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Responsible use of information: Paraphrasing

Paraphrasing

It takes some effort to learn to paraphrase by re-formulating an original text in your own words. Watch part of the video How to paraphrase (4:58) by QUT Library to find out how you best paraphrase a text.

When paraphrasing, these aspects are important:

  • The meaning of the original source text and your paraphrased sentence(s) should be the same.
  • The choice of words of your paraphrasing should be different from the original source text.
  • The sentence structure (grammar, style) of your paraphrasing should be different from the original source text.

Practice your paraphrasing skill by doing the exercise. If you are interested in improving your paraphrasing further we invite you to also study the suggested websites originating from Reading University.

Tip: Use a thesaurus to find synonyms and related terms. Use one of the many thesauri of the databases and dictionaries that the Library has to offer, or use a free thesaurus such as Merriam-Webster Thesaurus.

Exercise

The exercise Online tool for paraphrasing lets you paraphrase a source text. Words from the original text that are repeated in your own wording will be highlighted in colour. Try and keep the percentage of repeated words below 40% of the source text.

Start exercise