Paraphrasing

Paraphrasing Video Transcript

Welcome, this is Terry Ewell. In this video we will be presenting good and poor uses of paraphrase in academic papers. At its best paraphrasing provides one voice to the paper, incorporates an appropriate use of references, and is an efficient method of presenting the ideas of others. For instance, you want to avoid a paper that is comprised of cut and paste quotations from others you need to use paraphrasing.

Paraphrasing is an important skill to develop. It avoids a pastiche such as this. Here I represent direct quotes in different colors.

Notice that there are very few original words by the author (in white). This creates a disjointed, unevenly worded paper. Rather it is best to include essential quotations and to paraphrase or provide a narrative for the rest such as represented here.

Also paraphrasing demonstrates that you have an understanding of the material of others; that you are able to express their ideas in your own words.

When improperly employed paraphrasing can be a form of plagiarism, which is presenting another’s work as your own.

Here are two principles to keep in mind when you paraphrase.

1) Properly indicate the source.

2) State the ideas in your own words.

So let’s look at a few examples of paraphrasing. First, here is the original text:

Suppose, for example, a healthy man donates a kidney for free to a dying stranger. The materialist may look for an analogy among moles, rats, or chimpanzees, as the best way to understand the donor’s motives.

Here is the first example:

Beauregard and O’Leary contend that when a healthy man donates a kidney for free to a dying stranger that materialists seek to understand the donor’s motives among moles and other animals.

Although the author here provides a proper reference, the sentence structures and words are mostly identical to the original sentences. This is paraphrase plagiarism.

Here is the second example:

The materialist may look for an analogy among animals as the best way to understand the motives of a donor who gives a kidney to a stranger.

Simply reordering sentences and changing a word here or there is also a poor use of paraphrase.

Let’s look at another example.

Beauregard and O’Leary (2007) present that materialists seek to explain altruistic motivations from an evolutionary vantage point.

This is an excellent paraphrase since the author presents a summary in a way that does not duplicate the sentence structures and phrases of the original passage.

Here is one more example of a good use of paraphrase.

Other authors provide an explanation for good acts such as a man donating a kidney to a stranger by demonstrating that there are similar behaviors in animals.

If you want to practice your paraphrasing more, please see the other examples we have provided for you at this link:

Keep writing and do it well! Bye.

Academic Ethics

Towson University

Paraphrasing Video Transcript