HOW TO PARAPHRASE LIKE A PRO
To paraphrase text, complete the following steps in this order.
1. Read the text, sentence, paragraph.
2. Re-read the text, sentence, paragraph to ensure your
comprehension.
3. Cover up the text, jot down the main points
4. Without looking at the original text, use your notes to write the
paraphrase
5. Keep the shared language, but …
a. Use synonyms- use a thesaurus (joyous – celebratory;
labor- work)
b. Word forms= change the part of speech (just- justify;
covet- covetous)
c. Different word order/structure of sentence (serial
comma, compound sentence, appositive, etc…)
DO NOT
d. Change the verb tense
e. Change the meaning or add ideas not in the original
f. Use more than 3 words in a row from the original text without quotation marks.
6. Check your paraphrase by comparing it to the original text
EXAMPLE (Purdue Writing Lab)
The original passage as appearing in the book Writing Research Papers pg. 46-47:
Students frequently overuse direct quotation in taking notes, and as a result they overuse
quotations in the final research paper. Probably only about 30% of your final paper should
appear as directly quoted matter. Therefore, you should strive to limit the amount of exact
transcribing of source materials while taking notes.
1. Read and re-read the passage, then walk away from the text.
2. Jot down main points
 Research papers
 Overuse of direct quotations
 Limit information during note-taking
3. Substitute words, change sentence structure while paraphrasing
4. Check your paraphrase by comparing it to the original text
LEGIT PARAPHRASE
LEGIT SUMMARY
DIRTY ROTTEN PLAGIARIZER
Notice synonyms, change of
sentence order
Notice the condensed main ideas
Notice the similarities and & lack of
attribution
In research papers students often quote
excessively, failing to keep copied
material down to a desirable level. Since
the problem originates during the note
taking phase of research, it is essential to
minimize the material recorded verbatim
(Lester 46-47).
Students should minimal direct quotation
notes from sources to help reduce the
amount of quoted material in a research
paper (Lester 46-47).
Students often use too many direct
quotations when they take notes,
resulting in too many of them in the final
research paper. In fact, probably only
about 10% of the final copy should consist
of directly quoted material. So it is
important to limit the amount of source
material copied while taking notes.
HOW TO PARAPHRASE LIKE A PRO- MORE EXAMPLES
Change sentence structure
Use synonyms
Change sentence structure
Use synonyms