why should you paraphrase your course material

Paraphrasing in academic writing is an effective way to restate, condense, or clarify another author's ideas while also providing credibility to your own argument or analysis. Successful paraphrasing is essential for strong academic writing, and unsuccessful paraphrasing can result in unintentional plagiarism.

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What is the purpose of a paraphrase?

Why do students need to paraphrase?

What are the benefits of including paraphrased material in your writing?

Why is it important to paraphrase every information that you want to include your study?

What are the five reasons for paraphrasing?

Why paraphrasing is important in communication?

Why is paraphrasing better than summarizing?

Is paraphrasing easier than summarizing?

When should you paraphrase?

What is the role of paraphrasing in reading skills?

Why do students need paraphrasing?

5 Reasons Why Students Need Paraphrasing. If writing is an art, then paraphrasing is the skill that makes it a masterpiece. Sadly, most of us, especially students, usually don’t have enough time to reword every word to perfection. But we still need the right choice of words in our daily life, such as in assignments, projects, thesis, etc.

Why is paraphrasing important?

Paraphrasing in organized thinking. It’s very important for a person to identify what he is thinking and transform his thoughts into words. But sometimes the words that come to our minds may not be the right ones. It’s essential to rephrase the words to represent and express ourselves more clearly.

Why don't we copy and paste?

The fact that we don’t just copy and paste the words we hear is because our subconscious mind knows that modifying the phrases gets our brain-wheels working, consequently, writing them in our own style helps us remember better.

Why do we write notes in our own way?

Creating the notes in our own way also gives a sense of freedom in expressing our thoughts.

Why do students go through a lot of pressure?

Students go through a lot of pressure due to their study, making it easier to get them distracted and scatter away.

Why do we write in class?

We write because we don’t want to forget. As a student, I always take notes in my classes because they help me to remember all the important things that the teachers say.

Do we need to change words?

But we still need the right choice of words in our daily life, such as in assignments, projects, thesis, etc. Thus, the need for changing words arises.

Why do jewelers like to display their goods on black velvet?

Do you know why jewelers like to display their goods on black velvet? It’s because the darkness of the fabric makes the jewels glitter brightly by comparison . Similarly, if you paraphrase the bulk of what your subjects tell you and quote only the most captivating phrases, you’ll be giving them a background of black velvet against which they can shine like diamonds.

What is the best thing about working in corporate communications?

One of the great things about working in corporate communications, as opposed to journalism, is the opportunity to have your stories reviewed by the people you interviewed. This prevents so many mistakes! It's a process that needs to be managed, of course. Maybe I should write column about that soon?!

Is #4 ethical?

I think we'd all agree that #1 is ethically OK (it's the truth, though it's journalistically a train wreck), and #4 isn't ethical ( it's not true).

Is paraphrasing a job?

Paraphrasing isn’t a job just for academics. It’s something that all writers need to learn how to do…

Why is paraphrasing important in academic writing?

Paraphrasing in academic writing is an effective way to restate, condense, or clarify another author's ideas while also providing credibility to your own argument or analysis. Successful paraphrasing is essential for strong academic writing, and unsuccessful paraphrasing can result in unintentional plagiarism.

How to integrate sources in a paragraph?

A strong way to integrate source material is to use transitions. As you integrate sources, you will also often begin analyzing the evidence

Why do authors add transitions?

Adding transitions allows the author to make connections while still presenting the paraphrased source material.

Do you need to cite paraphrased material?

Even though paraphrasing means that you are restating information in your own words, you must give credit to the original source of the information. Citations for paraphrased material should always include both the author and the year.

How to paraphrase a sentence?

What strategies can I use to paraphrase? 1 Use synonyms for all words that are not generic. Words like world, food, or science are so basic to our vocabulary that is difficult to find a synonym. 2 Change the structure of the sentence. 3 Change the voice from active to passive and vice versa. 4 Change clauses to phrases and vice versa. 5 Change parts of speech.

Do words like brain need to be changed?

Words like brain are generic and do not need to be changed. Siegel (1986) writes that the relationship between the chemicals in the brain and our thoughts and feelings remains only partially understood. He goes on to say, however, that one thing is clear: our mental state affects our bodily state.

Is Thurow's exact words cited?

The writer has used Thurow's exact words without enclosing them in quotation marks. S/he has only substituted synonyms here and there. Even though Thurow is credited with a citation, this would be considered plagiarism.

Can you use globalization without quotation marks?

Thus you may use these words without placing them in quotation marks.

Why do we paraphrase?

