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• How to Paraphrase | Step-by-Step Guide & Examples

How to Paraphrase | Step-by-Step Guide & Examples

Published on April 8, 2022 by Courtney Gahan and Jack Caulfield. Revised on June 1, 2023.

Paraphrasing means putting someone else’s ideas into your own words. Paraphrasing a source involves changing the wording while preserving the original meaning.

Paraphrasing is an alternative to  quoting (copying someone’s exact words and putting them in quotation marks ). In academic writing, it’s usually better to integrate sources by paraphrasing instead of quoting. It shows that you have understood the source, reads more smoothly, and keeps your own voice front and center.

Every time you paraphrase, it’s important to cite the source . Also take care not to use wording that is too similar to the original. Otherwise, you could be at risk of committing plagiarism .

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Table of contents

How to paraphrase in five easy steps, how to paraphrase correctly, examples of paraphrasing, how to cite a paraphrase, paraphrasing vs. quoting, paraphrasing vs. summarizing, avoiding plagiarism when you paraphrase, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about paraphrasing.

If you’re struggling to get to grips with the process of paraphrasing, check out our easy step-by-step guide in the video below.

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Putting an idea into your own words can be easier said than done. Let’s say you want to paraphrase the text below, about population decline in a particular species of sea snails.

Incorrect paraphrasing

You might make a first attempt to paraphrase it by swapping out a few words for  synonyms .

Like other sea creatures inhabiting the vicinity of highly populated coasts, horse conchs have lost substantial territory to advancement and contamination , including preferred breeding grounds along mud flats and seagrass beds. Their Gulf home is also heating up due to global warming , which scientists think further puts pressure on the creatures , predicated upon the harmful effects extra warmth has on other large mollusks (Barnett, 2022).

This attempt at paraphrasing doesn’t change the sentence structure or order of information, only some of the word choices. And the synonyms chosen are poor:

• “Advancement and contamination” doesn’t really convey the same meaning as “development and pollution.”
• Sometimes the changes make the tone less academic: “home” for “habitat” and “sea creatures” for “marine animals.”
• Adding phrases like “inhabiting the vicinity of” and “puts pressure on” makes the text needlessly long-winded.
• Global warming is related to climate change, but they don’t mean exactly the same thing.

Because of this, the text reads awkwardly, is longer than it needs to be, and remains too close to the original phrasing. This means you risk being accused of plagiarism .

Correct paraphrasing

Let’s look at a more effective way of paraphrasing the same text.

Here, we’ve:

• Only included the information that’s relevant to our argument (note that the paraphrase is shorter than the original)
• Introduced the information with the signal phrase “Scientists believe that …”
• Retained key terms like “development and pollution,” since changing them could alter the meaning
• Structured sentences in our own way instead of copying the structure of the original
• Started from a different point, presenting information in a different order

Because of this, we’re able to clearly convey the relevant information from the source without sticking too close to the original phrasing.

Explore the tabs below to see examples of paraphrasing in action.

• Journal article
• Newspaper article
• Magazine article

Once you have your perfectly paraphrased text, you need to ensure you credit the original author. You’ll always paraphrase sources in the same way, but you’ll have to use a different type of in-text citation depending on what citation style you follow.

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It’s a good idea to paraphrase instead of quoting in most cases because:

• Paraphrasing shows that you fully understand the meaning of a text
• Your own voice remains dominant throughout your paper
• Quotes reduce the readability of your text

But that doesn’t mean you should never quote. Quotes are appropriate when:

• Giving a precise definition
• Saying something about the author’s language or style (e.g., in a literary analysis paper)
• Providing evidence in support of an argument
• Critiquing or analyzing a specific claim

A paraphrase puts a specific passage into your own words. It’s typically a similar length to the original text, or slightly shorter.

When you boil a longer piece of writing down to the key points, so that the result is a lot shorter than the original, this is called summarizing .

Paraphrasing and quoting are important tools for presenting specific information from sources. But if the information you want to include is more general (e.g., the overarching argument of a whole article), summarizing is more appropriate.

When paraphrasing, you have to be careful to avoid accidental plagiarism .

This can happen if the paraphrase is too similar to the original quote, with phrases or whole sentences that are identical (and should therefore be in quotation marks). It can also happen if you fail to properly cite the source.

