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How to paraphrase (including examples)

Jessica Malnik

Paraphrasing has gotten a bad reputation due to its association with plagiarism . However, when used correctly, paraphrasing has the potential to elevate your writing and give you a better understanding of the research.

In this post, we’ll discuss what paraphrasing is, why we do it, and 6 steps to walk you through the process. We’ll also share what not to do with paraphrasing, along with some examples.

Paraphrasing definition and rules

Paraphrasing is simply a way of summarizing someone else’s content in your own words. When you paraphrase, you keep the meaning or intent of the original work without copying it word for word. However, paraphrasing can quickly become a form of plagiarism if done incorrectly. This is why it’s crucial to follow the rules of paraphrasing.

When borrowing the ideas from someone else’s content, there’s one important rule to follow: you must correctly cite your source. This can be done in a number of ways depending on the style guide you use. 

Source citing is different for MLA and APA formatting and style guides. You’ll need to familiarize yourself with the citation formats for whichever one you follow. However, in some cases, simply hyperlinking the source will be sufficient.

Why do we paraphrase?

There are a number of reasons that professional writers and students alike choose to paraphrase content. Here are just a few of the common reasons that a writer would choose to paraphrase instead of including a quote or summarization.

Process information better 

One benefit of paraphrasing is that it helps you process the author’s ideas. When you have to rewrite the material in your own words, it makes you really think about the context and how it fits into your piece. If you want to really understand the material you’re citing, try rewriting it. If you were to quote the same information, you would miss out on the benefit of analyzing the source material.

For example, if you are writing a research paper all about Shakespeare’s influence on modern-day literature, you don’t want to just use a ton of direct quotes, instead by paraphrasing original passages, it can help you comprehend and analyze the material better.  

Improve your credibility with readers

You can also improve your credibility by association with the sources you decide to paraphrase. 

When you rewrite the material, you create a connection between your content and the knowledge from the source. 

Your audience will have a better understanding of the direction of your piece if you’re paraphrasing a reputable source with established authority on the subject.

Present data in an interesting way

If you’re referencing a data-heavy webpage or study, then paraphrasing is an engaging way to present the information in your own writing style. 

This allows you to tell a story with the source material instead of simply citing numbers or graphs.

Show that you understand the source

Another reason for paraphrasing that’s particularly important in academic writing is to demonstrate that you’ve read and comprehended the source material. 

For example, if all of you are doing is copying and pasting the original words of a textbook, you aren’t really learning anything new. When you summarize the material in your own words, it helps you to understand the material faster.  

How to paraphrase in 6 steps

Paraphrasing is simple when you break it down into a series of steps. 

Here are the 6 steps you can use to paraphrase your sources:

1. Choose a reputable source

First, you need to pick a credible source to paraphrase. A credible source will likely have ideas and concepts that are worth repeating. Be sure to research the author’s name and publisher’s credentials and endorsements (if applicable).

You’ll also want to check the date of the publication as well to make sure it’s current enough to include in your writing.

2. Read and re-read the source material

You want to be sure that you understand the context and information in the original source before you can begin to rework it into your own words. Read through it as many times as you need so you’re sure that you grasp the meaning.

3. Take some notes 

Once you have an understanding of the passage, you’ll want to jot down your initial thoughts. 

What are the key concepts in the source material? 

What are the most interesting parts? 

For this part, it helps to break up the content into different sections. This step will give you a sort of mini-outline before you proceed with rephrasing the material.

4. Write a rough draft

Write your version of the content without looking at the original source material. This part is important. 

With the source hidden, you’ll be less likely to pull phrasing and structure from the original. You are welcome to reference your notes, though. This will help you write the content in your own words without leaning on the source but still hit the key points you want to cover.

5. Compare and revise

Once you have your initial draft written, you should look at it side by side with the original source. Adjust as needed to ensure your version is written in a way that’s unique to your voice. 

This is a good time to break out a thesaurus if you notice you have used too many of the same words as the original source.

6. Cite your source

Whether you use MLA, APA, Chicago, or another style guide, now is the time to give proper credit to the original author or source. When posting content online, you may only need to hyperlink to the original source.

Keep in mind that the paraphrased text will not change depending on the citation style that you follow. It will just change how it’s cited.

What you shouldn’t do when paraphrasing

Now that you understand the process of paraphrasing and can follow the steps, it’s important that you know what to avoid. When paraphrasing, here are a few things to keep in mind:

1. Do NOT write while you’re still researching

You might be tempted to start writing during the research phase. However, this sets you up to miss information or restate the copy too closely to the source material. Be sure to do your research first, take notes, and then start writing the piece.

2. Do NOT skip the citations

When you pull a small amount of information from a paraphrased source, you may think you don’t need to cite it. However, any idea or copy that’s taken from another source is considered plagiarism if you don’t give it credit, even if it is only a little bit of information.

Paraphrasing examples

Here are some examples to help you understand what paraphrasing looks like when done correctly and incorrectly

Excerpt from LinkedIn’s Official Blog:

“When reaching out to connect with someone, share a personalized message telling the person why you would like to connect. If it’s someone you haven’t been in touch with in a while, mention a detail to jog that person’s memory for how you met, reinforce a mutual interest and kickstart a conversation.”

Here’s another example. This one is from the U.S. Department of Education:

“ The U.S. Department of Education does not accredit educational institutions and/or programs. However, the Department provides oversight over the postsecondary accreditation system through its review of all federally-recognized accrediting agencies. The Department holds accrediting agencies accountable by ensuring that they enforce their accreditation standards effectively. ”

Here’s one more example to show you how to paraphrase using a quote from Mark Twain as the source material:

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So, throw off the bowlines, sail away from safe harbor, catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore, Dream, Discover.”

