successful paraphrasing

HOW AND WHY TO PARAPHRASE

E. SILER

DEFINITIONS

• PARAPHRASE can refer to either a noun or a verb.

• TO PARAPHRASE means to substantially change the grammar and vocabulary of a text without changing the meaning.

• A PARAPHRASE is a text that has been changed by someone.

AN EXAMPLE

• ORIGINAL: The Malian army, too weak to do the job of retaking the north alone, was (and still is) slowly reinforcing its frontier along Azawad.

• PARAPHRASE: The Malian army is not strong enough to conquer Azawad by itself. Instead, it has been strengthening the border between Mali and Azawad.

WHY WE PARAPHRASE

• In academic culture, we value the use of one’s own words to show that a person has understood what was read.

• Good academic style uses lots of paraphrase and summary --- and relatively little direct quotation.

• If you are planning to ever write anything in academic English again (either in a class or in graduate school), you need to learn this valuable skill.

HOW WE PARAPHRASE

• Good paraphrasing is an art and a skill. • It requires patience. • But if you learn to do it, step by step, and you

practice, you will find that this skill:– improves your written English, – improves your vocabulary, and– improves your ability to understand what you

read.

The Basic Steps

• 1. Change the grammar first.• 2. Change the vocabulary second.• 3. Recombine the changed grammar.• 4. Adjust until you have a full paraphrase.• 5. Cite

An Example

• The second conflict, the “Christmas War,” was fought at the end of December, after Burkinabe soldiers entered Malian villages to conduct a census, declaring that the villages were in fact in Burkina Faso.

Step 1: Grammar Breakdown

• 1a. Find the verbs.• 1b. Add subjects.• 1c. Create many smaller sentences from the

original larger sentence.

1a. Locate the verbs

• Was fought• Entered• To conduct• Declaring• were

1b. Assign a subject to each verb; change verbs to simple tenses

• The Christmas War was fought• Burkinabe soldiers entered• Burkinabe soldiers planned to conduct• Burkinabe soldiers declared• The villages were.

1c. Create simple little sentences.

• The Christmas War was fought at the end of December.

• Burkinabe soldiers entered Malian villages.• Burkinabe soldiers planned to conduct a

census.• Burkinabe soldiers declared something.• The villages were in Burkina Faso.

Step 2: Change Vocabulary

• Get your tools out! Use these TWO tools together:

• http://www.thesaurus.com• http://www.ldoceonline.com

2a. Find synonyms for verbs first.

• The Christmas War was fought at the end of December. Fought at > occurred > happened

• Burkinabe soldiers entered Malian villages.• Visited> went into• Burkinabe soldiers planned to conduct a census.

Conduct > hold > administer • Burkinabe soldiers declared something.

Declared > claimed• The villages were in Burkina Faso.

The Thesaurus

• A thesaurus is a list of words that are somewhat like the word you are looking to replace.

• Type the word you want at the top of the thesaurus.

• Let’s look at an example with the verb “conduct” as in, The soldiers planned to conduct a census.

Example

Choosing the Best Word

• Use the dictionary to help you!• Consider the difference between two possible

thesaurus-generated synonyms: ordain and run.

Ordain

RUN

Results

• The Christmas War happened at the end of December

• Burkinabe soldiers went into Malian villages.• Burkinabe soldiers planned to run a census.• Burkinabe soldiers claimed something. • The villages were in Burkina Faso.

Step #3: Recombine

• Recombine the small sentences that you have created into new sentences of no more than two verbs.

Possible solutions

• The Christmas War happened at the end of December +

• Burkinabe soldiers went into Malian villages.= When Burkinabe soldiers went into Malian villages at the end of December, the Christmas War started. = The Christmas War, which happened at the end of December, started because Burkinabe soldiers went into Malian villages.

More Solutions

• Burkinabe soldiers planned to run a census.• Burkinabe soldiers claimed something. • The villages were in Burkina Faso. • = The soldiers claimed the villages were in

Burkina Faso. They planned to run a census of the villages.

Now Compare

• ORIGINAL: The second conflict, the “Christmas War,” was fought at the end of December, after Burkinabe soldiers entered Malian villages to conduct a census, declaring that the villages were in fact in Burkina Faso.

• PARAPHRASE: The Christmas War, which happened at the end of December, started because Burkinabe soldiers went into Malian villages. The soldiers claimed the villages were in Burkina Faso. They planned to run a census of the villages.

Step 4: Adjust

• Now make smaller changes to smooth out your paraphrase:

• The Christmas War, which happened at the end of December, started because Burkinabe soldiers went into Malian villages. The soldiers claimed those villages were actually in Burkina Faso. Therefore, they planned to run a census of the villages.

LAST STEP: CITE!

• Even if you have paraphrased, you MUST cite. This is NOT optional. It is always the final step in the paraphrase process.

• The Christmas War, which happened at the end of December, started because Burkinabe soldiers went into Malian villages. The soldiers claimed those villages were actually in Burkina Faso. Therefore, they planned to run a census of the villages (Chilson, 2013, p. 21).