Paraphrasing tools are widely used by students, and can be especially useful for non-native speakers who may find academic writing particularly challenging. While these can be helpful for a bit of extra inspiration, use these tools sparingly, keeping academic integrity in mind.

To make sure you’ve properly paraphrased and cited all your sources, you could elect to run a plagiarism check before submitting your paper. And of course, always be sure to read your source material yourself and take the first stab at paraphrasing on your own.

If you want to know more about ChatGPT, AI tools , citation , and plagiarism , make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples.

• ChatGPT vs human editor
• ChatGPT citations
• Is ChatGPT trustworthy?
• Using ChatGPT for your studies
• What is ChatGPT?
• Chicago style
• Critical thinking

 Plagiarism

• Types of plagiarism
• Self-plagiarism
• Avoiding plagiarism
• Academic integrity
• Consequences of plagiarism
• Common knowledge

To paraphrase effectively, don’t just take the original sentence and swap out some of the words for synonyms. Instead, try:

• Reformulating the sentence (e.g., change active to passive , or start from a different point)
• Combining information from multiple sentences into one
• Leaving out information from the original that isn’t relevant to your point
• Using synonyms where they don’t distort the meaning

The main point is to ensure you don’t just copy the structure of the original text, but instead reformulate the idea in your own words.

Paraphrasing without crediting the original author is a form of plagiarism , because you’re presenting someone else’s ideas as if they were your own.

However, paraphrasing is not plagiarism if you correctly cite the source . This means including an in-text citation and a full reference, formatted according to your required citation style .

As well as citing, make sure that any paraphrased text is completely rewritten in your own words.

Plagiarism means using someone else’s words or ideas and passing them off as your own. Paraphrasing means putting someone else’s ideas in your own words.

So when does paraphrasing count as plagiarism?

• Paraphrasing is plagiarism if you don’t properly credit the original author.
• Paraphrasing is plagiarism if your text is too close to the original wording (even if you cite the source). If you directly copy a sentence or phrase, you should quote it instead.
• Paraphrasing  is not plagiarism if you put the author’s ideas completely in your own words and properly cite the source .

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To present information from other sources in academic writing , it’s best to paraphrase in most cases. This shows that you’ve understood the ideas you’re discussing and incorporates them into your text smoothly.

It’s appropriate to quote when:

• Changing the phrasing would distort the meaning of the original text
• You want to discuss the author’s language choices (e.g., in literary analysis )
• You’re presenting a precise definition
• You’re looking in depth at a specific claim

Cite this Scribbr article

If you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the “Cite this Scribbr article” button to automatically add the citation to our free Citation Generator.

Gahan, C. & Caulfield, J. (2023, June 01). How to Paraphrase | Step-by-Step Guide & Examples. Scribbr. Retrieved April 2, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/working-with-sources/how-to-paraphrase/

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– 7 min read

How to paraphrase (including examples)

Jessica Malnik

Paraphrasing has gotten a bad reputation due to its association with plagiarism . However, when used correctly, paraphrasing has the potential to elevate your writing and give you a better understanding of the research.

In this post, we’ll discuss what paraphrasing is, why we do it, and 6 steps to walk you through the process. We’ll also share what not to do with paraphrasing, along with some examples.

Paraphrasing definition and rules

Paraphrasing is simply a way of summarizing someone else’s content in your own words. When you paraphrase, you keep the meaning or intent of the original work without copying it word for word. However, paraphrasing can quickly become a form of plagiarism if done incorrectly. This is why it’s crucial to follow the rules of paraphrasing.

When borrowing the ideas from someone else’s content, there’s one important rule to follow: you must correctly cite your source. This can be done in a number of ways depending on the style guide you use. 

Source citing is different for MLA and APA formatting and style guides. You’ll need to familiarize yourself with the citation formats for whichever one you follow. However, in some cases, simply hyperlinking the source will be sufficient.

Why do we paraphrase?

There are a number of reasons that professional writers and students alike choose to paraphrase content. Here are just a few of the common reasons that a writer would choose to paraphrase instead of including a quote or summarization.

