Paraphrasing. What is Paraphrasing? O Its taking the essential information and details from a text and presenting them in YOUR OWN WORDS. O Its one legitimate

Paraphrasing

What is Paraphrasing?O It’s taking the essential information and

details from a text and presenting them in YOUR OWN WORDS.

O It’s one legitimate way—with appropriate citations—to borrow from a source.

O It’s more detailed and specific than a summary, which is focused on a single main idea, such as a story’s plot.

O It’s NOT an opinion or a new argument. Most of the time, we paraphrase information from a text to SUPPORT our opinion or argument.

What Can Be Paraphrased?

Oa short phraseOa sentenceOa paragraphOIn longer pieces, even a page can be paraphrased.

OBut it must come from a SPECIFIC place in the text.

Paraphrasing Example from “Us and Them”

Text: “…I tore off the wrappers and began cramming the candy bars into my mouth, desperately, like someone in a contest.”

Paraphrase: Sedaris frantically opened his treats and raced to devour them (3).

The writer’s specific ideas are presented but in YOUR OWN WORDS.

Page number where specific ideas from the text can be found

Paraphrasing ExampleText: “…I tore off the wrappers and began cramming the candy bars into my mouth, desperately, like someone in a contest.”


When we write about literature, we want to write in 3rd person.

Use Synonyms and Your Own Words











Paraphrase: Sedaris frantically opened his treats and raced to devour (3).




Now we need to add some context

for the readerParaphrase: Sedaris frantically opened his treats and raced to devour them (3).

CONTEXT: Who, What, Where, When, How, Why(Not all will always apply.)

WHY is Sedaris rushing to eat the candy bars?

WHERE is he when he’s doing this?

WHEN is this happening?

Paraphrase with CONTEXT added

Paraphrase: Knowing he had little time before his mother gathered his Halloween chocolate to give to the Tomkey children, Sedaris frantically opened his treats and raced to devour them before she opened his bedroom door (3).

What kind of evidence from a text is easy to paraphrase?

Ofacts or plot Ospecific information from a text that can be effectively written in many different ways

What kind of evidence is best for weaving a direct quote? (and harder

to paraphrase)Opieces of dialogueOsomething in the text where the author’s words just can’t be beatOdescriptions where the author’s word choice shouldn’t be tampered with

Should I Paraphrase or Quote Weave?

Original Text: “I wanted to know what this something was, and so I began peering through the Tomkey’s windows.”

This is plot, so it’s perfect for paraphrasing.

Paraphrase: Since they don’t own a television, Sedaris is curious about how the Tomkeys spend their time, so he makes a habit of spying on them through the windows of their home (1).

How to Paraphrase1. Read and reread the text until you have

a clear understanding of the main idea, including details.

2. Put the text away and see if you remember the main idea and details. Can you say them out loud? If not, reread again.

3. Now write down what you remember, but WITHOUT looking at the text.

4. Then compare your writing to the original. Are the writer’s specific ideas still there? If not, revise.

5. Have you paraphrased and not plagiarized? If not, revise again.

Is this paraphrasing or plagiarizing?

O Original text: Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall. Humpty Dumpty had a great fall. All the king’s horses and all the king’s men, couldn’t put humpty back together again.

O Paraphrase: Humpty Dumpty was sitting on a wall, but then he had a great fall. The king’s horses and his men, couldn’t put humpty back together again.

It’s Plagiarizing!

OOriginal text: Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall. Humpty Dumpty had a great fall. All the king’s horses and all the king’s men, couldn’t put humpty back together again.

O Paraphrase: Humpty Dumpty was sitting on a wall, but then he had a great fall. The king’s horses and his men, couldn’t put humpty back together again.

Why is this paraphrase ineffective?

O Original text: Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall. Humpty Dumpty had a great fall. All the king’s horses and all the king’s men, couldn’t put humpty back together again.

O Paraphrase: Something happened to Humpty Dumpty. The horses and soldiers working under the king had no idea what to do about it so they gave up and went home.

Why is this paraphrase ineffective?


O Paraphrase: What happens to Humpty Dumpty is extremely tragic.

Now, you take a try! Paraphrase this text.


- read and then look away from the text - use synonyms and change up the order

of the ideas - compare your paraphrase to the original

How to Paraphrase and not Plagiarize

OReplace words from the original text with synonyms.

Original text: Humpty Dumpty [sat] rested [on] atop a wall. Humpty Dumpty [had a great fall] tumbled off and crashed to the ground. [All] Everyone of the king’s horses and [all the] king’s [men] workers [couldn’t] were unable to [put humpty back together] repair or rebuild him [again].


OSwitch up the order of the ideas

Original text: Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall. Humpty Dumpty had a great fall. All the king’s horses and all the king’s men, couldn’t put humpty back together again.

Just changing order of ideas: All the king’s men and all the king’s horses couldn’t put Humpty back together again after he had a great fall off a wall he had been sitting on.Note! This change alone, would still

count as a plagiarizing, but we could then replace and change words to fix that!


OChange the phrasing


Just changing the phrasing: While sitting on a wall, Humpty Dumpty had a great fall. Though they tried to put him back together again, all the king’s horses and men were unable to fix Humpty.

Note! This change alone, would still count as a plagiarizing, but we could then replace and change words.

Do you have to change every single word when paraphrasing?


Names (Humpty Dumpty) or basic common nouns (wall, king, horse) where there isn’t a suitable synonym don’t need to be changed.

Changing these underlined proper and common nouns is unnecessary

Original text: Rita, a gorilla, at the Austin zoo learned sign language and especially loves using it when she wants to eat her favorite dinner: cheeseburgers and tater tots.(5)

Over-Paraphrase: At a facility where animals are kept for public viewing, located in Texas’s capital, Rita, a fur-covered ape, loves meat patties with cheese between two buns and mini deep-fried hash brown potatoes. She’s been trained to use the language of the deaf to request this particular meal (5).

Documents

Paraphrasing. What is Paraphrasing? O Its taking the essential information and details from a text and presenting them in YOUR OWN WORDS. O Its one legitimate