2/13/22, 7:11 PM How to Paraphrase in 5 Easy Steps | Tips and Examples
How to Paraphrase in 5 Easy Steps | Tips and Examples
Published on
April 18, 2018
by
Courtney Gahan.
Revised on
September 24, 2021.
Paraphrasing means formulating someone else’s ideas in your own words. To paraphrase a
source, you have to rewrite a passage without changing the meaning of the original text.
Paraphrasing is an alternative to quoting, where you copy someone’s exact words and put
them in quotation marks. In academic writing, it’s usually better to paraphrase instead of
quoting, because it shows that you have understood the source and makes your work more
original.
Every time you paraphrase, it’s important to cite the source. You also have to be careful not to
use wording that is too similar to the original. Otherwise, you could be at risk of committing
plagiarism.
Table of contents
1. How to paraphrase in five steps
2. Paraphrasing tips
3. How to cite a paraphrase
4. Paraphrasing vs. quoting
5. Paraphrasing vs. summarizing
6. Avoiding plagiarism
7. Frequently asked questions
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2/13/22, 7:11 PM How to Paraphrase in 5 Easy Steps | Tips and Examples
How to paraphrase in five steps
1. Read the passage several times to fully understand the meaning
2. Note down key concepts
3. Write your version of the text without looking at the original
4. Compare your paraphrased text with the original passage and make minor adjustments
to phrases that remain too similar
5. Cite the source where you found the idea
Paraphrasing example
Original passage
“The number of foreign and domestic tourists in the Netherlands rose above 42 million
in 2017, an increase of 9% and the sharpest growth rate since 2006, the national
statistics office CBS reported on Wednesday” (DutchNews.nl, 2018).
Paraphrased version
According to the national statistics office, the Netherlands experienced dramatic
growth in tourist numbers in 2017. More than 42 million tourists travelled to or within
the Netherlands that year, representing a 9% increase—the steepest in 12 years
(DutchNews.nl, 2018).
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2/13/22, 7:11 PM How to Paraphrase in 5 Easy Steps | Tips and Examples
The text is rewritten in your own words
The meaning of the text did not change
The source is cited correctly according to APA in-text citation rules
Paraphrasing tips
The five steps to paraphrasing may seem straightforward, but writing an idea in a different
way than the published version can be difficult. These are four tricks you can apply to help
you do so.
1. Start your first sentence at a different point from that of the original source
2. Use synonyms (words that mean the same thing)
3. Change the sentence structure (e.g. from active to passive voice)
4. Break the information into separate sentences
We have applied these four tips to the example below.
Original quote:
“But the hearing was about more than Facebook; it exposed a critical turning point as
the power, sophistication and potential exploitation of technology outpaces what
users, regulators or even its creators expected or seem prepared to handle” (Roose &
Kang, 2018, para. 11).
Paraphrased version:
The hearing made it apparent that the expectations of creators, regulators and users
have been rapidly eclipsed by technology in general, not only Facebook. Such
technologies now extend beyond what these parties are able to manage, due to their
immense influence, potential for exploitation and sophistication (Roose & Kang, 2018,
para. 11).
1. Start your first sentence at a different point from that of the original
source
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2/13/22, 7:11 PM How to Paraphrase in 5 Easy Steps | Tips and Examples
In the example, you can see that we started by introducing the context (the hearing) followed
by the last part of the original sentence: the expectations of creators, regulators and users. In
fact, the key pieces of information are mentioned in a completely different order.
2. Use as many synonyms as possible
Synonyms are words or phrases that means the same thing. Our example uses several
synonyms:
“exposed a critical turning point” → “made it apparent”
“outpaces” → “rapidly eclipsed”
“power” → “immense influence”
If you’re struggling to think of synonyms, a thesaurus can be a useful tool. However, don’t
overdo it! It’s perfectly acceptable and often necessary to use some of the same words as the
original text. In this example, it would be unnecessarily confusing to use synonyms for words
like “technology”.
