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Guide to paraphrase
Learn to Paraphrase


A paraphrase is a detailed restatement in your own words of a written or sometimes spoken passage. Apart from the
changes in organization, wording, and sentence structure, the paraphrase should be nearly identical in meaning to
the original passage.

Some criterias for a good paraphrasing:
• Include all important ideas mentioned in the original passage but not in the same order.
• Keep the length approximately the same as the original.
• Do not stress any single point more than another.
• Do not change the meaning by adding your own thoughts or views.
• Do not use the original sentence structure.

Some tips for paraphrasing:
1. Understand the meaning of the passage thoroughly (read the passage several times and consult a dictionary)
2. Outline the passage or subdivide the information into smaller sections. Remember that the paraphrase must
include all the important ideas mentioned in the original passage.
3. Restate the information remembering the following:
3.1 Replace as many of the words as possible with appropriate synonyms (substitute a phrase in place of a word,
or a word in place of a phrase. When changing words, consider the context in which the word is used, because
most words have more than one meaning and association.. Using an inappropriate synonym may change the
entire meaning of the passage. (Dictionaries are frequently better for this step than thesauruses.)
3.2 Change the order and structure of the ideas or argument.
3.3 Change the structure of the sentences. Each one has their own writing styles. Change the sentences to reflect
yours. Be careful not to change the meaning by adding or leaving out any important information.
4. Make sure that your writing is faithful to the meaning of the source and accurately represented the main ideas.

Example
Original passage:

Statements that seem complimentary (ca ngo in one context may be inappropriate in another. For example, women
in business are usually uncomfortable if male colleagues or superiors compliment them on their appearance: the
comments suggest that the women are being treated as visual decoration rather than as contributing workers. (p.
323)
---Locker, K. O. (2003). Business and administrative communication (6th ed.). St. Louis, MO: Irwin/McGraw-Hill.

Let’s first identify the important ideas in this passage:
• Appropriateness of statements is situational.
• Example is that working women may view compliments about appearance as
offensive.
• These compliments can be offensive because they may imply women are
“decoration.”

Read the sample paraphrases below. For each of the paraphrases, determine if both wording and sentence structure
were changed. Also check to see if all of the original points were included and if the original meaning was retained.

Paraphrase A:
Words or expressions which appear favorable in one situation might be improper in a different situation. For
instance, employed females are often uneasy when they are given positive comments on their looks. These remarks
imply that the females are being viewed as adornment instead of as productive employees (Locker, 2003).

Comment: Although this paraphrase does a good job of changing the wording, it is not effective for two main
reasons. First, it follows the sentence structure of the original passage too closely. Second, it fails to mention
anything about "male colleagues or superiors." It also follows the same order or structure of ideas.
Guide to paraphrase

Paraphrase B:
Some statements may be inappropriate in one context, even though they are complimentary in another.
Compliments by male colleagues or superiors regarding a female coworker’s appearance, for example, often make
the woman feel uncomfortable. Instead of treating the women as contributing workers, men obviously think of them

as visual decoration (Locker, 2003).

Comment: While this paraphrase does a better job of changing the sentence structure, it also is ineffective. It uses
too many of the words from the original passage. Further, it changes the meaning when it declares that "men
obviously think of them as visual decoration." It also follows the same order or structure of ideas

Paraphrase C:
Women may feel uneasy upon receiving ordinarily positive comments on their appearance from male coworkers or
supervisors. To these women, the remarks carry an implied meaning: instead of being thought of as productive
employees, they are actually being viewed as just a pretty part of the atmosphere. Depending on the situation, words
or expressions which appear favorable may actually be unsuitable in a conversation (Locker, 2003).

Comment: This paraphrase is the most effective. In addition to changing both the wording and sentence structure, it
includes all points and retains the meaning of the original passage. It also changes the order of ideas.]

Exercises
Now, let’s try some exercises to check your understanding of how to paraphrase.

Exercise I:
At least four separate theories of crime and punishment compete for preeminence in guiding correctional policies.
Justice: First, there is the ancient Judeo-Christian idea of holding individuals responsible for their guilty acts and
compelling them to pay a debt to society. Retribution is an expression of society’s moral outrage, and it lessens the
impulse of victims and their families to seek revenge. Deterrence: Another philosophy argues that punishment
should be sure, speedy, commensurate with the crime, and sufficiently conspicuous to deter others from committing
crimes. Incapacitation: Still another philosophy in correctional policy is that of protecting the public from
lawbreakers or habitual criminals by segregating them behind prison walls. Rehabilitation: Finally, there is the
theory that criminals are partly or entirely victims of social circumstances beyond their control and that society
owes them comprehensive treatment in the form of rehabilitation. (p. 100-101)
--Dye, T. (1995). Understanding public policy (8th ed.). Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice Hall.

Use the lines below to identify the main points:
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Now let’s look at a sample paraphrase of the passage. This sample paraphrase has several key problems. Read the
paraphrase and then write in the box the left some of the problems with this paraphrase.

