Paraphrasing |
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Learning Intention: Students will understand how to paraphrase information to avoid plagiarism
Success Criteria: Students will be able to successfully paraphrase an informal and formal text
Success Criteria: Students will be able to successfully paraphrase an informal and formal text
What is paraphrasing?
Paraphrasing means putting information into your own words
Why paraphrase?
We should paraphrase for two reasons:
1. To demonstrate that you understand the source well enough to write it in your own words
2. To avoid plagiarism and practice academic integrity*
*Paraphrased information should always be referenced appropriately
Paraphrasing means putting information into your own words
Why paraphrase?
We should paraphrase for two reasons:
1. To demonstrate that you understand the source well enough to write it in your own words
2. To avoid plagiarism and practice academic integrity*
*Paraphrased information should always be referenced appropriately
How to Paraphrase
1. Read the passage using the technique SQ3R - Reading for Understanding
2. Be SELECTIVE, choose and summarise only relevant material that is useful for the purpose of your task.
3 .Think what "your own words" would be if you were explaining to someone unfamiliar with the topic (your mother, a sibling, a friend) what the original source said.
4. You may directly quote one or two sentences from an original source. But you must ensure to put the quoted text in "quotation marks" and ensure you CITE that source in-text AND include it in your reference list.
5. You can use a thesaurus to substitute complex words for ones more familiar to you when paraphrasing. (See thesaurus.com)
6. Carefully record bibliographic details for your reference list.
1. Read the passage using the technique SQ3R - Reading for Understanding
2. Be SELECTIVE, choose and summarise only relevant material that is useful for the purpose of your task.
3 .Think what "your own words" would be if you were explaining to someone unfamiliar with the topic (your mother, a sibling, a friend) what the original source said.
4. You may directly quote one or two sentences from an original source. But you must ensure to put the quoted text in "quotation marks" and ensure you CITE that source in-text AND include it in your reference list.
5. You can use a thesaurus to substitute complex words for ones more familiar to you when paraphrasing. (See thesaurus.com)
6. Carefully record bibliographic details for your reference list.
Paraphrasing Methods
1. Look away from the source then write.
Read the text you want to paraphrase several times until you feel that you understand it and can use your own words to restate it to someone else.
Then, look away from the original and rewrite the text in your own words.
2. Take notes (my preferred method)
Read the text several times and take very abbreviated notes.
You may want to create a Mind Map or Lotus Chart from these notes.
Set the notes, Mind Map or Lotus Chart aside for a day or two [During sleep our brain is busy connecting ideas]
Go back to your notes/Mind Map/Lotus Chart and write your paper using these only (not the original text).
Ensure to use your own words!
If you find that you can't do the methods above, this may mean that you don't understand the passage completely. Work hard to understand the original passage using SQ3R - it’s only when you understand the original that you can put it into new words effectively.
1. Look away from the source then write.
Read the text you want to paraphrase several times until you feel that you understand it and can use your own words to restate it to someone else.
Then, look away from the original and rewrite the text in your own words.
2. Take notes (my preferred method)
Read the text several times and take very abbreviated notes.
You may want to create a Mind Map or Lotus Chart from these notes.
Set the notes, Mind Map or Lotus Chart aside for a day or two [During sleep our brain is busy connecting ideas]
Go back to your notes/Mind Map/Lotus Chart and write your paper using these only (not the original text).
Ensure to use your own words!
If you find that you can't do the methods above, this may mean that you don't understand the passage completely. Work hard to understand the original passage using SQ3R - it’s only when you understand the original that you can put it into new words effectively.
| lotus_chart.doc |
Some examples to compare
Original passage
Students frequently overuse direct quotation in taking notes, and as a result they overuse quotations in the final writing task. Probably only about 10% of your final writing task should appear as directly quoted matter. Therefore, you should strive to limit the amount of exact transcribing of source materials while taking notes. Lester, J. D. (2006) Writing Research Papers. 2nd ed. Pearson Education, Sydney, 46-47.
A legitimate paraphrase of the original passage
In research papers students often quote excessively, failing to keep quoted material down to a desirable level. Since the problem usually originates during note taking, it is essential to minimize the material recorded verbatim (Lester 2006).
An acceptable summary of the original passage
Students should take just a few notes in direct quotation from sources to help minimize the amount of quoted material in a research paper (Lester 2006).