3. Change the sentence structure
For example, if the sentence was originally in the active voice, change it to passive. The
active voice is when a sentence is led by the subject (the thing doing the action). When the
object (the thing receiving the action) leads the sentence, that sentence is written in the
passive voice.
“technology outpaces what users, regulators or even its creators expected” → “the
expectations of creators, regulators and users have been rapidly eclipsed by
technology“
In this example, technology is the subject; the expectations of creators, regulators and users
are the object. The original quote was written in the active voice, while the paraphrase uses
the passive voice.
4. Break the information into separate sentences
Although paraphrasing will usually result in a word count roughly the same as an original
quote, you may be able to play with the number of sentences to make the text different.
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In this example, one long sentence was broken into two. The opposite could also be the case,
i.e. if the original quote is comprised of two sentences, you may be able to combine the
information into one.
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How to cite a paraphrase
Once you have your perfectly paraphrased text, you need to ensure you credit the original
author. No matter what citation style you use, you always paraphrase in the same way. The
only thing that is different is the in-text citation.
APA format
(Roose & Kang, 2018, para. 11)
MLA format
(Roose and Kang)
Chicago Notes and Bibliography
1. Kevin Roose and Cecilia Kang, “Mark Zuckerberg Testifies on Facebook Before Skeptical
Lawmakers,” The New York Times, April 10, 2018, https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/10/us/politics
/zuckerberg-facebook-senate-hearing.html
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Webpage Book Journal article Newspaper article Video Magazine article Wikip APA
Cite a webpage by URL Cite
Paraphrasing vs. quoting
If you complete thorough research and take notes on the sources you read, you will naturally
end up paraphrasing most of the important information you find rather than using direct
quotes. It is wise to limit the number of direct quotes in your paper because:
Paraphrasing shows that you clearly understand the meaning of a text
Your own voice will remain dominant throughout your paper
Quotes reduce the readability of your text
Quotes are appropriate when:
Giving a precise definition
Saying something about the author’s language or style
Providing evidence in support of an argument
Critiquing or analyzing a specific claim
Paraphrasing vs. summarizing
A paraphrase is a rewriting of a specific passage from someone else, so it will be
approximately the same length as the source’s original quote.
When you completely or partially describe the outcome of a more substantial part of the
research, it is called a summary.
There is a distinct difference between paraphrasing and summarizing. However, in general (as
is the case in many universities), both are often referred to as paraphrasing.
Example of summarized text
Summary:
An article published in April 2018 highlighted clear differences between generations of
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2/13/22, 7:11 PM How to Paraphrase in 5 Easy Steps | Tips and Examples
children in the Netherlands, stating that 70% of the grandparents of the current
generation spent more time outside than at home, compared to 10% today. Since 2013,
the percentage of children who play outside every day has decreased from 20% to just
14%. There are several negative outcomes for children that have resulted from lack of
outdoor play, including increasing problems with short-sightedness due to a
preference for time on computers, shortages of Vitamin D, problems with weight, and
limited development of social skills (DutchNews.nl, 2018).
Why summarize?
While paraphrasing and quoting are ideal if you wish to focus on one section of a research
article, summarizing is a useful tool if you find the entire source relevant and interesting.
Avoiding plagiarism
When paraphrasing, you have to be careful to avoid accidental plagiarism.
This can happen if the paraphrase is too similar to the original quote, with phrases or whole
sentences that are identical (and should therefore be in quotation marks). It can also happen
if you fail to properly cite the source of the paraphrase.
To make sure you’ve properly paraphrased and cited all your sources, you could elect to run a
plagiarism check before submitting your paper. Scribbr’s plagiarism checker scans your paper
and compares it to a vast database of sources. It highlights any passages that are too similar
to another source, even when the structure has been changed or synonyms used.
Read more about the best plagiarism checkers for students in our in-depth comparison.
Frequently asked questions
Is paraphrasing considered plagiarism?
What is the difference between plagiarism and paraphrasing?
Can plagiarism be accidental?
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