Paraphrasing can be a beneficial tool for any writer. It can give you credibility and a deeper understanding of the topic. However, to successfully use paraphrasing, you must be careful to properly cite your sources and effectively put the material into your own words each time.

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3.9: Paraphrasing and Summarizing

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• Page ID 31441

• Athena Kashyap & Erika Dyquisto
• City College of San Francisco via ASCCC Open Educational Resources Initiative

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Paraphrasing

The essay assignments for most first-year composition classes call on you to use information from various texts. However, you cannot just copy the exact words out of the text you are writing about. If you do, you are plagiarizing and may put your academic career in jeopardy. If you are not citing direct quotes and citing them, you must put the words from the readings fully into your own words and cite them.

When paraphrasing, there are two basic kinds of changes you can make:

• Change the words so you are using synonyms wherever possible. For example, imagine you are paraphrasing the sentence “After work, Judy rushed back to her house.” Instead of “her house” you can say “her home” or “her place.” Instead of “rushed” you could say “hurried.”
• Change the sentence structure so that it is different. One method is to switch the order of dependent and independent clauses. For example, instead of “After work, Judy rushed back to her house” you might write, “Judy was in a hurry to get back home at the end of the day.”

However, this is really just a bit simplistic. It still may not give you a full paraphrase. A full paraphrase, which should convey another's idea fully and truly, should be in your own words (except for, perhaps, key words and data measures). One of the best ways to paraphrase another's idea is to put aside the text (don't look at it) and write down the gist (the general idea) of what the author is saying.

One important thing to remember is that you choose which information is important. For a simple example,

Joe drove after hours for Lyft for six months to save up enough money to buy himself a laptop.

You could decide that some of the detail is not necessary for your paper. You could leave the unimportant detail out of your paraphrase, like this:

In order to afford a laptop, Joe worked for a long time.

The author of this sentence decided that the specific job Joe held, the number of years, and the fact that it was his dream stereo wasn’t important. That was his choice.

Here is a video that explains the above with additional examples.

How to Paraphrase in Five Easy St eps. Author ed by: Scribbr. License: All Rights Reserved. License Terms: Standard YouTube license.

Remember: When paraphrasing another's idea, be sure to still provide an in-text citation.

How to avoid plagiarism when paraphrasing a text:

Stop, Thief! Avoid Plagiarism by Paraphrasing . Authored by: Emily Nimsakont. All Rights Reserved. Standard YouTube License.

Exercise 1\(\PageIndex{1}\)

Using the methods discussed above (especially the "don't look at the original method") paraphrase the following passage on your own piece of paper.

Infectious diseases are transmitted from person to person by direct or indirect contact. Certain types of viruses, bacteria, parasites, and fungi can all cause infectious disease. Malaria, measles, and respiratory illnesses are examples of infectious diseases. (Source: Healthline.com. No author).

Exercise 2\(\PageIndex{1}\)

As the continued spread of COVID-19 puts much of the U.S. economy at a standstill, many are wondering how the economic slowdown will affect the real estate market. While construction is considered an essential business in the majority of states and real estate agents have transitioned to online showings, housing markets nationwide are likely to struggle, and some appear to be far more vulnerable than others. (Source: Evan Comen, May 26, 2020, USA Today)

Summarizing

How to write a summary.

Proficient students understand that summarizing , identifying what is most important and restating the text (or other media) in your own words, is an important tool for college success.

After all, if you really know a subject, you will be able to summarize it. If you cannot summarize a subject, even if you have memorized all the facts about it, you can be absolutely sure that you have not learned it. And, if you truly learn the subject, you will still be able to summarize it months or years from now.

Proficient students may monitor their understanding of a text by summarizing as they read. They understand that if they can write a one- or two-sentence summary of each paragraph after reading it, then that is a good sign that they have correctly understood it. If they can not summarize the main idea of the paragraph, they know that comprehension has broken down and they need to use fix-up strategies to repair understanding.

How to Write a Summary (A Review)

A summary is a brief restatement of someone else’s points in your own words . It needs to be:

• Brief – much shorter than the original, so not the details but just the main points
• Complete – including all the key information
• Accurate – the correct information
• Objective – not your opinion, but what the writer actually communicates

Step A. Annotating the Text for Main Ideas

1. Annotate for engagement and understanding: be sure you stayed awake and actually understood what you read!

2. Find the main ideas of each of the sections and, when appropriate, each of the paragraphs in your section.

3. You may underline the main ideas, or write them in your own words in the margin.

Remember, a main idea is a complete idea or sentence, not just a couple of words.

• Don’t write for your main idea: “youth unemployment”
• Do say: “Youth unemployment has increased.”

Step B. Planning the Summary

Write the main ideas of each paragraph and each section in your own words – and make sure each is a complete sentence. Do not include any judgment about what is in the article.

Step C. Write a Draft Summary

1. Introduce the name of the article and the author in the first sentence along with the main idea of the article.

2. Type up the paraphrased main ideas in complete sentences.

3. Analyze how the ideas connect and relate to each other. (For example, does one idea cause the next? Are some ideas examples of a larger point?) Organize the sentences into a logical order.

4. Include transition words that help the reader understand these connections.

5. Edit out ideas that repeat, and change the order of sentences as necessary.

6. Write the name of the article, the authors, and the controlling idea (main idea of the whole reading) in the first or second sentence.

