Paraphrasing is a way of incorporating other people's thoughts into your writing without using direct quotes. You can use paraphrasing to prove or support an idea. If you want to paraphrase, you must be able to accurately present the original author's ideas using your own words. After that, make sure you entered the source correctly.
Step
Part 1 of 3: Checking Quotes
Step 1. Choose 1-3 quotes
Don't try to paraphrase too much information at once. Focus on the sentences that are most effective in supporting your idea or argument, and condense them into one paraphrasing statement. If you want to use longer text, we recommend writing a summary.
- A summary is broader than a paraphrase because it focuses on the main points of the entire section and summarizes the text as a whole. Paraphrasing focuses on the main idea or concept in a larger work.
- Choose a quote that supports the argument directly. For example, statistical data published in an article or expert opinion on an issue you wrote.
Step 2. Annotate the quote by identifying the main idea and supporting details
Determine what the author is saying, such as the main point or argument. Then, note how they support the idea. What does the quote mean in its entirety?
- Write detailed notes. This helps you understand the quote, and also condenses notes into a single paraphrase.
- For example, you choose this quote: "Unexpectedly, the installation of traffic lights does not reduce the level of congestion on this road. Travel time from the city center to the nearest residential area is on average 40 minutes before the traffic lights are installed. After installation, the average the travel time is 38 minutes, which is not a significant difference." In this quote, the author's main idea is that traffic lights do not solve the problem of congestion on the road, and the supporting details are statistics in the form of travel times that are not too different before and after installation.
Step 3. Paraphrase the quote if the words are no more important than the idea itself
If you can express the same idea in different words, it's a good idea to paraphrase. This ensures more of your words. Plus, you don't have to include too many quotes.
- Paraphrasing is a great idea for citing data, facts, or statistics.
- You can use paraphrasing to avoid too many direct quotes. Paraphrasing condenses ideas in quotes and changes the original language.
- Paraphrases must still be referenced. If not, then you are committing plagiarism.
- For example, use direct quotes in dialogue, poetry, speech, or unique phrases. Meanwhile, other information can be paraphrased.
Step 4. Avoid paraphrasing if direct quote phrases are important
Direct citations are more important if you need the author's original words to retain meaning, expert authority to pronounce them, and impressive wording. For example, you can quote Soekarno's words directly, Give me a thousand parents, I will surely uproot Semeru from the roots. Give me ten young men, I will surely shake the world” because his original words are important.
- We recommend using direct quotes for the words of political figures, celebrities, or writers.
- If the language of your text is important, direct quotes are probably best. However, you can choose to paraphrase long paragraphs or sentences to make them more concise and concise.
Part 2 of 3: Using Your Own Words
Step 1. Read again the citation to be used
You have to really understand the quote before you can paraphrase it. In some cases, the quote has to be read over and over again.
- Focus on the idea in the quote. What is the author trying to convey?
- For example, you can reread the quote, check the notes, and read the quote again.
Step 2. Restate the idea in your own words
Use your notes and understanding of the text as a whole. Don't just replace the words in the original quote with their synonyms because it still counts as plagiarism. Instead, make sure your paraphrase is original. This means that you should also use a different sentence structure, which suits your essay style.
- For example, here is the original quote: “Our results show that 40% of voters in the Pemilukada have not made their choice until they arrive at the polling station.”
- This sentence includes plagiarism: "Their research results indicate that 40% of people who vote in the General Election of Regional Heads decide who they will vote for after being in the polling station booth."
- So, it's better to write something like this: "Based on this study, 40% of the people wait until they are at the TPS for the Regional Head Election to choose who will lead them."
Step 3. Compare your paraphrase with the original quote
Read the two sentences aloud and make sure the idea is the same, but the words are different. Paraphrasing must be sufficiently different so as not to constitute plagiarism, but not to deviate from the author's intent.
- Revise again if you're not sure if the paraphrase adequately reflects the original quote.
- Try having someone else read your original quote and paraphrase. Ask for input on whether your paraphrase adequately reflects the author's ideas.
Step 4. Make sure your paraphrase reflects the author's intent
Sometimes, paraphrasing unknowingly leaves the context of the quote so that it does not match the author's intent. The paraphrase supports your argument, but is not accurate. Anything quoted from a source must reflect the original author's intent in the context of his work as a whole.
- For example, the original author stated a case study of a small-town special election about allowing dogs in city parks. Inside is the quote “When we spoke to people who voted against it, we found most of them had no problem with the existence of dogs themselves. However, they don't like the way supporters pressure them to change the park's rules."
- If your paper is about elections in general, it would be wrong to use a quote like this: “According to Budiman, most of the people who participated in the election cared more about the campaign than the election itself.” This does not reflect the original intent of the author.
Step 5. Do not use quotation marks in paraphrasing
Since the paraphrase is written in your own words, there is no need to use quotation marks to enclose it. Just write like any other piece of text in your own language.
Use quotation marks to enclose any unique words needed to convey the original author's intent. For example, when quoting a phrase from the book Freakonomics by Stephen J. Dubner and Steven Levitt, you should enclose the term “freakonomics” in quotation marks
Part 3 of 3: Inserting Quotation Sources
Step 1. Check the instructor's preferred citation style guide
The most popular guides are MLA, APA, and Chicago Style. You should follow the guidelines when including a citation source either in the form of a paraphrase in the text or on the source page at the end of the paper.
Check the assignment guide or talk to an instructor. If you use the wrong citation style, you may not receive full marks
Step 2. Use brackets for in-text citations in MLA or APA style
You must include the source of the paraphrase right after it. Enter the publication information in parentheses after the paraphrase.
- If using MLA, enter the author's last name and page number in parentheses. For example, “Children should play outside for one hour every day (Lopez 25-27).
- For APA format, you must enter the author's name and year of publication. For example, “Children should play outside for one hour every day (Lopez 2018).
- If you paraphrase the author's name in both formats, you may not include his name in the source again. For MLA, write something like this: “According to Lopez, children should play outdoors for an hour every day (25-27).
Step 3. Enter a footnote for Chicago Style
After paraphrasing, enter a small number near the period. Then, use the formatting tool in your word processor program to insert a footnote at the bottom of the page. Enter all publication information from the Bibliography page. However, write the author's first name first, followed by the last name.
- Prefix the footnote number from 1 onwards.
- Here's an example of a footnote: 1Eva S. Lopez, “Rejecting Dogs: Campaign Failures” in Case Studies in Local Politics (New York: LightOn Publications, 2018), 122-137.
Step 4. Create a Cited Works, Reference, or Bibliography page
You must prepare the source of the citation according to the specified style. Each source type has its own format for recording author, title, and publisher information.
- Cited Works page for MLA style.
- Reference Page for APA.
- In Chicago Style, you have to create a Bibliography.
Tips
- This technique can be applied to all forms of writing, whether for elementary school, junior high, high school, college, or work assignments.
- Paraphrasing means expressing someone else's idea in one's own words. That's why you still have to include the source.
- See references or guides for examples of citations and paraphrases, and how to include sources.
- This technique should not be used to quote dialogue in an essay. If you want to include dialogue snippets from literary works, use direct quotes.
