As mentioned in our previous article on plagiarism, “simply taking another writer’s ideas and rephrasing them as one’s own can be considered plagiarism as well.”
Paraphrasing is acceptable if you interpret and synthesize the information from your sources, rephrasing the ideas in your own words and adding citations at
…
Is it fine to paraphrase?
Paraphrasing (writing information in your own words) is a highly acceptable way to include the ideas of other people in your writing. It is very important, however, to paraphrase correctly because
there is a fine balance between acceptable paraphrasing and unacceptable paraphrasing
(plagiarism).
When paraphrasing what should you avoid?
- Avoid switching out or changing around of a few words in an author’s sentence(s) for use in your paper.
- Avoid failing to acknowledge (through an in-text citation or direct quotes) the outside source from which you obtained your information or ideas.
Is paraphrasing considered cheating?
Is using a paraphrasing tool cheating? Ideally, using paraphrasing tools
is considered cheating because the content is not original
and the tools do not give credit to the real author. … On the other hand, paraphrasing a small piece of information and citing the author cannot be regarded as cheating.
Can you get in trouble for paraphrasing?
If the wording, or even the sentence structure,
of the paraphrased text is too close to the wording of the original content
, it will look like you are trying to pass off someone else’s words as your own. This is plagiarism, which is unethical and even illegal in some cases.
Why is paraphrasing bad?
Why is Paraphrasing Such a Problem? … Paraphrasing or using
more than a few direction quotations interferes with the “flow” of your own writing
. It is often difficult for the reader to see how the paraphrased or quoted ideas fit with your broader discussion because they have not read the same source material you have.
How do you paraphrase properly?
The key to successful paraphrasing is to
use as few words as possible from the original text
–be mindful not to change the meaning that you are trying to convey as you rephrase–and to cite your paraphrase. Without proper citation, your paraphrase could be construed as plagiarism.
How long should a paraphrase be?
State the author’s idea in your own words; paraphrases are
usually one sentence in length at most
. The sequence of ideas and the sentence structure or syntax need to be different from the source. Compare your paraphrase with the original.
How do you paraphrase better?
- Read the passage several times to fully understand the meaning.
- Note down key concepts.
- Write your version of the text without looking at the original.
- Compare your paraphrased text with the original passage and make minor adjustments to phrases that remain too similar.
What are the 4 R’s of paraphrasing?
Key Resource: The 4 R’s–A Paraphrasing Strategy
Review the graphic below that explains the 4 R’s:
Read, Restate, Recheck, and Repair
and use the attached graphic organizer to help you practice paraphrasing by using this strategy.
Can you paraphrase too much?
Just as with quotes,
it is possible to paraphrase too often or too much
. In fact, there are many times when a simple summary is preferable to a paraphrased passage. The difference between the two is that the summary focuses on several important points, while the passage is concerned with only one.
When should you avoid paraphrasing?
DON’T Paraphrase Too
Closely
Taking portions of text from one or more sources, crediting the author/s, but only making ‘cosmetic’ changes to the borrowed material, such as changing one or two words, simply rearranging the order, voice (i.e., active vs. passive) and/or tense of the sentences is NOT paraphrasing.
What are the consequences of paraphrasing?
Paraphrasing is
plagiarism if you don’t properly credit the original author
. Paraphrasing is plagiarism if your text is too close to the original wording (even if you cite the source). If you directly copy a sentence or phrase, you should quote it instead.
Can you use paraphrasing tools?
This study has demonstrated that students can use
online
paraphrasing tools or article spinners in ways that avoid detection by originality checking software such as Turnitin®. Whether or not it is the student’s intent to avoid plagiarism is not the issue examined here.
What is the best paraphrase tool?
- QuillBot. QuillBot is a comprehensive writing collaborator tool that uses AI to help you paraphrase or rewrite paragraphs while refining your content. …
- Paraphrase Online. …
- Spinner Chief 6. …
- Spinbot. …
- Duplichecker. …
- GoParaphrase. …
- SEO Wagon. …
- Prepost SEO.
How difficult is paraphrasing?
One of the main difficulties of paraphrasing is
that students often express other people’s ideas without changing enough of the words
. … When your tutor reads your words against the original s/he may decide that they are too similar and this will be regarded as plagiarism, even if you have provided a reference!