7. Make sure that important details are included, but not details that are too specific.

8. Do not give your own opinions or say whether the authors do a good or bad job.

9. If the article discusses a study, the summary should briefly describe the purpose of the study and include the results of the study on a high level.

Summary Writing Format

• When writing a summary, remember that it should be in the form of a paragraph.
• A summary begins with an introductory sentence that states the text’s title, author and main point of the text as you see it.
• A summary is written in your own words.
• A summary contains only the ideas of the original text. Do not insert any of your own opinions, interpretations, deductions or comments into a summary.

Example \(\PageIndex{1}\)

Summary Writing Format Example

In the essay Santa Ana , author Joan Didion’s main point is ( state main point ). According to Didion “… passage 1 …” (para.3). Didion also writes “… passage 2 …” (para.8). Finally, she states “… passage 3 …” (para. 12) Write a last sentence that “wraps” up your summary; often a simple rephrasing of the main point.

Summary: Using it Wisely

Knowing how to summarize something you have read, seen, or heard is a valuable skill, one you have probably used in many writing assignments. It is important, though, to recognize when you must go beyond describing, explaining, and restating texts and offer a more complex analysis. This page will help you distinguish between summary and analysis and avoid inappropriate summary in your academic writing.

It is important that your keep your assignment and your audience in mind as you write. If your assignment requires an argument with a thesis statement and supporting evidence—as many academic writing assignments do—then you should limit the amount of summary in your paper. You might use summary to provide background, set the stage, or illustrate supporting evidence, but keep it very brief: a few sentences should do the trick. Most of your paper should focus on your argument.

Writing a summary of what you know about your topic before you start drafting your actual paper can sometimes be helpful. If you are unfamiliar with the material you’re analyzing, you may need to summarize what you’ve read in order to understand your reading and get your thoughts in order. Once you figure out what you know about a subject, it’s easier to decide what you want to argue.

Why is it so tempting to stick with summary and skip analysis?

Many writers rely too heavily on summary because it is what they can most easily write. If you’re stalled by a difficult writing prompt, summarizing may be more appealing than staring at the computer for three hours and wondering what argument to make about the content.

To write a more analytical paper, you may need to carefully consider your writing assignment before reading, viewing, or listening to the material about which you’ll be writing so that your encounter with the material will be more purposeful.

How do I know if I’m writing an argument instead of just summarizing?

If you answer yes to the questions below, it is a sign that your paper may have analysis rather than just summary (which is usually a good thing):

• Am I making an original argument about the text?
• Have I arranged my evidence around my own points, rather than just stating what the author has said?
• Am I explaining why or how an aspect of the text is significant?

Strategies for Writing a Summary

You can use T.I.P.S. to help you write a summary.

I=main idea

P=major supporting points

S=summarize

Read through the selection you are summarizing thoroughly, jotting down the topic, main idea, major supporting points. Then, in a couple of lines, summarize the information you have jotted down in your own words. This is your summary.

How to Write a Summary by Paraphrasing Source Material

When you paraphrase material from a source, you restate the information from an entire sentence or passage in your own words, using your own original sentence structure. A paraphrased source differs from a summarized source in that you focus on restating the ideas, not condensing them.

It is important to check your paraphrase against the source material to make sure it is both accurate and original. Inexperienced writers sometimes use the thesaurus method of paraphrasing—that is, they simply rewrite the source material, replacing most of the words with synonyms. This constitutes a misuse of sources. A true paraphrase restates the gist of the ideas using the writer’s own language and style

Example Paraphrase Writing Format

In the essay Santa Ana , author Joan Didion’s main point is ( state main point ). According to Didion … PARAPHRASE 1 …”. Didion also CLAIMS… PARAPHRASE 2 …”. Finally, she CLAIMS “… PARAPHRASE 3 …” Write a last sentence that “wraps” up your summary; often a simple rephrasing of the main point.

Exercise \(\PageIndex{1}\)

Summarizing Circles: A small group/ class activity

Practice summarizing by working with teams.

1. Divide the text you are summarizing into small sections.

2. In groups of three or so, ask students to summarize each section. They must use words such as

“In other words,….” “Here the author is saying that….” To summarize,

3. Students should try to write their section down in a single line using these starters. They should not use the words used in the text, but instead come up with their own words to explain the ideas in the text. They should get at the main idea in the section rather than just repeat the details.

4. As a class, determine the main idea of the whole passage. Write up a sample summary on the board based on the summaries from the sections.

Contributors and Attributions

• Adapted from English Composition I: Rhetorical Methods-Based , Provided by Lumen Learning, License: CC BY: Attribution

This page most recently revised on June 6, 2020.

Understanding & Interacting with a Text

Paraphrases & summaries to re-state ideas.

Paraphrases and summaries are important reading skills, because they mirror the content of the original text using your own words and  sentence structures. The re-writing that you do when you paraphrase or summarize automatically helps you think more deeply about the meaning of a text, as you insure that you are capturing and expressing the text’s ideas accurately. Since paraphrases and summaries help your brain capture and anchor ideas from the text, they also help you review and recall those ideas more easily.