A plagiarised example of the original passage
Students often use too many direct quotations when they take notes this results in there being too many quotes in the final assessment task. Only about 10% of the final copy should consist of directly quoted material. So it is important to limit the amount of exact transcribing of source material copied while taking notes. (Too close to the original and not referenced)
Original passage
Students frequently overuse direct quotation in taking notes, and as a result they overuse quotations in the final writing task. Probably only about 10% of your final writing task should appear as directly quoted matter. Therefore, you should strive to limit the amount of exact transcribing of source materials while taking notes. Lester, J. D. (2006) Writing Research Papers. 2nd ed. Pearson Education, Sydney, 46-47.
A legitimate paraphrase of the original passage
In research papers students often quote excessively, failing to keep quoted material down to a desirable level. Since the problem usually originates during note taking, it is essential to minimize the material recorded verbatim (Lester 2006).
An acceptable summary of the original passage
Students should take just a few notes in direct quotation from sources to help minimize the amount of quoted material in a research paper (Lester 2006).
A plagiarised example of the original passage
Students often use too many direct quotations when they take notes this results in there being too many quotes in the final assessment task. Only about 10% of the final copy should consist of directly quoted material. So it is important to limit the amount of exact transcribing of source material copied while taking notes. (Too close to the original and not referenced)
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References
Carolina, W. (2014). Human 7349. Coursehero.com. Retrieved from https://www.coursehero.com/file/p9cs1q/Now-imagine-that-you-were-standing-in-line-at-the-cafeteria-and-overheard-the/
ClipartFest. (2016). Two cows clipart - ClipartFest. ClipartFest. Retrieved from https://clipartfest.com/categories/view/1879ba3c157c835705a9d370f5703918f5b7abb4/two-cows-clipart.html
How to paraphrase a source. (2014). The Writer's Handbook: Avoiding Plagiarism. Retrieved from:
http://writing.wisc.edu/Handbook/QPA_paraphrase2.html
How to Study Lecture Notes.(2013). WikiHow. Information and images used with permission under Creative Commons Licence. Retrieved from: http://www.wikihow.com/Study-Lecture-Notes
Lynette, R. (2014). Teaching Kids to Paraphrase, Step by Step. [online] Minds in Bloom. Available at: http://www.minds-in-bloom.com/2014/02/teaching-kids-to-paraphrase-step-by-step.html
Mathias, B. (2015). How to Paraphrase a Paper?. YouTube. Retrieved from:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gYv4PJbH98
Paraphrasing, Summarising and Quoting. (2014) Paraphrasing, Summarising and Quoting. University of New South Wales. Retrieved from: https://student.unsw.edu.au/paraphrasing-summarising-and-quoting
Purdue University,. (2015). Purdue OWL: Paraphrase Exercises. Owl.english.purdue.edu. Retrieved from: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/619/1/
Carolina, W. (2014). Human 7349. Coursehero.com. Retrieved from https://www.coursehero.com/file/p9cs1q/Now-imagine-that-you-were-standing-in-line-at-the-cafeteria-and-overheard-the/
ClipartFest. (2016). Two cows clipart - ClipartFest. ClipartFest. Retrieved from https://clipartfest.com/categories/view/1879ba3c157c835705a9d370f5703918f5b7abb4/two-cows-clipart.html
How to paraphrase a source. (2014). The Writer's Handbook: Avoiding Plagiarism. Retrieved from:
http://writing.wisc.edu/Handbook/QPA_paraphrase2.html
How to Study Lecture Notes.(2013). WikiHow. Information and images used with permission under Creative Commons Licence. Retrieved from: http://www.wikihow.com/Study-Lecture-Notes
Lynette, R. (2014). Teaching Kids to Paraphrase, Step by Step. [online] Minds in Bloom. Available at: http://www.minds-in-bloom.com/2014/02/teaching-kids-to-paraphrase-step-by-step.html
Mathias, B. (2015). How to Paraphrase a Paper?. YouTube. Retrieved from:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gYv4PJbH98
Paraphrasing, Summarising and Quoting. (2014) Paraphrasing, Summarising and Quoting. University of New South Wales. Retrieved from: https://student.unsw.edu.au/paraphrasing-summarising-and-quoting
Purdue University,. (2015). Purdue OWL: Paraphrase Exercises. Owl.english.purdue.edu. Retrieved from: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/619/1/
Exercise #1: Paraphrasing
You probably don't realise but we paraphrase every day in informal contexts.
