USU Libraries Avoiding Plagiarism & Citing Sources

What Is Paraphrasing?

Paraphrasing is the process of rewording an original piece of text to help clarify it, or give it more meaning. Paraphrasing is meant to simplify the original statement and make it easier for the reader to understand.

When Should You Paraphrase?

What situation best describes when you should paraphrase?

When you want to say something in the author's exact words.

Try again, this is quoting.

When you want to condense another source's main points.

Close but this is actually summarizing.

When you want to clarify another source in your own words.

Correct!

What Does Paraphrasing Look Like?

Paraphrasing with MLA Citation

Excerpt from Donald Trump’s Press Conference on February 16, 2017:

“And, you know, you can talk all you want about Russia, which was all, you know, fake news, fabricated deal, to try and make up for the loss of the Democrats and the press plays right into it. In fact, I saw a couple of the people that were supposedly involved with all of this -- that they know nothing about it; they weren't in Russia; they never made a phone call to Russia; they never received a phone call.”

Paraphrased Passage in Student's Paper:

Donald Trump claims that the Press are fabricating stories about Russia possibly hacking the 2016 election. He claims that he has encountered people supposedly involved in this hack, and uses their denials of being involved as evidence that they were not (Trump 1).

MLA Citation:

Trump, Donald. “Remarks by President Trump in Press Conference.” 16 February 2017, https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2017/02/16/remarks-president-trump-press-conference. Transcript.

Paraphrasing with APA Citation

 Original Passage:

“The universe of Star Wars didn’t just feel real in the moment; it felt as if it had existed before the film started and would go on long after it was over. It felt as if it extended out beyond the visible frame of the image, on and on, world without end.”

Paraphrased in Student's Paper

Grossman praises the visual world of Star Wars: The Force Awakens—suggesting that the world is so well constructed, that it is hard to accept as a movie set (p. 58).

APA Citation

Grossman, L. (2015). A new new hope: How J.J. Abrams brought back star wars using puppets, greebles, and yak hair. (cover story). Time, 186(24), 56-75.