How to Paraphrase

• When you paraphrase, make sure not to simply substitute one word for another, retaining the same sentence structure of the original text.  Paraphrasing requires you to use your own sentence structures as well as words, so that you are not inadvertently plagiarizing.
• Do an initial re-phrasing of the text that you want to paraphrase.
• Set the paraphrase aside for a short time.  After you go back to it, you’ll most likely see that you’ve tended to retain some of the original text’s wording and sentence structure.
• Re-phrase the paraphrase.  It may take two or three tries to make the language and sentence structure your own, while retaining the meaning of the original text.
• If you find that the original text uses a key word or phrase that you don’t want to rewrite, know that you can always include it in quotation marks within your paraphrase.
• Finally, document the paraphrase if you’re going to use it in an essay.  Even if you’re paraphrasing as a form of note-taking for yourself, it’s still good practice to note the details of the text that you’re paraphrasing: author, article or text name, page, url, publisher, date, etc. so you can go back to the original text if needed.

Paraphrase Example

Below is one reader’s paraphrase; note that the paraphrase is almost exactly the same length as the original, and that the main ideas are the same, but it has a different structure and significant changes in wording. Also note that the parphrase starts with an attribution and ends with the page numbers, to clearly indicate that these ideas are from another author.

Read the quote below from page 179 of Howard Gardner’s book titled  Multiple Intelligences  and then choose the best attempt at paraphrasing from the two that follow.

“America today has veered too far in the direction of formal testing without adequate consideration of the costs and limitations of an exclusive emphasis on that approach.” [1]

• America has now gone too far toward formal testing, without realizing the costs and limitations of exclusively emphasizing that approach (Gardner 179).
• In the United States, the education system places too much emphasis on formal testing, overlooking the limitations and expenses imposed when that assessment strategy is employed exclusively (Gardner 179).

Choice 2 is the best paraphrase, because the reader uses her own language and sentence structure while offering Gardner’s main idea.  In choice 1, on the other hand, the wording is too close to the original text; there’s a lot of similarity in wording and sentence structure.

A summary offers a condensed re-statement of a text’s main idea and key supporting ideas. When you summarize material from a text or portion of a text, you both paraphrase and compress the main points of that material.  A summary is very concise; it’s usually no more than 15-20% of the length of the original text. Sometimes, a summary of a paragraph can be as short as one sentence.

How to Summarize

• Read through the text and highlight important information in some way. It’s often a good idea to annotate as well as highlight, to extract what you believe to be the most important points. Your summary will focus on the main points.
• Re-state the main points – the highlighted, annotated information – in your own words. Make sure your sentences are condensed, and that they use your original language and sentence structure.
• Set the summary draft aside. When you go back to it, ask if your words 1) make sense to an outside reader, and 2) precisely and concisely capture the essence of the original author’s ideas. Sometimes when you focus on using your own words, your own opinions or examples creep into the summary. If that has occurred, edit the draft to get your own thoughts out, since a summary should only report the content of the text. If you need to use any exact words or phrases from the original, quote them within the summary.
• When you think you’re done, go back again and compare it to the original text for accuracy of information and originality of your language and sentence structure.
• Finally, document the summary if you’re going to use it in an essay. Even if you’re summarizing as a form of note-taking for yourself, it’s still good practice to note the details of the text that you’re summarising: author, article or text name, page, url, publisher, date, etc. so you can go back to the original text if needed.

Summary Example

Here’s an example of how to highlight and annotate a passage that you intend to summarize.  The original passage is quoted from page 23 of Caffarella, Rosemary S. and Judith M. O’Donnell. “Judging the Quality of Work-Related, Self-Directed Learning.” Adult Education Quarterly 42 (1991): 17-29. Important ideas are highlighted and [bracketed].

And here is the evolution of one writer’s summary of this original text. Note that the ideas are the same, but there is a change in structure and a significant change in wording.

First attempt –  a start, but too close to the original text:

Quality learning is more than “getting it right”; it exists when others understand the results from the same perspective as the learner, when there is external accountability. It also exists when the learner themselves judge that quality learning has occurred.

Second attempt – better than the first, but still not done:

Quality learning can be judged by two criteria: 1) mutual understanding between the learner and others, as when a reader understands fully what a writer writes, and 2) identification of quality by the learner themselves.

Third and final attempt – a strong summary:

Quality learning can be judged by two criteria: 1) mutual understanding between the learner and others and, most importantly, 2) identification of quality by the learner themselves.

Note that in this third version, the writer took out the example of the writer and reader and added the phrase “most importantly” to capture the emphasis on the self in the original quote.

One more thing to do – document the summary:

Caffarella and O’Donnell state that quality learning can be judged by two criteria: 1) mutual understanding between the learner and others and, most importantly, 2) identification of quality by the learner themselves (23).

View the following short video on writing summaries. It’s written from the perspective of using a summary in a piece of writing, but the discussion applies to summarizing as a reading strategy as well.

Read the following quotation from Louis DeSipio’s article, “Demanding Equal Political Voice…And Accepting Nothing Less: The Quest for Latino Political Inclusion,” published in Thematic Reading Anthology. [2] Then choose the best attempt at summarizing from the two that follow.

The rapid growth in Latino migration in the contemporary era has created a new venue for political voice and activism. Immigrants have long sought the opportunity [to] remain engaged in the civic life of their communities and countries of origin. Examples of these transnational connections can be found throughout the Latino experience in the U.S. (as well as those of other émigré populations). The long-standing immigrant desire to be involved in both the U.S. and the country of origin, however, is much easier to implement in the current era. Telecommunications and air travel are much cheaper than they have been in the past. The internet reduces communication costs further. Approximately 30 percent of Latino immigrants have engaged in the civic and political worlds of their communities and countries of origin, whether through membership in transnational organizations in the U.S. or through direct participation in the civic or political worlds of the country of origin. A higher share follow the politics of the country of origin. These transnational connections diminish considerably in the second and later generations. Despite political transnationalism’s roots in the long-standing immigrant desires to maintain a foot in the country of origin and the U.S., transnationalism as a mass phenomenon is relatively new. Countries of origin are seeking to promote long-term relationships with their émigrés. To the extent that these efforts are successful, immigrant and perhaps second-generation transnational engagement will likely be a growing phenomenon in the future.

