PEGS Workshop Activities
Paraphrase*
I.
What is paraphrasing?
Paraphrasing involves expressing someone else’s ideas in our own words and in our own way.
II.
Why paraphrase?
Academic writing involves collaborating with multiple sources, often using them to help inform our
discussion. In doing so, we may need to quote these same sources; however, conventionally
speaking, it is inappropriate to depend too heavily on quotations; therefore, we must paraphrase
(in fact, our paraphrases should always outweigh our quotations). In either case, whether we’re
quoting or paraphrasing, we need always to properly cite the source if we wish to avoid committing
the academic crime of plagiarism (i.e., “literary theft” Oxford English Dictionary).
III.
How to paraphrase:
According to LEO*, there are two types of paraphrasing: Literal paraphrasing and Free
paraphrasing:
1) Literal paraphrasing simply involves substituting synonyms, and, therefore, runs the risk of
committing plagiarism.
2) Free paraphrasing involves substitution AND simultaneous reorganization of the syntactic
structure of the sentence, thereby minimizing the risk of committing plagiarism.
Example:
The Original Quotation:
"Four score and seven years ago, our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty
and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal . . . ."
A Literal Paraphrase:
Eighty-seven years before, our ancestors founded in North America a new country, thought of in freedom and
based on the principle that all people are born with the same rights.
A Free Paraphrase:
Our ancestors thought of freedom when they founded a new country in North America eighty-seven years
ago. They based their thinking on the principle that all people are born with the same rights.
*
LEO (Literacy Online Education: http://leo.stcloudstate.edu/research/usingpara.html) helped inform this discussion. Please consult the PEGS website
(www.pegs4grads.org) to encounter various hypertext links that lead to deeper, more detailed discussions of the same. Thank you.
Computer/dept(\\dhais98)(I:)/PEGS/PEGSUser/WORKSHOPS/NEW WORKSHOPS 2013/Plagiarism/Workshop Activities Paraphrasing
Note: Again, the literal paraphrase simply substitutes one set of words for another, so it is plagiaristic; therefore, literal paraphrasing
should only be considered a step in the process of properly paraphrasing. Because free paraphrasing involves using our own words
in our own way, it demonstrates that we truly understand the information that we are incorporating into our discussion.
IV.
Paraphrasing Exercises
Example:
Original Quote: “You paraphrase appropriately when you represent an idea in your own words more clearly or
pointedly than the source does. But readers will think that you plagiarize if they can match your words and
phrasing with those of your source” (Booth, Colomb, & Williams, 2008, p. 194).†
1) Literal Paraphrase:
We paraphrase correctly if we put a concept in our own words with greater perspicuity and
significance than the source; however, a reader may suspect plagiarism if s/he sees direct
symmetry between our words and phrases and those of the original source (Booth, Colomb, &
Williams, p. 194).
2) Free Paraphrase:
According to Booth, Colomb, and Williams, paraphrase is the use of your own words to
represent the ideas of another more clearly. It becomes plagiarism when readers see a word-forword similarity between the source and your paraphrase (p. 194).
Original Quote: “To avoid seeming to plagiarize, read the passage, look away, think about it for a moment;
then still looking away, paraphrase it in your own words” (Booth, Colomb, & Williams, 2008, p. 194).
1) Literal Paraphrase: ___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
2) Free Paraphrase: _____________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
Original Quote: “Three different acts are considered plagiarism: 1) failing to cite quotations and borrowed
ideas, 2) failing to enclose borrowed language in quotation marks, and 3) failing to put summaries and
paraphrases in your own words” (Hacker, 2003, p. 331).‡
1) Literal Paraphrase: ___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
2) Free Paraphrase: ____________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
Note: All citations follow the Modern Language Association (MLA) style manual.
†
Booth, Wayne C., Gregory G. Colomb, and Joseph M. Williams. The Craft of Research. 3rd edition. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 2008.
‡
Hacker, Diane. A Writer’s Reference. 5th edition. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2003.
Computer/dept(\\dhais98)(I:)/PEGS/PEGSUser/WORKSHOPS/NEW WORKSHOPS 2013/Plagiarism/Workshop Activities Paraphrasing