How to Effectively Paraphrase: 5 Easy Steps

For writers starting, paraphrasing might seem quite a difficult thing to master. However, everything can become better with practice and some good advice. Therefore, if you are getting into the world of academic writing and want to know how to paraphrase like a pro, we have a few tips that you might find helpful. This article discusses the basic steps of successful paraphrasing.

12.06.2021

How to Effectively Paraphrase: 5 Easy Steps

This article discusses basic steps of successful paraphrasing. To give you an opportunity to practice proofreading, we have left a few spelling, punctuation, or grammatical errors in the text. See if you can spot them! If you spot the errors correctly, you will be entitled to a 10% discount.

There are various technical terms and techniques in the world of academic writing. One such term is paraphrasing. This is something that university students and researchers are quite familiar with as it is actively used in this line of work.

Paraphrasing means rewriting the same matter differently without changing the overall meaning. The need for paraphrasing is for the readers to have an impression that the writer has understood the material well enough to formulate it in their own words.

For writers starting, paraphrasing might seem quite a difficult thing to master. However, everything can become better with practice and some good advice. Therefore, if you are getting into the world of academic writing and want to know how to paraphrase like a pro, we have a few tips that you might find helpful. Read on to know more!

1. Understand before paraphrasing

One needs to remember the reason behind paraphrasing to get better at it— to tell your readers that you have understood the original material. Therefore, the first thing to do is to understand the source material properly. Reread it a few times and try to understand the primary concepts behind the material.

If you can, try writing your version down a few times before deciding on how you would paraphrase it. Once you have come up with your version, try and compare it with the original material to see the difference.

2. Structuring is important for paraphrasing

Paraphrasing is a good way to show how well you can structure your words. When you are reading your source material, think of how you can take the matter and restructure it in a way that is different from the source but retains the original meaning. One good way is to change the voice of the sentence. Switching effortlessly between active and passive voices is an efficient way of paraphrasing.

Another way is to shift your focus to the beginning of the sentence. It is not necessary to start the sentence the same way the original material has started it. Play around with the construction of the sentences to paraphrase successfully.

3. Take help of synonyms

Changing the words is another great way of paraphrasing. When you are reading the original material, keep an eye out for the words which you can switch with other relevant words. This way, the sentence becomes different from the source, while the meaning remains the same. It is better to keep taking notes while you are going through the original work. These small notes can help you organize your thoughts later when you are putting your work together.

4. Citing is a must

Lastly, your paraphrasing won’t remain a paraphrase if you do not cite the work you have taken reference from. Then, it becomes plagiarism. Plagiarism occurs when the source material is copied, borrowed, or referred to without due credit or permission. To avoid that, all works should be cited. Citing is the process of giving credit to the author or creator of the original work, idea, information, etc. Therefore, no matter how well you paraphrase, always cite your work when it comes to academic writing. You might find the following articles helpful:

5. Other important tips

To wrap it up, here are a few other tips that you might want to keep in handy for paraphrasing:

  • Try breaking the original sentence into two or more sentences

  • Always use a plagiarism checker to avoid any plagiarism

  • Recheck the original and compare it with your work to avoid altering the meaning

  • You can try and change the order of the words

So, with that, you now know how to paraphrase like a pro. Again, it may not be perfect in the first few tries, but as you keep on paraphrasing, it will come to you naturally because, as they say, only practice can get you there.

Do you need an expert to review and edit your manuscript?

Have you completed writing your manuscript? Do you want someone to review the entire article and make necessary changes if required? If yes, we bring the most trusted and efficient editing and proofreading services near you. At Best Edit & Proof, our experts will edit and proofread your papers to make necessary changes. 

Best Edit & Proof expert editors and proofreaders focus on offering manuscripts with proper tone, content, and style of academic writing and also provide an upscale editing and proofreading service for you. If you consider our pieces of advice, you will witness a notable increase in the chance for your research manuscript to be accepted by the publishers. We work together as an academic writing style guide by bestowing subject-area editing and proofreading around several categorized styles of writing. With the group of our expert editors, you will always find us all set to help you identify the tone and style that your manuscript needs to get a nod from the publishers.

