VI.

PARAPHRASING

Paraphrasing, or changing the vocabulary and grammar of a statement while keeping the
original meaning, is an essential writing skill that you will use in a wide range of assignments
in all your academic classes.

 Why do I need to paraphrase?

First, you must avoid plagiarism. In addition, you should avoid using too many quotations in
your writing. Writing that contains too many quotations is hard to read and leaves readers
with the impression that the writer did not do his or her own thinking.

 How can I learn to paraphrase?

Paraphrasing is what you do when you want to repeat what someone said but you cannot
remember the person’s exact words. Learning to paraphrase well takes practice. In order to
paraphrase, you should read, understand what the author says and restate it in your own
words. As a first step to learning the skill of paraphrasing, do the following oral exercise.

Exercise 1: Look at the following sentences. After reading, try to explain what you
understand from them to your partner.

1. The 2021–22 NBA season is the 76th season of the National Basketball Association
(NBA). The NBA returned to a full 82-game regular season in its normal mid-October
to mid-April schedule for the first time since the 2018–19 NBA season, as the
previous two seasons have been shortened due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The
regular season began on October 19, 2021, and is scheduled to end on April 10, 2022.
2. “If there's a book that you want to read, but it hasn't been written yet, then you must
write it.” ― Toni Morrison
3. Pablo Picasso was one of the greatest artists of the 20th century, famous for paintings
like ‘Guernica’ and for the art movement known as Cubism.

PARAPHRASING STRATEGIES
To paraphrase, in its simplest way, you should restate what the author says by using your
own words. While doing this, your grammar and vocabulary should be appropriate. There are
a number of strategies to paraphrase the texts successfully. Please note that you need to
change a sentence in as many ways as possible. Using only one technique to paraphrase a
text will still be considered as plagiarism. However, to show each strategy clearly, these
strategies are presented in this material one by one.

1. Use synonyms or synonymous phrases.

 Parents frequently remark…
 Mothers and fathers often say…

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2. Change the form of the words.
 A physically fit person feels good…
 Physical fitness produces good feelings…

3. Change the subject of the sentence.

a) Make a singular subject plural or a plural subject singular.
 An individual is…
 Individuals are…

b) Change the pronoun point of view (we, you, and s/he) to another pronoun point of
view.
 We have to be responsible for ourselves…
 Citizens have to be responsible for themselves…

c) Make an active sentence passive or a passive sentence active.

 Newspapers report stories…
 Stories are reported by newspapers…

4. Change the logical connectors (coordinating conjunctions, subordinating conjunctions,

and transition words).
 The answer is wrong. Therefore, we must rework the problem.
 The answer is wrong, so we must rework the problem.
 Because the answer is wrong, we must rework the problem.

5. Move parts of the sentence (adverb phrases, adverb clauses).

 The law was signed in 2007.
 In 2007, the law was signed.

 By marching in the streets, people protested the law.

 People protested the law by marching in the streets.

 People protested because the law was unfair.

 Because the law was unfair, people protested.

6. Combine short sentences or divide long sentences.

 The building withstood the earthquake. That is surprising.
 It is surprising that the building withstood the earthquake.

 With the cold weather months ahead, many people are concerned that individuals on
fixed incomes will not be able to afford the higher heating bills and thus will have to
choose between buying food and heating their homes.

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 
Because the cold weather months are ahead, many people are concerned about higher
heating bills. Individuals on fixed incomes will not be able to afford the higher bills.
As a result, they will have to choose between buying food and heating their homes.
7. Omit any unnecessary words that do not contribute to the meaning.
 Mr. Smith has a physical fitness routine which varies with the days of the week.
 Mr. Smith’s physical fitness routine varies with the days of the week.

Now that you have examined the techniques to paraphrase, you may have some
questions, such as these:

Do I have to change every word in a paraphrase? No. You should not change a word or
phrase if it significantly changes the meaning of the original statement. Here are some
situations in which you should avoid or be cautious about word changes:

 Do not alter facts or numbers, and do not change the proper names of people and places.
 Be cautious about changing key terms. For example, while the noun happiness does have
synonyms such as contentment, satisfaction, joy, bliss; however, none of them are effective
synonyms.
 Do not change technical terms. Technical terms have specific definitions and often have no
synonyms. When you are writing a paper with technical language, learn the meanings of
terms so that you can use them accurately. For example, if, in a paper for an environmental
studies class, you paraphrased “the climate of Hawaii” as “the weather of Hawaii,” you
would be wrong. Although we sometimes use the terms climate and weather
interchangeably in casual speech and writing, the technical meanings of these words are
different.

Can I add information or ideas to a paraphrase? No. A paraphrase must faithfully

represent the information and ideas of the original source text.

Do I always have to identify the source? Yes. You must always make clear which
information and ideas come from sources and which are your own.

 To achieve this, you can/should use a suitable verb of reference at the beginning of the
sentence you paraphrased. You also need to write the details of the source in brackets
after the paraphrased statement. The details include writer’s surname and page number, or
the name of the book, magazine or website etc.)