• Latino immigrants’ traditional desire to participate politically in both their original and new countries may grow among both immigrants themselves and their children because of two factors, technical ease of communication and original countries’ receptiveness to transnationalism.
• About 30% of Latino immigrants to the U.S. still participate in politics in their home countries.  Although participation drops in second and third generations, it may increase because countries of origin are increasingly supporting continued engagement, which in itself is supported by accessible telecommunications and air travel.

The first choice is the best summary.  It includes main ideas using the author’s own words and sentence structures.  The second choice, on the other hand, copies many words and phrases from the original text.  It also includes a detailed statistic, which is inappropriate in a summary whose purpose is to confine itself to main ideas.

Paraphrase and Summary Comparison

Here’s a brief, original passage from Walden (1854) by Henry David Thoreau.

[1] Gardner, Howard. Multiple Intelligences: New Horizons in Theory and Practice. BasicBooks, 2006.

[2] DeSipio, Louis. “Demanding Equal Political Voice…And Accepting Nothing Less: The Quest for Latino Political Inclusion.” in Thematic Reading Anthology , Lumen Learning. https://courses.lumenlearning.com/suny-readinganthology/chapter/demanding-equal-political-voice-and-accepting-nothing-less-the-quest-for-latino-political-inclusion-by-louis-desipio/

• Paraphrase & Summarize to Re-State Ideas, includes material adapted from The Word on College Reading and Writing, UM RhetLab, and Excelsior College Online Reading Lab; attributions below. Authored by : Susan Oaks. Project : Introduction to College Reading & Writing. License : CC BY-NC-SA: Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike
• Summarizing a Text. Authored by : Carol Burnell, Jaime Wood, Monique Babin, Susan Pesznecker, and Nicole Rosevear. Provided by : OpenOregon Educational Resources. Located at : https://openoregon.pressbooks.pub/wrd/chapter/summarizing-a-text/ . Project : The Word on College Reading and Writing. License : CC BY-NC: Attribution-NonCommercial
• Paraphrase and Summary. Provided by : University of Mississippi, Lumen Learning. Located at : https://courses.lumenlearning.com/olemiss-writing100/chapter/paraphrase-and-summary/ . Project : UM RhetLab. License : CC BY-NC-SA: Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike
• Summarizing. Provided by : Excelsior College . Located at : https://owl.excelsior.edu/research/drafting-and-integrating/drafting-and-integrating-summarizing/ . Project : Online Reading Lab. License : CC BY: Attribution
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• What is Paraphrasing? An Overview With Examples
• Learn English
• James Prior
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• Updated February 23, 2024

What is paraphrasing? Or should I say what is the definition of paraphrasing? If you want to restate something using different words whilst retaining the same meaning, this is paraphrasing.

In this article, we cover what paraphrasing is, why it’s important, and when you should do it. Plus, some benefits and examples.

Table of Contents

Paraphrase Definition: What is Paraphrasing?

Paraphrasing is when you restate the information from a source using your own words while maintaining the original meaning. It involves expressing the ideas in a different way, often to clarify or simplify the content, without directly quoting the source.

When you paraphrase, you are not only borrowing, clarifying, or expanding on the information but also ensuring that you do all of these actions without plagiarizing the original content. It’s therefore definitely worth learning how to paraphrase if you want to improve your writing skills.

Why is Paraphrasing Important?

Paraphrasing is a valuable skill that allows you to convey information in your unique writing style while still giving credit to someone else’s ideas. It’s important for several reasons, and it serves various functions in both academic and professional writing.

Here are some key reasons why you should paraphrase:

• Paraphrasing allows you to present information from sources in your own words, reducing the risk of plagiarism. Proper in-text citation is still necessary, but paraphrasing demonstrates your understanding and interpretation of the material.
• When you paraphrase, you are required to comprehend the original content fully. You actively engage with the information, helping you better understand complex concepts and ideas. This process of restating the information in your own words showcases your understanding of the subject matter.
• By paraphrasing, you can clarify complex ideas or technical language and convey information in a clearer, shorter, and simpler form. This makes it more accessible to your audience and ensures they grasp the key points. This is particularly important when communicating with readers who may not be familiar with specialized terminology.
• Paraphrasing is valuable when synthesizing information from various sources. It enables you to blend ideas cohesively while maintaining a consistent writing style throughout your work.
• Paraphrasing allows you to inject your unique writing style and voice into the content. It helps you present information in a way that is more aligned with your personal expression and perspective.
• In certain situations where you need to meet specific length requirements for assignments or publications, paraphrasing allows you to convey information more concisely while still preserving the essential meaning.
• Paraphrasing helps maintain a smooth flow and cohesiveness in your writing. It allows you to integrate information seamlessly, avoiding abrupt shifts between your own ideas and those from external sources.
• Depending on your audience, you may need to adapt the language and level of technicality of the information you present. Paraphrasing allows you to tailor the content to suit the needs of your specific readership.

Incorporating paraphrasing into your writing not only showcases your understanding of the material but also enhances the overall quality and originality of your work.