How to Effectively Paraphrase

English manuscript formatting service

You can also avail of our assistance if you are looking for editors who can format your manuscript, or just check on the particular styles for the formatting task as per the guidelines provided to you, e.g., APA, MLA, or Chicago/Turabian styles. Best Edit & Proof editors and proofreaders provide all sorts of academic writing help, including editing and proofreading services, using our user-friendly website, and a streamlined ordering process.

Get a free quote for editing and proofreading now!

Kindly visit our order page if you want our subject-area editors or language experts to work on your manuscript to improve its tone and style and give it a perfect academic tone and style through proper editing and proofreading. The process of submitting a paper is very easy and quick. Click here to find out how it works.

Our pricing is based on the type of service you avail of here, be it editing or proofreading. We charge on the basis of the word count of your manuscript that you submit for editing and proofreading and the turnaround time it takes to get it done. If you want to get an instant price quote for your project, copy and paste your document or enter your word count into our pricing calculator.

24/7 customer support | Live support

If you need support for editing and proofreading services, contact us. You can also e-mail us or use the 24/7 live chat module to get direct support. We have a 24/7 active live chat mode to offer you direct support along with qualified editors to refine and furbish your manuscript. Alternatively, you can text us through our WhatsApp business support line.

How to Effectively Paraphrase

Stay tuned for updated information about editing and proofreading services!

Follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and Medium.

For more posts, click here.

Do you like this article? Make sure to share and subscribe!

They Also Read

Academic Writing
5 Helpful Questions to Consider When Writing A Discussion Section
12.06.2021

In drafting a manuscript, thesis, or dissertation, the discussion section is usually one of the last to be written. Notwithstanding, it is arguably the most important section in a manuscript. Due to its relevance, it is usually the most challenging to write, as it requires top-level expertise. This article seeks to lay bare 5 helpful considerations to make when writing a sound discussion section.

Continue Reading
Academic Writing Academic Publishing
Publishing Articles in Peer-Reviewed Journals: A Comprehensive Guide
12.06.2021

Writing research articles might be tough. However, publishing articles in peer-reviewed journals is even tougher. Writing research articles for academic journals is as difficult as it is competitive. It’s not just about writing a research paper extensively. Arranging and condensing the content to appeal to the reviewers’ interests is also crucial. Skip on it, and there are high chances no editor will pay your article any attention, let alone forward it for publication. In this guide, you will learn how to heighten the probability of publishing your articles.

Continue Reading
APA Style Citation Styles Academic Writing Formatting
Importance of Academic Referencing and Citing
12.06.2021

Whenever you use words, facts, ideas, or explanations from other works, those sources must be cited. Academic referencing is required when you have copied texts from an essay, an article, a book, or other sources verbatim, which is called quotation. You also need referencing when you use an idea or a fact from another work even if you haven’t used their exact expression.

Continue Reading
Academic Writing Plagiarism
5 Practical Ways to Avoid Plagiarism
12.06.2021

According to the Office of Research Integrity (ORI), plagiarism is considered “both the theft or misappropriation of intellectual property and the substantial unattributed textual copying of another's work.” Since the consequences of plagiarism can be fatal, this article seeks to discuss 5 practical ways to avoid plagiarism in academic essays.

Continue Reading
Academic Writing
How to Write a Journal Article: 4 Helpful Tips
12.06.2021

Writing articles for journals requires scholars to possess exceptional writing skills and awareness of their subject matter. They need to write such that their manuscript relays its central idea explicitly to the readers. In addition, they need to abide by strict writing conventions and best practices to befit the parameters of journal articles. It is not uncommon for research initiates and, at times, even experts to struggle with the article writing process. This article aims to mitigate some apprehension associated with writing journal articles by enlisting and expounding upon some essential writing tips.

Continue Reading