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Workshops indexTask C: Paraphrasing (writing in your own words)
Summary
Lecturers expect you to write essays that show your understanding of the ideas and concepts in your science units. You can do this by writing in your own words (parapharasing/summarising) the information you gain from your research literature.
What will I learn?
- The value of paraphrasing in your science writing
- Techniques for paraphrasing the words of an author
- Recognise acceptable paraphrasing
The value of paraphrasing in your science writing
What is paraphrasing?
Paraphrasing means putting ideas and information from other sources into your own words when writing an assignment/essay. Clearly, there may be technical or discipline-specific words that you cannot replace; however, the sentence and paragraph structure must be your own.
Why is paraphrasing a valuable technique to use in academic writing?
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.
Two techniques for paraphrasing the words of an author
Technique 1:
The best way to paraphrase is to write at a distance from the source. Follow these steps to paraphrase a passage:
- Read the passage of work you have chosen to paraphrase several times so you have a thorough understanding of the author's message.
- Write brief notes of the main ideas and supporting details.
- Put the source aside. Return to your notes at a later time and rewrite the passage in your own words.
Now practise this technique in the following activity.
Activity
Using technique 1, paraphrase the paragraph below.
Like the most successful rodents of other deserts (see Schmidt-Nielson, 1964), N. alexis and N. cervinus are nocturnal and fossorial, thereby escaping rigorous diurnal surface temperatures. However, while nocturnality may enable mammals to avoid excess water expenditures in heat dissipation, it does not provide escape from the usual surface conditions of low humidity and water scarcity. Thus it is not surprising that these Australian Hopping Mice have also developed extreme capacities for coping with aridity, to the extent that they are virtually independent of exogenous water (MacMillen & Lee, 1967). However it was surprising that these congeneric and sympatric species differ rather markedly in their physiological responses to osmotic stress.
[Source: Goldstein, D. & Skadhauge, E. (2000), Renal and Extrarenal Regulation of Body Fluid Composition, In G.C. Whittow (Ed.), Sturkie's Avian Physiology, (5th ed.) (pp. 265-297), New York, NY.: Academic Press]
- Read the passage of work several times so you have a thorough understanding of the author's message.
- Write brief notes of the main ideas and supporting details.
- Put the source aside. Return to your notes at a later time and rewrite the passage in your own words.
Technique 2:
If you have difficulty with the above technique, follow these six steps to paraphrase 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 scientific 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.
Note: When you are paraphrasing, it is not enough to simply exchange a few words for their synonyms. You must also change the structure of the sentence so that the information becomes more 'in your own words'.
For example, let's try this sentence:
Adding bases or acids to aqueous solutions can result in extreme changes in the pH.
By changing the structure of the sentence it now reads:
The pH of aqueous solutions is altered by the addition of acids or bases.
- Compare your completed written passage with the original text and reference the passage. Has your paraphrase maintained the message of the original author?
Now practise technique 2 in the following activity.
Activity
Using technique 2, paraphrase the following paragraph.
The evolution of the Australian wheat farming system over the twentieth century and the increases in its productivity have relied heavily on both local and introduced technologies, in the latter case often modified to suit the local conditions, as in the case of introduced plant germplasms, upon which the system has been heavily dependent (Fischer, 1999, p. 277).
[Fischer, R.A. (1999), Wheat Cropping in Australia, In E. Satorre & G. Slafer, (Eds.), Wheat: Ecology and Physiology of Yield Determination, New York, NY: Food Products Press]
- 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 scientific or technical words – these words are not interchangeable because they have specialised meaning. Write these words in the scratch pad below.
- 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. Write them in the scratch pad.
- Rewrite the passage sentence by sentence altering the sentence pattern and substituting synonyms.
- Compare your completed written passage with the original text. Have you retained the original meaning?
Note: A model answer for this paraphrase can be found in the following activity.
Recognise acceptable paraphrasing
This activity gives you practice in recognising acceptable and unacceptable paraphrases.
Activity
Read this writing sample again.
The evolution of the Australian wheat farming system over the twentieth century and the increases in its productivity have relied heavily on both local and introduced technologies, in the latter case often modified to suit the local conditions, as in the case of introduced plant germplasms, upon which the system has been heavily dependent (Fischer, 1999, p. 277).
Following are two paraphrases of the same passage. One is an acceptable paraphrase and the other would be considered plagiarised work.
Paraphrase 1
The development of Australian wheat farming over the past hundred years and its improved productivity have depended on technologies. Introduced technologies have frequently been changed to fit the local situation, for example, the introduced plant germplasms on which Australian wheat farming has relied (Fischer, 1999).
See if the paraphrase would PASS or FAIL this 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: Would this paraphrase PASS or FAIL the plagiarism test?
Paraphrase 2
Technological advances have played a crucial role in the development and enhanced productivity of wheat farming in Australia over the past hundred years. Imported innovations are often changed to be more locally appropriate; for example, the introduced plant germplasms which have been so central to the Australian wheat farming system (Fischer, 1999).
See if the paraphrase would PASS or FAIL this 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: Would this paraphrase PASS or FAIL the plagiarism test?
A helpful technique for paraphrasing is to change the voice from active to passive. For example, changing 'Adding bases or acids ...' to 'By the addition of acids or bases ...'