Process information better 

One benefit of paraphrasing is that it helps you process the author’s ideas. When you have to rewrite the material in your own words, it makes you really think about the context and how it fits into your piece. If you want to really understand the material you’re citing, try rewriting it. If you were to quote the same information, you would miss out on the benefit of analyzing the source material.

For example, if you are writing a research paper all about Shakespeare’s influence on modern-day literature, you don’t want to just use a ton of direct quotes, instead by paraphrasing original passages, it can help you comprehend and analyze the material better.  

Improve your credibility with readers

You can also improve your credibility by association with the sources you decide to paraphrase. 

When you rewrite the material, you create a connection between your content and the knowledge from the source. 

Your audience will have a better understanding of the direction of your piece if you’re paraphrasing a reputable source with established authority on the subject.

Present data in an interesting way

If you’re referencing a data-heavy webpage or study, then paraphrasing is an engaging way to present the information in your own writing style. 

This allows you to tell a story with the source material instead of simply citing numbers or graphs.

Show that you understand the source

Another reason for paraphrasing that’s particularly important in academic writing is to demonstrate that you’ve read and comprehended the source material. 

For example, if all of you are doing is copying and pasting the original words of a textbook, you aren’t really learning anything new. When you summarize the material in your own words, it helps you to understand the material faster.  

How to paraphrase in 6 steps

Paraphrasing is simple when you break it down into a series of steps. 

Here are the 6 steps you can use to paraphrase your sources:

1. Choose a reputable source

First, you need to pick a credible source to paraphrase. A credible source will likely have ideas and concepts that are worth repeating. Be sure to research the author’s name and publisher’s credentials and endorsements (if applicable).

You’ll also want to check the date of the publication as well to make sure it’s current enough to include in your writing.

2. Read and re-read the source material

You want to be sure that you understand the context and information in the original source before you can begin to rework it into your own words. Read through it as many times as you need so you’re sure that you grasp the meaning.

3. Take some notes 

Once you have an understanding of the passage, you’ll want to jot down your initial thoughts. 

What are the key concepts in the source material? 

What are the most interesting parts? 

For this part, it helps to break up the content into different sections. This step will give you a sort of mini-outline before you proceed with rephrasing the material.

4. Write a rough draft

Write your version of the content without looking at the original source material. This part is important. 

With the source hidden, you’ll be less likely to pull phrasing and structure from the original. You are welcome to reference your notes, though. This will help you write the content in your own words without leaning on the source but still hit the key points you want to cover.

5. Compare and revise

Once you have your initial draft written, you should look at it side by side with the original source. Adjust as needed to ensure your version is written in a way that’s unique to your voice. 

This is a good time to break out a thesaurus if you notice you have used too many of the same words as the original source.

6. Cite your source

Whether you use MLA, APA, Chicago, or another style guide, now is the time to give proper credit to the original author or source. When posting content online, you may only need to hyperlink to the original source.

Keep in mind that the paraphrased text will not change depending on the citation style that you follow. It will just change how it’s cited.

What you shouldn’t do when paraphrasing

Now that you understand the process of paraphrasing and can follow the steps, it’s important that you know what to avoid. When paraphrasing, here are a few things to keep in mind:

1. Do NOT write while you’re still researching

You might be tempted to start writing during the research phase. However, this sets you up to miss information or restate the copy too closely to the source material. Be sure to do your research first, take notes, and then start writing the piece.

2. Do NOT skip the citations

When you pull a small amount of information from a paraphrased source, you may think you don’t need to cite it. However, any idea or copy that’s taken from another source is considered plagiarism if you don’t give it credit, even if it is only a little bit of information.

Paraphrasing examples

Here are some examples to help you understand what paraphrasing looks like when done correctly and incorrectly

Excerpt from LinkedIn’s Official Blog:

“When reaching out to connect with someone, share a personalized message telling the person why you would like to connect. If it’s someone you haven’t been in touch with in a while, mention a detail to jog that person’s memory for how you met, reinforce a mutual interest and kickstart a conversation.”

Here’s another example. This one is from the U.S. Department of Education:

“ The U.S. Department of Education does not accredit educational institutions and/or programs. However, the Department provides oversight over the postsecondary accreditation system through its review of all federally-recognized accrediting agencies. The Department holds accrediting agencies accountable by ensuring that they enforce their accreditation standards effectively. ”

Here’s one more example to show you how to paraphrase using a quote from Mark Twain as the source material:

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So, throw off the bowlines, sail away from safe harbor, catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore, Dream, Discover.”