When Should You Paraphrase?

Knowing when to paraphrase is an important skill, especially in academic writing and professional communication. Here are some situations in which you should consider paraphrasing:

• To Avoid Plagiarism:  Whenever you want to incorporate information from source material into your own work, but don’t want to use a direct quotation, paraphrasing is necessary to present the ideas in your own words while still acknowledging the original source.
• To Express Understanding:  Paraphrasing demonstrates your understanding of a topic by rephrasing the information in a way that shows you have processed and comprehended the material.
• To Simplify Complex Information:  If you encounter complex or technical language that may be difficult for your audience to understand, paraphrasing can help you clarify and simplify the information to make it more accessible and digestible.
• To Integrate Multiple Sources:  When synthesizing information from multiple sources, paraphrasing allows you to blend the ideas cohesively while maintaining your own voice and perspective.
• To Maintain Consistency in Writing Style:  In academic writing or professional writing, paraphrasing can help you maintain a consistent writing style throughout your work. This helps to ensure that all sections flow smoothly and are coherent.
• To Meet Specific Requirements:  Some assignments or publications may have specific requirements. This could relate to the number of words or concern the use of direct quotations. In such cases, paraphrasing allows you to meet these requirements while still incorporating relevant information from your sources.

What Are the Benefits of Paraphrasing?

Rewriting information in a clearer, shorter, and simpler form is called paraphrasing, so one of the benefits of paraphrasing is already clear! However, it can also be a useful exercise for other reasons, which are outlined below:

Avoiding Plagiarism

One of the main benefits of paraphrasing is mastering the ability to present information from external sources in a way that is entirely your own. By restructuring the content and expressing it using your words, you create a distinct piece of writing that reflects your comprehension and interpretation of the original material. This not only showcases your academic or professional integrity but also safeguards against unintentional plagiarism.

Paraphrasing is a fundamental skill in academic and professional settings, where originality and proper attribution are highly valued. This is especially true when it comes to writing research papers, where you’ll often need to reference someone else’s ideas with appropriate citations.

When you paraphrase effectively, you communicate to your audience that you respect the intellectual property of others while contributing your unique insights. This ethical approach to information usage enhances your credibility as a writer or researcher and reinforces the integrity of your work.

Enhancing Understanding

When you engage in paraphrasing, you actively participate in the material you are working with. You are forced to consider the ideas presented in the source material. You need to discern the essential concepts, identify key phrases, and decide how best to convey the message in a way that resonates with you.

This active engagement not only aids in understanding the content but also encourages critical thinking as you evaluate and interpret the information from your own standpoint.

By expressing someone else’s ideas in your own words, you deepen your understanding of the content. This process requires you to dissect the original text, grasp its nuances, and then reconstruct it using your language and perspective. In this way, you go beyond mere memorization and truly internalize the information, fostering a more profound comprehension of the subject matter.

Tailoring Information for Your Audience

Paraphrasing empowers you to adapt the language and complexity of the information to suit the needs and understanding of your audience. As you rephrase the content, you have the flexibility to adjust the level of technicality, simplify complex terminology, or tailor the tone to make the information more accessible to your specific readership.

Consider your audience’s background, knowledge level, and interests. Paraphrasing allows you to bridge the gap between the original content and the understanding of your intended audience.

Whether you are communicating with experts in a particular field or a general audience, the ability to paraphrase ensures that the information is conveyed in a way that resonates with and is comprehensible to your readers. This skill not only facilitates effective communication but also demonstrates your awareness of the diverse needs of your audience.

Improves Writing Skills

Paraphrasing helps in the development and refinement of your writing skills. When you actively engage in the process of rephrasing someone else’s ideas, you hone your ability to express concepts in a clear, concise, and coherent manner.

This practice refines your language proficiency, encouraging you to explore different types of sentence structure, experiment with vocabulary, and ultimately develop a more sophisticated and nuanced writing style.

As you paraphrase, you gain a heightened awareness of grammar, syntax, and word choice. This translates into improved writing, helping you construct well-articulated sentences and paragraphs. Moreover, paraphrasing allows you to experiment with different writing tones and adapt your style to suit the context or purpose of your writing, fostering versatility and adaptability in your expression.

Saves Time and Energy

Paraphrasing can significantly reduce the time and energy spent on the writing process. Rather than grappling with the challenge of integrating lengthy direct quotations or struggling to find the perfect synonym, paraphrasing allows you to distill and convey information in a more streamlined way.

This becomes particularly advantageous when faced with strict deadlines. By mastering paraphrasing, you empower yourself to produce well-crafted, original content in a shorter timeframe, allowing you to meet deadlines without compromising the quality of your work.

Examples of Paraphrasing

Here are some examples of paraphrasing:

• Original:  “The advancements in technology have revolutionized the way we communicate with each other.”
• Paraphrased:  “Technological progress has transformed how we interact and communicate with one another.”
• Original:  “Deforestation poses a significant threat to global ecosystems and biodiversity.”
• Paraphrased:  “The impact of deforestation represents a substantial danger to ecosystems and the diversity of life on a global scale.”
• Original:  “Effective time management is essential for achieving productivity in both professional and personal spheres.”
• Paraphrased:  “Efficient management of time is crucial for attaining productivity in both professional and personal aspects of life.”
• Original:  “The restaurant offers a diverse selection of culinary choices, ranging from traditional dishes to modern fusion cuisine.”
• Paraphrased:  “The restaurant provides a variety of food options, including both traditional and modern fusion dishes.”
• Original:  “The novel explores the complexities of human relationships in a rapidly changing society.”
• Paraphrased:  “The book delves into the challenges of human connections in a fast-changing world.”
• Original:  “Regular exercise is crucial for maintaining optimal physical health and preventing various health issues.”
• Paraphrased:  “Exercising regularly is important for keeping your body healthy and avoiding health problems.”