One major reason to paraphrase is to capture main idea of the original text without using so many words. Use only one sentence or two in your paraphrase to capture this main idea—even if the original is an entire paragraph.

When paraphrasing, do you use your own terms?

When you paraphrase, use your own terms along with the key terms from the source material.

What is direct quote?

Direct Quote: simply a “copy-and-paste” of the original words and/or word order. In all research papers with formatting guidelines (APA, AMA, MLA, etc.), quoted text must be accompanied by quotation marks and in-text citation.

What is the best resource for finding words that are synonymous with or similar to those in the original text?

A thesaurus can be an excellent resource for finding terms that are synonymous with or similar to those in the original text, especially for non-native English speakers. However, be careful not to use terms that you don’t fully understand or that might not make sense in the context of your paper.

Why are some details from the original source quoted?

Some details from the original source are quoted because they are taken directly from the text. They provide important information that readers might need to know and it thus makes more sense to use quotes here.

How do authors show their positions regarding the original content?

Authors also show their positions regarding the original content by using verbs that are neutral, that show agreement, or that show disagreement. A relative pronoun (“that,” “how,” “if”) is also used in many instances.

Is paraphrasing a good way to reduce plagiarism?

Although paraphrasing can be very helpful in helping to reduce instances of plagiarism, writers still need to follow the rules of citation and referencing carefully. Here are a few things you must keep in mind when paraphrasing any original material.

Why is it important to check your paraphrase against the source material?

It is important to check your paraphrase against the source material to make sure it is both accurate and original. Inexperienced writers sometimes use the thesaurus method of paraphrasing—that is, they simply rewrite the source material, replacing most of the words with synonyms. This constitutes a misuse of sources.

What is the difference between a paraphrased source and a summarized source?

When you paraphrase material from a source, you restate the information from an entire sentence or passage in your own words, using your own original sentence structure. A paraphrased source differs from a summarized source in that you focus on restating the ideas, not condensing them .

Why do we need to teach paraphrasing?

We also need to teach paraphrasing, of course, so that students develop the skill set required to avoid committing plagiarism unintentionally.

Why is paraphrasing important?

But teaching effective paraphrasing is necessary because the use of paraphrasing facilitates important literacy skills: It encourages repeated reading, develops note-taking habits as students track quotes and outline text details, and expands vocabulary as they consider appropriate ways to describe the original text. The skill may seem daunting to students because it takes time to find the appropriate words to reshape a sentence, but that is time well spent.

How to paraphrase a sentence?

Because the journey to paraphrasing may involve a few hiccups, it’s a good idea to identify potential student challenges. When paraphrasing, remind students that they should: 1 Attempt to describe the text in their own words gradually, one component at a time (thanks to Doug Lemov and Maggie Johnson for this close reading strategy). For instance, they might first use their own words to describe significant phrases in the reading, and then make an effort to explain one or two key sentences, and finally attempt to paraphrase an entire paragraph. 2 Monitor the similarities between the text and the paraphrase. For instance, after describing specific sentences or paragraphs, they should note how many words are shared. Instead of using the same words as the author, focus on mirroring the same main idea. The Poorvu Center for Teaching and Learning at Yale offers easy-to-follow models for how to achieve this. 3 Ensure that there is a sufficient number of word substitutions in the paraphrased material. (Substituting only a couple of words could constitute plagiarism.) Students should focus on changing the structure of the sentence. This may involve converting a simple sentence to a compound sentence or adding a prepositional phrase. 4 Avoid adjusting special language (acronyms, figurative language, jargon, etc.). These kinds of terms are considered common knowledge, so using them in a paraphrase doesn’t constitute plagiarism. Resources such as the Purdue Online Writing Lab can help students figure out whether a particular term is common knowledge.

How can teachers push students to move beyond copying?

Teachers can push students to move beyond copying by encouraging them to see paraphrasing as the go-to reading response. When we equip students with needed resources, we make student voice the rule instead of the exception.

How to avoid plagiarism in a paraphrase?

Ensure that there is a sufficient number of word substitutions in the paraphrased material. (Substituting only a couple of words could constitute plagiarism.) Students should focus on changing the structure of the sentence. This may involve converting a simple sentence to a compound sentence or adding a prepositional phrase.

What is a phrasebank?

Academic Phrasebank: Ready-made phrases help students organize their sentences when they paraphrase. The site provides sentence starters for defining ideas, comparing and contrasting ideas, describing cause and effect, and explaining evidence to support statements.

What is the Ashford University Writing Center?

Ashford University Writing Center: This website has a five-item quiz to review the paraphrasing process. It allows students to identify examples and non-examples of paraphrasing for a given text.