Imagine that you were standing in line at the canteen and overheard the following conversation between two girls in your year group - Abby and Jessica:
Abby: Oh my god, so yesterday at lunch I was just sitting outside the gym and KOBI came over and sat next to me! He is SO HOT.
Jessica: You mean, Kobi? Rachel's boyfriend?
Abby: Yep, exactly. That Kobi! He was totally flirting with me though.
Jessica: No way! He was flirting with you?! You gotta be kidding. Rachel sure wouldn’t be happy to hear that!
Abby: Oh, he was definitely flirting. He asked me a ton of questions about our Science class that morning. He was all “I was late and missed class so could you fill me in” but you KNOW that’s just an excuse. He was totally trying to get to know me!
Exercise
Suppose you’re friends with Rachel.
If you were relating what you heard, what would your conversation be like?
You wouldn't really relate the conversation word for word.
Likely you would summarise and synthesise the content of the conversation in your own words - that's paraphrasing!
Exercise discussion:
You probably told Rachel what, in general, Abby said, but you also would have synthesised the interaction and added your own interpretation (e.g. whether or not Abby’s account was reliable) and analysis of what action Rachel should take (e.g. whether or not she should ask Kobi about it, whether she should get mad at Kobi, etc.). Most of what you’d say to Rachel would be your own words.
We tell someone about things we heard or did every day, while using our own words. That’s exactly what you do in a paraphrase! The only difference is that you need to be more clear, in academic writing, about telling us exactly who said it and where (the reference). That’s like telling Rachel that you overheard some things Abby said outside the canteen. Another difference is that the main purpose of academic writing is to develop and express new ideas of your own.
What you might have said:
You: "So Rachel, I overheard a conversation between two girls talking about how “hot” Kobi is. One of the girls, Abby, seemed to think he was flirting with her. To be honest I think she was just exaggerating. She’s always convinced that everyone’s in love with her. She said that Kobi had asked her about something he'd missed in class because he’d been away. Somehow she interpreted this as flirting! I wouldn't be too worried if I were you."
You probably don't realise but we paraphrase every day in informal contexts.
Imagine that you were standing in line at the canteen and overheard the following conversation between two girls in your year group - Abby and Jessica:
Abby: Oh my god, so yesterday at lunch I was just sitting outside the gym and KOBI came over and sat next to me! He is SO HOT.
Jessica: You mean, Kobi? Rachel's boyfriend?
Abby: Yep, exactly. That Kobi! He was totally flirting with me though.
Jessica: No way! He was flirting with you?! You gotta be kidding. Rachel sure wouldn’t be happy to hear that!
Abby: Oh, he was definitely flirting. He asked me a ton of questions about our Science class that morning. He was all “I was late and missed class so could you fill me in” but you KNOW that’s just an excuse. He was totally trying to get to know me!
Exercise
Suppose you’re friends with Rachel.
If you were relating what you heard, what would your conversation be like?
You wouldn't really relate the conversation word for word.
Likely you would summarise and synthesise the content of the conversation in your own words - that's paraphrasing!
Exercise discussion:
You probably told Rachel what, in general, Abby said, but you also would have synthesised the interaction and added your own interpretation (e.g. whether or not Abby’s account was reliable) and analysis of what action Rachel should take (e.g. whether or not she should ask Kobi about it, whether she should get mad at Kobi, etc.). Most of what you’d say to Rachel would be your own words.
We tell someone about things we heard or did every day, while using our own words. That’s exactly what you do in a paraphrase! The only difference is that you need to be more clear, in academic writing, about telling us exactly who said it and where (the reference). That’s like telling Rachel that you overheard some things Abby said outside the canteen. Another difference is that the main purpose of academic writing is to develop and express new ideas of your own.
What you might have said:
You: "So Rachel, I overheard a conversation between two girls talking about how “hot” Kobi is. One of the girls, Abby, seemed to think he was flirting with her. To be honest I think she was just exaggerating. She’s always convinced that everyone’s in love with her. She said that Kobi had asked her about something he'd missed in class because he’d been away. Somehow she interpreted this as flirting! I wouldn't be too worried if I were you."
| paraphrasing_activity_one.pdf |
Paraphrasing Exercise #2
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