In these examples, you can observe the use of different wording, sentence structure, and synonyms while preserving the core meaning of the original sentences. This is the essence of paraphrasing.

What Are the Differences Between Paraphrasing, Quoting, and Summarizing?

So, we’ve established that successful paraphrasing is a way of rewriting someone else’s words whilst retaining their meaning and still giving credit to the original author’s ideas. But how is this different from quoting and summarizing?

While paraphrasing, quoting, and summarizing are all ways of incorporating information from source material into your own writing, there are key differences between them:

Paraphrasing

• Definition:  Paraphrasing involves rephrasing someone else’s ideas or information in your own words while retaining the original meaning.
• Usage:  You use paraphrasing when you want to present the information in a way that suits your writing style or when you need to clarify complex ideas.
• Example:  Original: “The study found a significant correlation between sleep deprivation and decreased cognitive performance.” Paraphrased: “The research indicated a notable link between lack of sleep and a decline in cognitive function.”
• Definition:  Quoting involves directly using the exact words from a source and enclosing them in quotation marks.
• Usage:  You use quoting when the original wording is essential, either because of its precision or uniqueness, or when you want to highlight a specific phrase or concept.
• Example:  Original: “The author argues, ‘In the absence of clear guidelines, individual judgment becomes paramount in decision-making.'”

The use of quotation marks is vital when quoting.

Summarizing

• Definition:  Summarizing involves condensing the main ideas of a source or original passage in your own words, focusing on the most crucial points.
• Usage:  You use summarizing when you need to provide a concise overview of a longer piece of text or when you want to capture the key points without including all the details.
• Example:  Original: A lengthy article discussing various factors influencing climate change. Summary: “The article outlines key factors contributing to climate change, including human activities and natural processes.”

In summary, paraphrasing is about expressing someone else’s ideas in your own words, quoting involves directly using the original words, and summarizing is about condensing the main points of a source.

Each technique serves different purposes in writing and should be used based on your specific goals and the nature of the information you are incorporating. If you want to level up your writing skills you need to be able to do all three of these.

Conclusion (In Our Own Words)

Paraphrasing is a valuable skill with numerous benefits. It helps you understand complex ideas, refine your writing style, and demonstrate ethical information use. It also allows you to tailor information for different audiences and can save time in academic and professional writing.

So, if you want to incorporate information from external sources into your writing in a way that is clear, concise, and respectful of the original author’s work, it’s worth mastering the art of paraphrasing.

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Paraphrasing vs. Summarizing (Differences, Examples, How To)

It can be confusing to know when to paraphrase and when to summarize. Many people use the terms interchangeably even though the two have different meanings and uses.

Today, let’s understand the basic differences between paraphrasing vs. summarizing and when to use which . We’ll also look at types and examples of paraphrasing and summarizing, as well as how to do both effectively.

Let’s look at paraphrasing first.

What is paraphrasing?

It refers to rewriting someone else’s ideas in your own words. 

It’s important to rewrite the whole idea in your words rather than just replacing a few words with their synonyms. That way, you present an idea in a way that your audience will understand easily and also avoid plagiarism. 

It’s also important to cite your sources when paraphrasing so that the original author of the work gets due credit.

When should you paraphrase?

The main purpose of paraphrasing is often to clarify an existing passage. You should use paraphrasing when you want to show that you understand the concept, like while writing an essay about a specific topic. 

You may also use it when you’re quoting someone but can’t remember their exact words. 

Finally, paraphrasing is a very effective way to rewrite outdated content in a way that’s relevant to your current audience.

How to paraphrase effectively

Follow these steps to paraphrase any piece of text effectively:

• Read the full text and ensure that you understand it completely. It helps to look up words you don’t fully understand in an online or offline dictionary.
• Once you understand the text, rewrite it in your own words. Remember to rewrite it instead of just substituting words with their synonyms.
• Edit the text to ensure it’s easy to understand for your audience.
• Mix in your own insights while rewriting the text to make it more relevant.
• Run the text through a plagiarism checker to ensure that it does not have any of the original content.

Example of paraphrasing

Here’s an example of paraphrasing:

• Original:  The national park is full of trees, water bodies, and various species of flora and fauna.
• Paraphrased:  Many animal species thrive in the verdant national park that is served by lakes and rivers flowing through it.

What is summarizing?

Summarizing is also based on someone else’s text but rather than presenting their ideas in your words, you only sum up their main ideas in a smaller piece of text.

It’s important to not use their exact words or phrases when summarizing to avoid plagiarism. It’s best to make your own notes while reading through the text and writing a summary based on your notes.

You must only summarize the most important ideas from a piece of text as summaries are essentially very short compared to the original work. And just like paraphrasing, you should cite the original text as a reference.

When should you summarize?

The main purpose of summarizing is to reduce a passage or other text to fewer words while ensuring that everything important is covered.

Summaries are useful when you want to cut to the chase and lay down the most important points from a piece of text or convey the entire message in fewer words. You should summarize when you have to write a short essay about a larger piece of text, such as writing a book review.

You can also summarize when you want to provide background information about something without taking up too much space.

