Paraphrasing Ideas in your Writing

Today, we're introducing paraphrasing and how you can use four simple steps to create an accurate and effective paraphrase.

Paraphrasing and summarising are key writing and research skills, and for these reasons, should be used more heavily than direct quotes.

Like summarising, paraphrasing involves rewriting the original idea in your own words. However, while a summary is shorter than the original and only captures the main points, a paraphrase is generally the same length as the original text and captures the same meaning as the original.

Now, let's create our own paraphrase. We're going to use this sample sentence to practice.

First, read and understand the original sentence. Read the original sentence over and over until you completely understand it. Once you fully understand the author's idea, you're ready to incorporate it into your argument.

Next, identify any key words or phrases. This can include any words with subject-specific meanings, numbers, and formula. You can highlight or underline them, or ideally, write them on a separate piece of paper.

Now you're ready to put the original sentence to one side and create a new sentence. Use the keywords and phrases as prompts to create your own sentence. Consider where you can change the word form or use a synonym. However, some terms have a very specific meaning and should stay the same. Using these terms, try writing your new sentence, taking care to maintain the same relationship between the main and supporting ideas.

Finally, compare your paraphrase to the original text. Ask yourself if the vocabulary and sentence structure are different from the original. Even if you have a short phrase or series of distinctive words from the original text, these words should be enclosed in quotation marks. Also, keep the meaning the same and the length similar to the original. Once you're happy with it, add an in-text citation and your paraphrase is complete. If you think you can improve your paraphrase further, it's okay to go back to step three and try again.

To change the sentence structure, try these strategies:

1. Change an active verb to passive.
2. Introduce a modal.
3. Change a positive statement to negative.

Using these strategies is effective because changing the word form can often force you to change the sentence structure.
So, follow these four steps, and you too can enhance your argument by incorporating and acknowledging others' ideas into your discussion.

For more information on academic integrity, research, referencing, and use of voice, go to the Academic Skills website.

今天，我们来介绍一下转述（paraphrasing），以及如何通过四个简单的步骤，写出准确有效的转述。

转述和总结是关键的写作与研究技能，因此，它们应该比直接引用使用得更频繁。

和总结一样，转述也需要用你自己的话重写原文的观点。但是，总结通常比原文短，只抓住要点；而转述通常与原文长度相近，并抓住与原文相同的含义。

现在，我们来试着自己写一段转述。我们将用这个例句来练习。

第一步，阅读并理解原句。反复阅读原句，直到你完全理解它。一旦你完全理解了作者的观点，就可以准备将其融入到你的论证中了。

第二步，找出任何关键词或短语。这可以包括任何具有特定学科含义的词语、数字和公式。你可以将它们高亮或划线，理想情况下，将它们写在一张单独的纸上。

现在你可以把原句放到一边，开始创造新的句子了。用你记下的关键词和短语作为提示来创造你自己的句子。考虑在哪里可以改变词性或使用同义词。不过，有些术语有非常特定的含义，应该保持不变。使用这些术语，试着写出你的新句子，注意保持主要观点和支持性观点之间的关系不变。

最后，将你的转述与原文进行比较。问问自己，词汇和句子结构是否与原文不同。即使你使用了原文中的一个短语或一系列独特的词语，这些词语也应该用引号括起来。另外，要保持意思相同，长度与原文相似。一旦你对结果满意，加上文内引用，你的转述就完成了。如果你觉得可以进一步改进你的转述，可以回到第三步再试一次。

要改变句子结构，可以尝试以下策略：

1. 将主动语态变为被动语态。
2. 引入一个情态动词。
3. 将肯定陈述变为否定陈述。

使用这些策略是有效的，因为改变词性常常会迫使你改变句子结构。所以，遵循这四个步骤，你也能通过将他人的观点融入并注明出处的方式，来增强你的论点。