Paraphrasing can be a beneficial tool for any writer. It can give you credibility and a deeper understanding of the topic. However, to successfully use paraphrasing, you must be careful to properly cite your sources and effectively put the material into your own words each time.

--> “A wide screen just makes a bad film twice as bad.” -->

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Paraphrasing Tool

Why use the paraphrasing tool, effortlessly rewrite sentences in seconds.

Our paraphrasing tool allows you to instantly rewrite any sentence or paragraph into new, unique versions. Simply enter your text and click the paraphrase button. Within seconds, you'll get multiple rephrased sentences with the same meaning but using different words and sentence structures.

This saves you hours of manually rewriting content word-for-word. The tool helps you avoid plagiarism by giving you fresh ways to express the same ideas.

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Effortlessly Rephrase Sentences and Text

Our paraphrasing tool allows you to instantly rewrite sentences and paragraphs in new ways. Instead of spending time manually rewording text, you can use this tool to paraphrase content with just a few clicks. It will restructure sentences and swap out words while maintaining the original meaning.

Whether you need to rephrase an essay, article, or other text, this tool makes it easy to create new versions without copying.

5 tips for paraphrasing sentences in your own words

To successfully paraphrase, you’re not just changing words. You’re rewriting existing text in a way that captures the content’s original meaning and context.

Along with using an AI paraphrase sentence generator, explore these 5 paraphrasing best practices to write unique content that captures the original text’s ideas. 

1. Understand the meaning of the original text

You can’t paraphrase if you don’t fully grasp the meaning of the initial text. Read the text thoroughly and understand what it means so you can rewrite it accurately.

If any terms confuse you, run a quick Google search or ask an industry expert to explain them. 

You can also use the Feynman Technique to check your understanding of the text. Try and explain the text’s meaning to a 12-year-old—reflect on your explanation, refine, and then simplify it.

2. Know your reader

When you know who you’re writing for, you’ll be able to decide which ideas in the original text are relevant to your audience and worth paraphrasing.

Say you need to paraphrase an academic sentence like “ Economics is the scientific study of human behavior as a connection between purchasing power and demand ” into everyday language for children. You’ll need to get rid of formal terms like “ scientific study, ” “ human behavior, ” “ purchasing power, ” and “ demand .”

The final sentence should be something like this: Economics is about understanding how and why people buy or sell. This sentence is simple enough for a child but detailed enough to impart the same message.

3. Replace a word or phrase with contextual synonyms

To quickly paraphrase, swap original words with synonyms to create a fresh new draft while still retaining the original content’s meaning.

Imagine you want to reference Lionel Robbin’s definition of economics without using it word-for-word. His original quote, “ Economics is the science which studies human behaviour as a relationship between ends and scarce means which have alternative uses '' could become any of these:

• Economics is the scientific study of how people make choices about trade-offs among their limited resources .
• Economics is a science that examines how resources are allocated among unlimited wants and desires .
• Economics is the study of how people make decisions and trade-offs in the face of scarcity .

While replacing words with synonyms is a good start, it’s not enough. Create text that flows differently than the original content by adjusting the sentence structure.

4. Tweak the sentence structure

To turn text into your own words, adjust the structure in a way that boosts readability—and communicates ideas clearly and correctly. A few tips include:

• Use a variety of sentence lengths.
• Add in transition words like “even if,” “in case,” and “although.”
• Break up run-on sentences.

Once you’ve structured your paraphrased text, read it out loud to make sure the pauses sound natural.

5. Proofread the final text

Before hitting publish, proofread your final sentence(s) for typos, punctuation, and plagiarism. A grammar checker like Grammarly works perfectly for these final steps as it also doubles as a plagiarism checker.

Don’t forget to format the now plagiarism-free content based on your style guide—if you have one. Your guidelines might include using lower or upper case where necessary, placing the em dash correctly, and confirming whether you’ll be using UK or US English.

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Content marketer.

The content marketer will find the paraphrasing tool invaluable for reworking existing content into new, unique versions without having to rewrite entire articles from scratch, saving them time and effort.