How to summarize effectively

Follow these steps to summarize any prose effectively:

• Read the text to fully understand it. It helps to read it a few times instead of just going through it once.
• Pay attention to the larger theme of the text rather than trying to rewrite it sentence for sentence.
• Understand how all the main ideas are linked and piece them together to form an overview.
• Remove all the information that’s not crucial to the main ideas or theme. Remember, summaries must only include the most essential points and information.
• Edit your overview to ensure that the information is organized logically and follows the correct chronology where applicable.
• Review and edit the summary again to make it clearer, ensure that it’s accurate, and make it even more concise where you can.
• Ensure that you cite the original text.

Example of summarization

You can summarize any text into a shorter version. For example, this entire article can be summarized in just a few sentences as follows:

• Summary:  The article discusses paraphrasing vs. summarizing by explaining the two concepts. It specifies when you should use paraphrasing and when you should summarize a piece of text and describes the process of each. It ends with examples of both paraphrasing and summarizing to provide a better understanding to the reader.

Paraphrasing vs. summarizing has been a long-standing point of confusion for writers of all levels, whether you’re writing a college essay or reviewing a research paper or book. The above tips and examples can help you identify when to use paraphrasing or summarizing and how to go about them effectively.

Inside this article

Fact checked: Content is rigorously reviewed by a team of qualified and experienced fact checkers. Fact checkers review articles for factual accuracy, relevance, and timeliness. Learn more.

About the author

Dalia Y.: Dalia is an English Major and linguistics expert with an additional degree in Psychology. Dalia has featured articles on Forbes, Inc, Fast Company, Grammarly, and many more. She covers English, ESL, and all things grammar on GrammarBrain.

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Identifying & Using Scholarly Sources

• Scholarly vs Web Resources
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• Quoting, Paraphrasing & Summarizing
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Integrating Sources into Your Paper

Integrating sources into a paper can be challenging. How much of a source do you use? When should you use quotation marks? It is important to remember that you are the author of a paper, so sources are properly used to back up your own arguments, not state an argument in themselves, so how you use them depends on the structure of your paper and your argument.

Here is a paragraph from a scholarly article:

These results suggest that morning people, or early chronotypes—as measured on the morningness–eveningness continuum are more proactive than are evening types. Additionally, the misalignment of social and biological time, as assessed by the difference between rise times on weekdays and on free days, correlated with proactivity, suggesting that people with a high misalignment of social and biological time may be less able to act in a proactive manner, probably because of sleep delay. Their biological schedules seem not to fit neatly into social demands (e.g., school, university, work schedules) as do those of less misaligned people.

Randler, Christoph. "Proactive People are Morning People."  Journal of Applied Social Psychology  39, no. 12 (December 2009): 2787-2797. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1559-1816.2009.00549.x.

See examples of how to quote, paraphrase and summarize this paragraph below:

• Paraphrasing
• Summarizing
• Use Quotation when you are repeating something from a source exactly  word for word .
• You should use quotation marks  even if you are only taking just a few words from a source .
• Quotes can help lend authority to an initial argument, but should not be relied upon too heavily in a paper. If you find yourself quoting an entire paragraph, a paraphrase or summary of that content may often be more appropriate.
• Quotes can and should be used when the original author’s wording is unusual, unique, or memorably states a point.

Examples using the paragraph above:

Randler states that late risers have “a high misalignment of social and biological time” which results in a mismatch between their natural schedules and the normal workday. 1

1. Christoph Randler, "Proactive People are Morning People,"  Journal of Applied Social Psychology  39, no. 12 (December 2009): 2793.

“People with a high misalignment of social and biological time may be less able to act in a proactive manner, probably because of sleep delay.” 2

2.   Randler, "Proactive People are Morning People," 2793.

Notice that there are two ways to incorporate a source:

• Single phrase  – using the author’s name in your own narrative, and then incorporating their idea or words into a sentence, like the first example above.
• Direct quotation  – Using the words or ideas of the source independently, like in the second example.
• Paraphrasing is taking the idea of a sentence or passage, and  putting it into your own words .
• Paraphrasing is NOT copying the sentence and replacing or changing a few words to be different from the original. (This is called “patchwriting” and may trigger plagiarism-detecting programs.)
• You should paraphrase when the idea or point is more important than the actual words used.
• You should paraphrase when the words are complex but the point is simple.
• Paraphrasing should remain faithful to the original meaning of the material.

Randler states that people who are naturally morning people often also display traits that are considered proactive. He also suggests that late risers may not show as many proactive traits because they naturally operate on a different sleep schedule. 1

People who are naturally morning people have been shown to also display traits that are considered proactive, and late risers display fewer of these traits because they don’t get enough sleep on days when they have to go to work or school. 2

• As with paraphrasing, summarize when the idea or point is more important than the actual words used.
• However, summary can also condense much more material – even an entire book or article.
• Summary can often lead into your own points on the material.

Recent research shows that people who are not naturally early risers often have persistent issues adjusting themselves to the morning-oriented schedule of most schools and workplaces, and because of this may be less proactive in their behaviors. 1

1. Christoph Randler, "Proactive People are Morning People,"  Journal of Applied Social Psychology  39, no. 12 (December 2009).

The natural alignment of sleep schedules to work and school schedules allows early risers to have more energy and display proactive traits, while people who are natural late risers, and thus often combating sleep delay in adhering to regular schedules, display fewer of these traits. 2

2.   Randler, "Proactive People are Morning People."

Notice that with a Summary we do not always have to include the page number as we are summarizing the findings from the whole study, rather than just a small part of it.

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