Exercise 2: Review the list of ways to paraphrase above, and identify the strategies
used in each paraphrase by naming of the strategy or strategies used.

a) Now, using several methods, including statistical techniques borrowed from gene
analysis, two researchers have created a program that can automatically generate
paraphrases of English sentences.
Source: A. Eisenberg, “Get Me Rewrite!” The New York Times, Dec. 25, 2003: 12.1

1
http://grammar.about.com/od/pq/g/paraphterm.htm

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 Paraphrase: Eisenberg announces that a program which forms sentence paraphrases in
English has been developed by researchers and some techniques which were originally
used in gene analysis were applied to develop it (Eisenberg, The New York Times).

b) Students frequently overuse direct quotation in taking notes, and as a result they overuse
quotations in the final paper. Probably only about 10% of your final manuscript should
appear as directly quoted matter.
Source: Lester, James D. Writing Research Papers. 2nd ed. (1976): 46.2
Paraphrase: Lester indicates that because the students take notes as the sentence is told
during the speech, in final papers these citations are used heavily. However, the final
writing should include just ten sentences out of a hundred, ideally (Lester, Writing
Research Papers).

c) A famous historian was involved in a big plagiarism scandal in 2004. Before this, she had
a successful career, and even won a Pulitzer Prize. Her excuse was that she confused her
notes with her own thoughts. Her reputation as a historian and award-winning author was
tarnished. 3
Source: “How the Goodwin Story Developed.” History News Network. 6 Oct 2005. 
Paraphrase: An article in History News Network indicates that after involvement in a
plagiarism scandal in 2004, the eminent and successful Pulitzer Award winner historian
was dishonoured. Upon this, she claimed the reason for the occurrence was confusion
between her notes she used and her own ideas (History News Network).

d) Failure to acknowledge sources, textual, personal, electronic upon which you have relied
is a serious breach of academic integrity. If you have questions or are unsure if something
falls under academic honesty, consult with your instructor.4
Source: web.williams.edu, “Integrity Matters”
Paraphrase: William University web page explains that if a quotation is taken from a
text, a specific person or the internet, the source should be addressed clearly; otherwise, it
is a violation of academic honesty. Instructors should be consulted if there are questions
whether a usage may result in plagiarism (William.edu).

Exercise 3: Study the following paragraphs and paraphrases. Decide if the

paraphrases are acceptable or unacceptable. Then compare your answers
with your partners.

a) Effective parenting centres around love that is not permissive, that does not tolerate
disrespect, and that is powerful enough to allow kids to make mistakes and permit them
to live with the consequences of those mistakes (Fay, 202).

2
https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/using_research/quoting_paraphrasing_and_summarizing/paraphrasing.html
3
http://web.williams.edu/wp-etc/acad-resources/survival_guide/CitingDoc/WhyCite.php
4
http://web.williams.edu/wp-etc/acad-resources/survival_guide/Integrity/Consequences.php

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 Paraphrase: Parents who are successful with their children are not permissive, do not
tolerate disrespect, and are able to permit their children to make mistakes and experience
the outcomes of their mistakes.
ACCEPTABLE / UNACCEPTABLE

b) Human infants differ from the young of other species in their long period of dependency
on adults. Young children cannot feed themselves – they need years of adult care and
supervision to survive. But parents want more for their children then just survive. Parents
want children to grow up to be healthy, happy, successful, and decent members of society
(Waldfogel, 145)
Paraphrase: According to Jane Waldfogel, unlike other species, human young depend
for survival on adults for a very long time. Human babies and young children require
adults to watch over them and tend to their needs in this period. At the same time, parents
expect their children to thrive, not just survive: They hope their children will have health
and happiness, achieve success, and live moral lives (Waldfogel, 145).
ACCEPTABLE / UNACCEPTABLE

c) We grow morally as a consequence of learning how to be with others, how to behave in

the world, a learning prompted by taking to heart what we have seen and heard. The child
is a witness; the child is an ever-attentive witness of grown-up morality – or the lack of
thereof; the child looks and looks for cues as to one ought to behave, and finds them
galore as we parents and teachers go about our lives (Coles, 18)
Paraphrase: Children learn morality by watching adults. As they observe, they learn
how to relate to people and how to behave from their adult models (Coles, 18).
ACCEPTABLE / UNACCEPTABLE

Exercise 4: Using the strategies that you learned, paraphrase each of the following
sentences.

1. For students intending to take course İNG 004, completion of İNG 002 is a prerequisite.
___________________________________________________________________

2. Last night’s weather forecast on TV gave no indication that it would snow today.
___________________________________________________________________

3. Were it not for the project I must complete for my Nanotechnology course, I would be able
to go with my friends to the party next weekend.
___________________________________________________________________

4. My friends invited me to see the latest episode of Rick and Morty but it’s not really my cup
of tea.
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___________________________________________________________________

5. I was not informed that submitting a valid SAT score was obligatory for this course.
___________________________________________________________________

6. The more you want to succeed in something, the harder you have to struggle for it.
___________________________________________________________________

7. Air quality in Paris has improved considerably since the early 1980s.
___________________________________________________________________

8. Switzerland is the first country to include protections for animals in its constitution.
___________________________________________________________________

9. Worldwide, over 90% of the population has reliable broadband internet access.
___________________________________________________________________

10. I was told the quiz would be difficult but for me it was a piece of cake.
___________________________________________________________________

Exercise 5: By using the strategies you have learned, paraphrase the following
paragraphs. Decide about the register&style and tone assuming that you
will be using the following sources in an academic presentation.

a) Lots of people like to go for a city break holiday. It is the chance to spend a few days,
usually from Friday to Monday, in a famous city, often in another country. People can do
activities like visiting famous buildings or monuments, enjoying cultural activities, or
going shopping in a famous city. (Kate Stewart, Holiday Ideas, 2017)
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________

b) William Shakespeare wrote the play Romeo and Juliet in 1595. It is one of the most popular
of his plays. The 1961 movie West Side Story was the same story but took place in modern
New York, and was about the battle between two different gangs in place of the families
from Shakespeare’s play. (Julian Seezur, Shakespeare For Today, 2017)

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 _________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

c) It has been proved by scientists that doing something to make your brain work can help you to
live longer and with better health. In a study of people aged over 60, some of them did a
crossword every day and some did not. The study proved that the ones who did a crossword or
sudoku lived longer and had fewer problems with the health of their brains. (Paul Rufus, The
Guardian, 2017).

_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________

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