Four separate theories about crime and punishment compete in guiding
correctional policies. The first is an ancient Judeo-Christian idea of justice. This
idea holds individuals responsible for their own actions and compels them to pay a
debt to society. In this case, retribution is an expression of society’s moral
outrage. This lessens the impulse of victims to seek revenge. A second theory of
crime and punishment is deterrence. This philosophy argues that punishment
Your comments:
Guide to paraphrase
should certain, swift, and commensurate with the crime. If punishment is
conspicuous, this theory holds that it will deter others from committing crime. A
third theory is the theory of incapacitation. This theory is to protect the public
from criminals by placing criminals behind prison walls. A final theory of crime
and punishment is the theory of rehabilitation. This theory suggests that criminals
are victims of social circumstances beyond their control. In this instance society
owes them comprehensive treatment in the form of rehabilitation (Dye, 1995).



Write your own paraphrase of the passage in the space below.
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Exercise II:
Sentence rhythm is a feature of all modes of language, not just speech. The peaks and valleys are there when we
read silently, and they are there when we write, as we think of the words and phrases while moving our pen or
punching the keyboard. Although philosophers may debate about whether it’s possible to think in the absence of
language, we are certainly conscious of doing our own thinking in words. In fact, we often “write” mental lists; we
hold silent conversations with ourselves; we scold ourselves; we rehearse what we plan to say to others and what we
wish we had said but didn’t. And that interior language, the sentences and fragments of our inner voice, has all the
peaks and valleys that our spoken language has. (p. 25)
--Kolin, M. (1999). Rhetorical grammar: Grammatical choices, rhetorical effects (3rd ed.). Boston: Allyn and
Bacon.

Exercise III:
While may people separate ethical and legal issues, the boundary between these issues is often ambiguous to the
business manager who is not ordinarily trained as a lawyer. The manager is trained to make functional business
decisions and yet has a responsibility for the management of legal and ethical affairs. When it is suggested that legal
and ethical decisions are independent, there is an assumption that the good executive “instinctively” recognizes
differences in legal and ethical issues. While there are some legal issues that are obvious, many borderline ethics
decisions result in civil litigation. In reality, civil complaints and litigation are a formal procedure resolving ethical
disputes between two parties.
--Ferrell, O.C. & Fraedrich, J. (1997). Business ethics. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company.

Exercise I: Problems with the Sample Paraphrase
The writer of the paraphrase did not change the structure of ideas, sentence structure, or wording. Essentially,
this writer is guilty of plagiarism


Guide to paraphrase
Extra practices
1. "At some point in the assimilation to the new way, the immigrant child realizes that his or her parents are no
longer sources of real knowledge about the new society. Their information and their way of life are no longer the
way to success, and as soon as the child understands this, his or her attitude towards the parents changes. Though
some people consider such changes to be a betrayal, they are an inevitable part of assimilation." (Adam Khutorsky,
"Immigrants Adapting")
2. "The undermining of self, of a woman’s sense of her right to occupy space and walk freely in the world, is deeply
relevant to education. The capacity to think independently, to take intellectual risks, to assert ourselves mentally, is
inseparable from our physical way of being in the world, our feelings of personal integrity. If it is dangerous for me
to walk home late from the library, because I am a woman and can be raped, how self-possessed, how exuberant can
I feel as I sit working in the library? How much of my working energy is drained by the subliminal knowledge that,
as a woman, I test my physical right to exist each time I go out alone?" (Adrienne Rich, "Taking Women Students
Seriously")
3. "Email's intoxicating qualities are now well known: It's convenient, efficient, simple, and informal, a way to stay
connected to more people, a democratizing force in the workplace and less intrusive than the telephone. But as
email proliferates, its more pernicious effects are increasingly evident. Much as it facilitates the conduct of business,
email is threatening to overrun people's lives." (Tony Schwartz, "Going Postal")

4. "The Antarctic is the vast source of cold on our planet, just as the sun is the source of our heat, and it exerts
tremendous control on our climate," [Jacques] Cousteau told the camera.
"The cold ocean water around Antarctica flows north to mix with warmer water from the tropics, and its upwellings
help to cool both the surface water and our atmosphere. Yet the fragility of this regulating system is now threatened
by human activity." From "Captain Cousteau," Audubon (May 1990):17.

5. Of the more than 1000 bicycling deaths each year, three-fourths are caused by head injuries. Half of those killed
are school-age children. One study concluded that wearing a bike helmet can reduce the risk of head injury by 85
percent. In an accident, a bike helmet absorbs the shock and cushions the head. From "Bike Helmets: Unused
Lifesavers," Consumer Reports (May 1990): 348.

6. While the Sears Tower is arguably the greatest achievement in skyscraper engineering so far, it's unlikely that
architects and engineers have abandoned the quest for the world's tallest building. The question is: Just how high
can a building go? Structural engineer William LeMessurier has designed a skyscraper nearly one-half mile high,
twice as tall as the Sears Tower. And architect Robert Sobel claims that existing technology could produce a 500-
story building. From Ron Bachman, "Reaching for the Sky." Dial (May 1990): 15.