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Workshops indexTask D: Paraphrasing (writing in your own words)
Summary
Lecturers expect you to write essays that show your understanding of the ideas and concepts in your units. You can do this by writing in your own words (paraphrasing/summarising) the information you gain from your research literature.
You will learn:
- The value of paraphrasing in your assignments
- A technique for paraphrasing the words of an author
- How to apply this technique to your writing
The value of paraphrasing in your assignments
You will get better marks in your writing if you use paraphrasing and summarising instead of direct quotations, because it shows you have a good understanding of your work.
Paraphrasing is a skill that needs to be understood and practised. Done well, this technique will enhance your assignment results; done poorly, you could be accused of plagiarism.
A technique for paraphrasing the words of an author
Follow these six steps when paraphrasing the words of another author.
- Read the passage of work you have chosen to paraphrase several times so you have a thorough understanding of the author's message.
- Identify the main ideas and supporting details.
- Circle key medical words – these words are not interchangeable because they have a special meaning.
- Identify general words in the passage that may be substituted with synonyms. List synonyms for each word and choose the most suitable to match the meaning of the passage.
- Rewrite the passage sentence by sentence, altering the sentence pattern and substituting synonyms.
- Compare your completed written passage with the text of the author/s and reference the passage. Has your paraphrase maintained the message of the original author?
How to apply this technique to your writing
Learning to paraphrase effectively requires practice.
Activity
Use the 'six steps for paraphrasing' described above, to paraphrase the following paragraph:
The hypothalamus, located between the cerebral hemispheres, controls body temperature … The hypothalamus senses minor changes in body temperature, with the anterior hypothalamus controlling heat loss and the posterior hypothalamus controlling heat production.
(Crisp, J. & Taylor, C. (ed) (2005), Potter & Perry's Fundamentals of Nursing. Sydney, Aust: Elsevier, p. 612).
- Read this writing sample several times so you have a thorough understanding of the author's message.
- Identify the main ideas and supporting details.
- Write a list of key medical words – these words are not interchangeable because they have a specific meaning.
- Identify general words in the passage that may be substituted with synonyms. List synonyms for each word and choose the most suitable to match the meaning of the passage.
When you are using the thesaurus tool, make sure that the synonym you plan to use matches the meaning of the author/s. Lecturers and markers DO notice errors of meaning and you will lose marks.
- Rewrite the passage sentence by sentence, altering the sentence pattern and substituting synonyms.
Try to paraphrase the following sentence then compare your answer to the feedback sample.
The hypothalamus, located between the cerebral hemispheres, controls body temperature.
- Compare your completed written passage with the text of the author/s.
Text of the author/s:
The hypothalamus, located between the cerebral hemispheres, controls body temperature ... The hypothalamus senses minor changes in body temperature, with the anterior hypothalamus controlling heat loss and the posterior hypothalamus controlling heat production (Crisp & Taylor, 2005, p. 612).
Following are two paraphrases of the same passage. One is an acceptable paraphrase and the other would be considered plagiarised work.
Paraphrase 1
The hypothalamus, which is situated between the cerebral hemispheres, regulates body temperature ... The hypothalamus detects small variations in body temperature, with the anterior hypothalamus regulating heat loss and the posterior hypothalamus regulating heat production (Crisp & Taylor, 2005, p. 612).
Would paraphrase 1 PASS or FAIL the three-question plagiarism test?
- Has the paraphrase maintained the message of the original author?
- Has the sentence structure of the paraphrased work been reworked enough so it is sufficiently different from the original text?
- Has the source of the paraphrased passage been cited to indicate that the ideas of an author have been used.
VERDICT: Does this paraphrase PASS or FAIL the plagiarism test?
Paraphrase 2
Body temperature is regulated by the hypothalamus which is situated in the brain between the cerebral hemispheres. It detects small variations in body temperature; heat production is regulated by the posterior hypothalamus and heat loss is regulated by the anterior hypothalamus (Crisp & Taylor, 2005, p. 612).
Would paraphrase 2 PASS or FAIL the three-question plagiarism test?
- Has the paraphrase maintained the message of the original author?
- Has the sentence structure of the paraphrased work been reworked enough so it is sufficiently different from the original text?
- Has the source of the paraphrased passage been cited to indicate that the ideas of an author have been used.
VERDICT: Does this paraphrase PASS or FAIL the plagiarism test?