A paraphrase accurately states all the relevant information from a passage in your own words and sentence structures, without any additional comments or elaborations.

Guidelines for paraphrasing

A paraphrase is useful when the main points of a passage, their order, and at least some details are important but—unlike passages worth quoting—the particular wording is not.

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Acceptable and unacceptable paraphrases

To paraphrase without plagiarizing inadvertently, do not simply substitute synonyms, and do not imitate an author’s style. If you wish to cite some of an author’s words within a paraphrase, enclose them in quotation marks.

The following examples of paraphrases resemble the original either too little or too much:

ORIGINAL

Language play, the arguments suggest, will help the development of pronunciation ability through its focus on the properties of sounds and sound contrasts, such as rhyming. Playing with word endings and decoding the syntax of riddles will help the acquisition of grammar. Readiness to play with words and names, to exchange puns and to engage in nonsense talk, promotes links with semantic development. The kinds of dialogue interaction illustrated above are likely to have consequences for the development of conversational skills. And language play, by its nature, also contributes greatly to what in recent years has been called metalinguistic awareness, which is turning out to be of critical importance in the development of language skills in general and of literacy skills in particular.

—DAVID CRYSTAL, Language Play (180)

UNACCEPTABLE PARAPHRASE: STRAYING FROM THE AUTHOR’S IDEAS

Crystal argues that playing with language—creating rhymes, figuring out how riddles work, making puns, playing with names, using invented words, and so on—helps children figure out a great deal about language, from the basics of pronunciation and grammar to how to carry on a conversation. Increasing their understanding of how language works in turn helps them become more interested in learning new languages and in pursuing education (180).

This paraphrase starts off well enough, but it moves away from paraphrasing the original to inserting the writer’s ideas; Crystal says nothing about learning new languages or pursuing education.

UNACCEPTABLE PARAPHRASE: USING THE AUTHOR’S WORDS

Crystal suggests that language play, including rhyme, helps children improve pronunciation ability, that looking at word endings and decoding the syntax of riddles allows them to understand grammar, and that other kinds of dialogue interaction teach conversation. Overall, language play may be of critical importance in the development of language and literacy skills (180).

Because the highlighted phrases are either borrowed from the original without quotation marks or changed only superficially, this paraphrase plagiarizes.

UNACCEPTABLE PARAPHRASE: USING THE AUTHOR’S SENTENCE STRUCTURES

Language play, Crystal suggests, will improve pronunciation by zeroing in on sounds such as rhymes. Having fun with suffixes and analyzing riddle structure will help a person acquire grammar. Being prepared to play with language, to use puns and talk nonsense, improves the ability to use semantics. These playful methods of communication are likely to influence a person’s ability to talk to others. And language play inherently adds enormously to what has recently been known as metalinguistic awareness, a concept of great magnitude in developing speech abilities generally and literacy abilities particularly (180).

Although this paraphrase does not rely explicitly on the words of the original, it does follow the sentence structures too closely. Substituting synonyms while keeping the original paragraph structure is not enough to avoid plagiarism. The paraphrase must represent your own interpretation of the material and thus must show your own thought patterns.

Here are two paraphrases of the same passage that express the author’s ideas accurately and acceptably, the first completely in the writer’s own words and the second including a quotation from the original.

ACCEPTABLE PARAPHRASE: IN THE STUDENT WRITER’S OWN WORDS

Crystal argues that playing with language—creating rhymes, figuring out riddles, making puns, playing with names, using invented words, and so on—helps children figure out a great deal, from the basics of pronunciation and grammar to how to carry on a conversation. This kind of play allows children to understand the overall concept of how language works, a concept that is key to learning to use—and read—language effectively (180).

ACCEPTABLE PARAPHRASE: QUOTING SOME OF THE AUTHOR’S WORDS

Crystal argues that playing with language—creating rhymes, figuring out riddles, making puns, playing with names, using invented words, and so on—helps children figure out a great deal, from the basics of pronunciation and grammar to how to carry on a conversation. This kind of play allows children to understand the overall concept of how language works, or “metalinguistic awareness,” a concept that Crystal sees as “of critical importance in the development of language skills in general and of literacy skills in particular” (180).

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