is not in the writer's own words.)

Paraphrased Correctly Versions: 

  • Extended parental role-playing can actually increase an adolescent’s awareness of parental responsibilities as shown by psychologist Judy Berry’s study involving eighth grade students (Harper, 1996).
  • In a study of eighth grade students taking a parenting course involving role-playing, Psychologist Judy Berry determined that students were more parentally responsible after taking the course (Harper, 1996).