The paraphrasing tool will be invaluable to copywriters like me who need to rework content into new phrasing without losing the original meaning, allowing me to efficiently create fresh copy from existing materials.

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The public relations specialist needs to communicate company messages effectively, and the paraphrasing tool allows them to reword press releases and other materials in fresh new ways while retaining the intended meaning.

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Paraphrasing Tool

Enhance text clarity and understanding using an AI-driven paraphrasing tool. Perfect for students and professionals, this tool rewrites, edits, and adjusts tone for improved comprehension.

Rephrase sentences, paragraphs, essays, and articles effortlessly with our powerful paraphraser. Prevent plagiarism in blogs, research papers, and more using cutting-edge technology

It works effectively to rewrite the content in a way that removes plagiarism , maintains readability, and makes the content considerably more appealing.

Leverage any of its four paraphrasing modes to rewrite the content as required. It enables you to rewrite the content using the standard, fluency, creative, or smarter paraphrasing modes, each of which resonates with a distinct writing style.

Using groundbreaking AI technology , our paraphrasing tool lets you rewrite the content with the utmost accuracy. It neither changes the context nor compromises the content quality. No matter which type of content you are working on, you can run it through our paraphrasing tool and perfect it by all means.

The users including writers, bloggers, researchers, students, and any layperson can get the best out of our online plagiarism remover for free. It facilitates quick paraphrasing of 1000 words in one attempt.

MAKE YOUR CONTENT UNIQUE, ENGAGING, AND EASY TO READ

Use Paraphrasing.io to rewrite your content in original and improved wording that stands out from the rest. Change the choice of words and the way words are combined to construct sentences, achieving uniqueness and creativity in writing. Rewrite your content to ensure that it is free from potential writing errors and perfectly crafted to meet the target audience's needs.

Remove the Plagiarism

Eliminate duplicate phrases, clauses, and sentences to make the content unique

Improve Content Quality

Correct grammar, punctuation, spelling, and diction errors to enhance the readability score

Modify Writing Style

Modify the choice of words to change the tone and rewrite the content in different writing styles

Paraphrasing.io, the best sentence rephraser, thoroughly analyzes the given content to understand the context and then rewrite it with an intention to:

User-friendly Interface

Anyone can easily find, access, and use this tool to paraphrase the content from a beginner to an expert.

Improved Functionality

This tool uses advanced AI algorithms to ensure that the content is paraphrased without errors and delays.

Error-Free Results

This paraphrasing tool skillfully rewrites the content as it works effectively in terms of accuracy and efficiency.

Multiple Rewriting Modes

Four different rewriting modes are available, which lets you change the tone and style of the writing without changing the context.

Multi Languages Support

There are 15 different languages available, any of which you can choose to rewrite the content as required.

Safety and Privacy

The content is paraphrased with absolute precision and automatically removed from the tool's database upon reloading.

Free Unlimited Access

Users worldwide can access and use this paraphrasing tool without any premium fee and limit.

Optimize the Content

Maintain readability, uniqueness, and creativity in content to make it search-engine-friendly.

How paraphrase online can enhance your writing?

Whoever creates content is well aware of the fact that uniqueness has great importance in writing. This is because duplicate content is not accepted anywhere. Even if a few phrases or sentences are similar to previously published content, it is considered plagiarism. To paraphrase online, you can easily remove plagiarism from the content.

Must be unique words

The content must be created using unique words, whether for the web or any academic assignment. Anyhow, it isn’t easy to write unique content. It is error-prone and time-consuming.

Readability and creativity

Take into account some more essential factors in writing: readability and creativity. The words you choose and how you combine them must be easy-to-read and creative enough to hook and engage the readers. Unfortunately, there can be various writing errors, such as misused and misspelled words in your writing. These writing issues can ruin your content quality, leaving no chance for a high ranking or score.

Unique and appealing

The students, researchers, and content writers can use an online paraphrasing tool to rewrite any content and make it 100% unique and appealing. The online rephrase tool uses advanced “artificial intelligence” algorithms to rewrite a piece of content to make it free from plagiarism and writing errors.

Multiple rewriting modes

For instance, you can use our word paraphraser then. It will take only a second to provide you with a unique and improved version of your content. There are multiple rewriting modes available, any of which you can leverage to change your content's writing style and make it much more captivating for the target audience.

