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General Help

Paraphrasing Strategies

Paraphrasing is an essential skill in academic writing. The following strategies will help you to write a successful paraphrase:

Read & Reread

  • Read and reread the passage to ensure that you have a clear understanding of its meaning.
  • Why is that important? Because a paraphrase must faithfully convey the intended meaning of the author.
  • It’s not your reaction; it’s not your interpretation. Instead, it a re-presentation of the author’s ideas.

Recall & Rephrase

  • After you have read and reread the passage to be paraphrased, cover the passage and RECALL the main idea(s) of the passage.
  • REPHRASE those ideas in your own words. Write them down without looking at the text.

Review & Revise

  • Once you have rephrased the passage, REVIEW the following:
    • Ensure that your paraphrase faithfully conveys the intended meaning of the author.
    • Vary sentence structure from the original passage.
    • Vary word choice from the original passage.
  • Revise, if necessary

Remember . . .

Once you have an acceptable paraphrase, remember to add a correctly formatted in-text citation, which should include the author’s last name and year of publication in parentheses. Following these six strategies will help you write effective paraphrases.

Writing Good Summaries

Writing Good Summaries

Writing good summaries is an indispensable skill in college. Taking class notes, writing an annotated bibliography and answering essay questions require the ability to summarize well. The good news is that you probably already know how to summarize. Have you ever explained to a friend what the latest movie you saw was about? If so, then you have summarized. Your job is to learn how to do the same in writing. Continue Reading