UMGC Effective Writing Center Paraphrasing

Actual student email: "I am totally confused. I do not understand paraphrasing. When I read something, I should try to change the sentence to my own words, right? Then use a citation. But when I use my own words, what if they still sound like something someone else wrote? (This is what scares me the most and it made me lose my focus on the paper)."

Sound familiar?

First, you will be delighted to learn that much of the confusion about paraphrasing comes from a simple misuse of words. You've been told many times that to paraphrase something is to "put it into your own words."

Well, that is not exactly the case.

To paraphrase something means to "put it into your own phrases," not your own words. If the source you are paraphrasing is describing the Great Mississippi River Flood of 1927, which covered 14% of the entire state of Louisiana, guess what? There is only one word for:

• Mississippi
• 1927
• Louisiana
•  14%

Obviously, paraphrasing isn't about "putting things in your own words" since you have no choice but to use those exact words. Paraphrasing is about putting things into your own phrases. Matter of fact, if you "put things into your own words" and don't change the basic sentence structure, you are still guilty of plagiarism. It is called "mosaic plagiarism." Here is what it looks like:

Original: "The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927--which covered large portions of Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Tennessee under 30 feet of water--is considered the most destructive river flood in United States history." (Source: “Fatal Flood,” http://www.pbs.org, 1999)

Incorrect Paraphrase (mosaic plagiarism): The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927--which inundated great patches of Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Tennessee under 10 meters of water--is often called the most devastating flood in American history (“Fatal Flood,” 1999).

See how 9 out of 20 words were changed (those not bolded)! And yet it's STILL PLAGIARISM! Even though a source citation is given.

Yes, lots of words were changed—

• covered -> inundated
• large portions -> great patches
• is considered -> is often called
• most destructive -> most devastating
• United States -> American

But the phrasing didn't change; therefore, the writer has committed plagiarism—even though there is a citation and even though nearly half the words were changed. However, the author’s sentence structure or phrasing is repeated. Guilty.

To avoid plagiarism when paraphrasing/summarizing: 

1. read the source closely
2. put the source away, then 
3. rewrite the information from memory, phrasing it in your own way so that it fits into the paragraph you are writing and the point you're trying to make. When done, make sure that you compare your version to the original to check facts and to weed out any unintentional borrowing of phrases.

Let’s take a look at the correct way of doing it:

Original: "The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927--which covered large portions of Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Tennessee under 30 feet of water--is considered the most destructive river flood in United States history." (Source: “Fatal Flood,” http://www.pbs.org, 1999)

Good Paraphrase: In 1927, The Great Mississippi Flood drowned large portions of six states, including Louisiana, and is still remembered as the worst our country has ever known (“Fatal Flood,” 1999).

But wait! Many of the same words were used! Isn't this writer guilty of plagiarism?? Just look at all the words the writer “stole”:

• The Great Mississippi Flood
• 1927
• large portions
• Louisiana

No, the paraphrase is not plagiarized. The information from the source has been clearly translated into the writer's own phrasing. Repeating key words from a source is necessary and permissible so long as you create your own sentences for the words to be used in.

The only other change needed, just to be on the safe side, would be to revise "large portions" in the paraphrase to "massive areas." This shows the importance of the last step of paraphrasing: compare your version to the original to check facts and to weed out any phrasing ("large portions" is a phrase) that you unintentionally borrowed.