How does our free paraphrasing tool work?

Our free online rephrasing tool is based on artificial intelligence algorithms that help in attaining uniqueness in less time with accuracy. Paraphrasing.io is considered as an AI-based free rewording tool that makes content unique by replacing the words with synonyms while keeping the content quality high. Editpad contributed to the development of this great paraphrasing tool.

Who can provide excellent services ?

There are so many online paraphrase companies that offer help with many writing types of assignments and a host of others that it can be hard to know which to choose. documents, texts, articles - when it comes to paraphrase this, you need a professional such as we have that offers to refresh the given paper using a vast amount of experience in their fields of expertise.

Software and inexperienced writers will paraphrase text and swap individual terms for their synonyms. Not only is that likely to still be seen content piracy as the structure and order of wordings as are still the same but it will often not maintain the original meaning and will often use phrases that are out of context and will make the text meaningless as best.

Why should you consider paraphrasing.io ?

This paraphrasing tool provides various reasons and features by which we can easily differentiate this tool from any other online rephrase tool.

The reasons why you need to choose this sentence rephraser are listed below.

How to use Paraphrase Tool?

To use best paraphrasing tool follow the 4 simple steps given below:

• You can choose from 15 different languages: en id da de es fr it pl pt ro sv vi cs ru th ja ko
• Paste/write it into the text box or upload file in txt, doc, and docx format
• Modes `Regular`, `Formal`, `Creative`, and `Academic` to modify concerning.
• Click "Start Paraphrasing" button to rephrase and get an error-free, unique version of the content

• 🔓 Unlock this mode to make your paraphrasing Fluency - Go Pro
• 🔓 Unlock this mode to make your paraphrasing Creative - Go Pro
• 🔓 Unlock this mode to make your paraphrasing Smarter - Go Pro
• 🔓 Unlock this mode to make your paraphrasing Improver - Go Pro
• 🔓 Unlock this mode to make your paraphrasing Academic - Go Pro
• 🔓 Unlock this mode to make your paraphrasing Shorten - Go Pro
• 🔓 Unlock this mode for random paraphrase words- Go Pro

Paraphrasing tool

The paraphrasing tool (paraphraser) is a sentence changer generator that can rephrase sentences, paragraphs, articles, and essays.

This sentence rephraser helps students and writers to avoid plagiarism while writing blogs and research papers with state-of-the-art technology.

What is Paraphrasing?

Paraphrasing is expressing ideas and information in your own words and mentioning their source. ( By University of New South Wales )

Why our paraphrasing tool?

Our paraphrasing tool helps to rewrite plagiarism-free content 😊. It can change sentence structure without changing the context of the topic.

Our rewording tool is 100% free and easy to use. Editpad AI reworder helps you reword assignments, sentences, paragraphs, and essays with one click.

How does Paraphrase Tool work?

The paraphraser provides a simple interface.

To use paraphrase tool, follow the below steps:

Features of Paraphrasing Tool Free

Some of the features of this rephrase tool are:

Files Uploading

You can upload a file directly from your computer in the following formats:

You can also upload a file directly from Google Drive with just a single click.

Plagiarism-Free Content

The final output from our rephrasing tool would be completely plagiarism-free.

If not sure about plagiarism in text, you can check it on the  plagiarism checker .

Download Report

Our free rephrasing tool provides an option to download the final report in Docx and Txt format.

Free and Secure

The paraphrase generator is completely free and 100% safe to use for all kinds of rewriting purposes.

Accurate and reliable rephrasing of text

Our tool rephrase text accurately and keep the same meaning and context as the original text. 

10 Different paraphrasing modes:

To provide the best results, we have developed four different modes 😏 Smooth : It paraphrases text that flows well, is grammatically correct, and is easy to read. This type of paraphrasing is often used in academic or professional writing.  Best for students to make assignments and presentations.

😉 Reworder : This mode works as a rewording tool that can help you reword your text or words with their best synonyms that are new, trendy, and engaging.

🤠  Formal : Formal paraphrasing is complex and time-consuming because it requires a deep understanding of the original text, so we have developed a separate mode for it.

😃 Fluency : It can be used to build a strong connection between sentences to improve the readability and clarity of the text.

