 |
Paraphrasing | Rewriting
Rewriting is needed when the tone, message clarity, impression and emotive impact need to be improved. An experienced writer is able to gauge these qualities and make the necessary changes. Business and other writers however get entrapped in stilted, unnatural language style that has become dated.
Rewriting reconstructs a piece of original writing to make it clearer, reduce the fog factor and create a more appropriate communication tone. (Note that there is nothing wrong with the original construction shown below. However, rewriting will change its tone and inflection and make other subtle differences.) ...more
Paraphrasing | Summarizing
Why Paraphrase
-
Paraphrasing is used to clarify information. In many instances a piece of text can be reworded more plainly, distinctly or more understandably.
-
Explain complex information. Complex jargon or cant may need to be paraphrased or reworded, to make the information more conversational or less esoteric so that the writing can be more easily understood by a reader.
-
Paraphrasing helps make text more readable, and helps reduce the fog factor. Difficult words and/or complex sentences are reworded or rewritten to be more easily accepted and appreciated.
-
Paraphrasing is also used to avoid plagiarism. However, while the original author's choice of words and expressions may be rephrased or paraphrased, the ideas and concepts must still be accredited to the original writer. For students, paraphrasing demonstrates that the student understands the subject, and is able to express its concepts and ideas in his or her own words.
How To Paraphrase
-
Thoroughly understand the text that you intend to paraphrase. Read it enough times that you grasp the meaning fully.
-
Use a dictionary to look up difficult words or phrases you do not understand. You will also need a comprehensive thesaurus to identify correct and suitable synonyms. Be very careful when using a thesaurus. Though synonyms are supposed to be close in meanings, they are not interchangeable and some synonyms may be totally unsuitable in the sentence's context.
-
Write down your understanding of the text's intended meaning in your own words.
-
Sentences will need to be rearranged and restructured if you are paraphrasing large blocks of text.
-
Paraphrased text is approximately the same length as the original material. Paraphrasing is different than summarizing, though both processes may be necessary in certain circumstances.
-
Confirm that what you have paraphrased has the same meaning and message as the original text. Do not editorialize or angle the information.
-
Whatever you paraphrase should express complete ideas and be able to stand by itself. If the paraphrase doesn’t seem lucid or ordered, it will need to be rewritten.
- When paraphrasing remember that the ideas you are
expressing are not yours. Paraphrasing is only meant to demonstrate
that you understand the
concepts expressed. Acceptable citation methods must be used to
give credit to the original authors.
-
When you finish, check that your paraphrases are completely in your own words, correctly express the meaning of the original text, are logical and comprehensible, and that you have cited the original source.
