See over

IntegratingSources
TechniquesforParaphrasing
Whenyouwriteaparaphrase,yourestateothersideasinyourownwords.Thatis,youwritethe
meaningoftheauthorsideas.Youusesomeoftheauthorskeyterms,butyouusemanyofyour
ownwordsandsentencestructures.Youincludeintextcitation,includingtheauthorslastnameand
yearofpublication.
WHATARESOMETECHNIQUESWRITERSUSETOPARAPHRASEEFFECTIVELY?
Followingaresometechniquesyoucanusetohelpyouparaphrase.Aneffectiveparaphraseincludesmore
thanoneofthesetechniques.Ifyouuseonlyoneofthesetechniqueswhenparaphrasing,youhavenot
paraphrasedeffectively.
1. Changeawordfromonepartofspeechtoanother
Original:MedicalprofessorJohnSwansonsaysthatglobalchangesareinfluencingthespreadofdisease.
Paraphrase:AccordingtoJohnSwanson,aprofessorofmedicine,changesacrosstheglobearecausing
diseasestospread(James,2004).
2. UseSynonyms
Original:TheU.S.governmentdeclaredthattheAIDScrisisposesanationalsecuritythreat.The
announcementfollowedanintelligencereportthatfoundhighratesofHIVinfectioncouldleadto
widespreadpoliticaldestabilization.
Paraphrase:ThegovernmentoftheUnitedStatesannouncedthatAIDScouldharmthenation'ssecurity.
Thegovernmentwarnedthepopulationafteranimportantgovernmentalstudyconcludedthatpolitical
problemscouldresultfromlargenumbersofpeopleinfectedwithHIV(Snell,2005).
3. Changenumbersandpercentagestodifferentforms
Original:MinoritygroupsintheUnitedStateshavebeenhithardestbytheepidemic.AfricanAmericans,
whomakeup13percentoftheU.S.population,accountedfor46percentoftheAIDScasesdiagnosedin
1998.
Paraphrase:TheAIDSepidemichasmostlyaffectedminoritiesintheUnitedStates.Forexample,in1998,
lessthan15percentofthetotalpopulationwasAfrican,butalmosthalfofthepeoplediagnosedwithAIDS
intheUnitedStatesthatyearwereAfricanAmerica(Jenson,2000).
Schuemann, C., Bryd, P., & Reid, J . (2006). College Writing 4 (1
st
ed.). USA: Heinle/ELT, a part of Cengage Learning, Inc.
Reproduced by permission. www.cengage.com/permissions
Handout revised: J uly 24, 2009

4. Changewordorder(e.g.,changefromactivetopassivevoiceandmovemodifierstodifferentpositions.
Note:Thepassivevoiceisgenerallyusedinacademicwritingwhentheagentisunknownorredundant,
shouldbeconcealed,introducesnewinformation(thematic)ortoprovideobjectivity(i.e.,scientificvoice).
Original:Angier(2001)reportedthatmalariakillsmorethanonemillionpeopleannually,the
overwhelmingmajorityofthemchildreninsubSaharanAfrica.
Paraphrase:Everyyear,morethanamillionpeoplearekilledbymalaria,andmostofthevictimsare
childrenwholiveinsubSaharanAfrica(Angier,2001).
5. Usedifferentdefinitionstructures
Original:Lymediseaseisaninflammatorydiseasecausedbyabacteriumtransmittedbyticks(small
bloodsuckingarachnidsthatattachthemselvestolargeranimals).Thediseaseisusuallycharacterizedbya
rashfollowedbyflulikesymptoms,includingfever,jointpain,andheadache.
Paraphrase:Lymediseaseadiseasethatcausesswellingandrednessiscausedbyabacteriumcarriedbya
smallarachnidknownasatick.Theticksattachtoandsuckthebloodofanimalsandhumans,transferring
someoftheLymediseasebacteriaintotheirhostsandcausingsymptomssimilartotheflu(Wald,2005).
6. Usedifferentattributionsignals
Original:Thatsbecausetherearesomanydifferentwaysthediseasescouldhavearrived,veterinarian
MarkWaltersdeclaredinhisrecentbook,SixModernPlagues.
Paraphrase:AccordingtoMarkWalters,aveterinarianwhowroteSixModernPlagues,thediseasecould
havearrivedinnumerousways(Peterson,2004).
7. Changethesentencestructure,andusedifferentconnectingwords
Original:Althoughonlyaboutonetenthoftheworldspopulationlivesthere,subSaharanAfricaremains
thehardesthitregion,accountingfor72percentofthepeopleinfectedwithHIVduring2000.
Paraphrase:Approximately10percentoftheworldspopulationresidesinsubSaharanAfrica.However,
thisareaoftheworldhasthehighestpercentageofAIDSrelatedillnesses.Infact,in2000,almostthree
fourthsofthepopulationhadtheHIVvirus(Bunting,2004).
8. Donotchangekeytermsorpropernouns
Original:InthenortheasternUnitedStates,peoplearebuildinghomesontheedgeofwoods,whereticks
thatcarryLymediseasehitchridesondeer.Inaddition,inAfrica,huntersbringbackthemeatofanimals
thatscientiststhinkmaytransmitEbola,ausuallyfataldiseasethatcausesmassivehemorrhaginginits
victims.
Paraphrase:IntheUnitedStates,residentialareasarebeingbuiltnearwoodedareasinthenortheast.
TheseareasarealsothehomesoftickscarryingLymedisease.Also,accordingtoscientists,huntersin
AfricakillanimalsthatmaycarrytheEbolavirus(anoftenfatalvirusthatcausesmassivehemorrhaging)
(Yaya,2004).