🤩 Creative : Creative is another unique mode used to diversify the content structure to make it appear more creative.

😎 Smart : This mode is highly accurate and reliable. It allows users to fine-tune the output. It rewrites text using advanced algorithms and natural language processing techniques.

🧐 Improver : This mode will paraphrase and improve your content. Removes grammar mistakes, changes sentence structure and good word choice for better readability. Best for teachers to create study notes.

👨‍🎓 Academic : This mode is specially built for students to rephrase their assignments in an academic tone.

📝 Shorten : It is designed to provide a brief statement of the main points of your text concisely to convey the message in a short and summarized way.

🙃 Randomizer : In this mode, you can rephrase your text with different passages with the same meaning multiple times.

Easy-to-use interface

With our super easy-to-use interface, you can reword content within seconds. 

Uses of Online Paraphrasing Tool

Paraphrasing content manually is not an easy task. It takes both time and effort to do this. Therefore, using the paraphrase online tool can save a lot of time and effort.

Other uses are:

• It helps students to submit plagiarism-free assignments and academic work
• Quickly paraphrase the content
• It helps to learn new sentence structures
• It reduces the chances of plagiarism in the paraphrased content
• 100% free paraphrasing tool

Who uses Paraphrasing Tool?

This sentence rephraser is not the requirement of every writer but it is widely used by:

It is hard to come up with engaging content. This rewording tool helps to write articles on the same topic in unique ways. 

Editpad Online Paraphrase tool helps bloggers to rephrase text in a way that is more easily readable by a general audience.

Freelance Writers

Freelance writers have to write high-quality and original content now and then. It helps them complete content tasks.  Use sentence rephraser to save time in the writing process and spend more time on other important tasks such as research, editing and proofreading.

It allows students to paraphrase essays, assignments, and lengthy writing homework. Our tool helps students to avoid plagiarism and to improve their writing skills.

Using editpad paraphrasing tool students can express their ideas in a better writing style.

Pro tip: Do not forget to check assignments and papers for plagiarism . 

Researchers

Researchers need paraphrasers to prevent plagiarism in their research work and to improve readability. They can also use our tool to quickly summarize large content to identify key points. just want to summarize your text? Try our text summarizer . 

CopyWriters

Copywriters can use our rephrase tool to refresh old content and give it a new angle. Rephraser is super helpful when you have to write bulk content under tight deadlines. Present the same information in a new and unique way.

As a webmaster, you have to always keep content quality, SEO quality, and usability at best. And we are here for you to help.

• Quality content : With a paraphrasing tool, webmasters can ensure that the content on their website is unique and free of plagiarism.
• SEO : To optimize the website for different keywords, you can paraphrase online same text multiple times. 
• User-friendly content : Make your content more readable and easily understandable for website users by rephrasing it. Our tool not only improves the content quality but also removes basic grammar errors. You can use Editpad's grammar checker tool to correct all grammatical mistakes.  

Digital Marketers  

Create your next best-quality Social Media Posts using our paraphraser. Digital marketers can generate different ideas for Email Campaigns and advertisements. 

Which is the most effective paraphrasing tool?

Rephrasing tool by Editpad is the most effective paraphrasing tool. It provides four different modes as per your need. Advanced algorithms, lightning-fast speed, and state-of-art technology make our tool the best of all. 

Is using a paraphrasing tool illegal?

Using a paraphrasing tool is not illegal. The outputs are unique and they are not an exact replication of the original content.

Can I use paraphrasing tool for legal writing?

Yes, you can use a paraphrasing tool for legal writing. However, if you want to quote someone or use someone else’s words, you have to give the proper citation.   

Does paraphrasing tool count as plagiarism?

No, using a paraphrasing tool does not count as committing plagiarism. Plagiarism means copying content directly whereas using a paraphrasing tool involves changing the wording.  

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How to Paraphrase: Dos, Don'ts, and Strategies for Success

#scribendiinc

Written by  Scribendi

Is It Considered Plagiarism If You Paraphrase?

How do i paraphrase a source without running the risk of plagiarizing, paraphrasing vs. quoting: what's the difference, paraphrasing vs. summarizing, how to paraphrase a sentence, direct quotation, omissions and editorial changes,  paraphrasing, all you need to know about paraphrasing, when should you paraphrase information, what is the purpose of paraphrasing, understand the text you are paraphrasing, do paraphrases need to be cited, example of paraphrasing, how to cite a paraphrase,  don't start paraphrasing by picking up a thesaurus , don't copy without quotation marks, paraphrase with a direct quote example, don't paraphrase too closely, example of paraphrases being too similar to their sources.

How to Paraphrase and Tips for Paraphrasing Correctly

Write Down Paraphrases of a Source on Notecards

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As if the research process isn't hard enough already—finding relevant and reliable sources, reading and interpreting material, and selecting key quotations/information to support your findings/arguments are all essential when writing a research essay.

Academic writers and students face the additional stress of ensuring that they have properly documented their sources. Failure to do so, whether intentionally or unintentionally, could result in plagiarism, which is a serious academic offense.

That's why we've written this article: to provide tips for proper paraphrasing. We'll start with an overview of the difference between paraphrasing and quoting, and then we'll provide a list of paraphrasing dos and don'ts, followed by strategies for proper paraphrasing. 

We will include paraphrasing examples throughout to illustrate best practices for paraphrasing and citing paraphrased material .

As mentioned in our previous article on plagiarism , "simply taking another writer's ideas and rephrasing them as one's own can be considered plagiarism as well." 

Paraphrasing words is acceptable if you interpret and synthesize the information from your sources, rephrase the ideas in your own words, and add citations at the sentence level. It is NOT acceptable if you simply copy and paste large chunks of an original source and modify them slightly, hoping that your teacher, editor, or reviewer won't notice. 

Passing off another's work as one's own is a form of intellectual theft, so researchers and students must learn how to paraphrase quotes and be scrupulous when reporting others' work.

You might be familiar with all this. Still, you might be concerned and find yourself asking, "How do I paraphrase a source correctly without running the risk of unintentional plagiarism?" 

For many writers, especially those who are unfamiliar with the concepts of a particular field, learning how to paraphrase a source or sentence is daunting.

To avoid charges of plagiarism, you must not only document your sources correctly using an appropriate style guide (e.g., APA, Harvard, or Vancouver) for your reference list or bibliography but also handle direct quotations and paraphrasing correctly.

Quoting uses the exact words and punctuation from your source, whereas paraphrasing involves synthesizing material from the source and putting things in your own words. Citing paraphrases is just as necessary as citing quotations.

Even if you understand quoting versus paraphrasing, you might still need some additional paraphrasing help or guidance on how to paraphrase a quote. 

Summarizing is when you're discussing the main point or overview of a piece, while paraphrasing is when you're translating a direct quote into language that will be easy for your readers to understand .

It's easy to see how the two are similar, given that the steps to paraphrasing and summarizing both include putting ideas into your own words. 

But summarizing and paraphrasing are distinctly different. Paraphrasing highlights a certain perspective from a source, and summarizing offers more of an overview of an entire subject, theme, or book.

You can usually tell the difference between paraphrasing and summarizing by the length of what you're writing abore writing about. If you’re writing about a quote, that would be a smaller theme inside a larger work, so you'd paraphrase. 

If you're writing about the themes or plot of an entire book, you'd summarize. Summaries are usually shorter than the original work.

Learn How to Format Quotation Marks here.

When learning how to paraphrase a quote, you first need to consider whether you should be paraphrasing a text or quoting it directly.

If you find the perfect quote from a reliable source that fits your main topic, supports your argument, and lends authority to your paper but is too long (40+ words) or complex, it should be paraphrased. Long/complex quotes can also be shortened with omissions and editorial changes (as discussed below).

Introduce the quote with a signal phrase (e.g., "According to Ahmad [2017] . . .") and insert the entire quotation, indicating the text with quotation marks or indentation (i.e., a block quote).

If you only need to use parts of a long quotation, you can insert an ellipsis (. . .) to indicate omissions. You can also make editorial changes in square brackets [like this]. 

Keep in mind that you need to reflect the author's intent accurately when using this strategy. Don't change important words in a quotation so that it better fits your argument, as this is a form of intellectual fraud.

Changes in square brackets should only be used to clarify the text without altering meaning in the context of the paper (e.g., clarifying antecedents and matching verb tense). They signal to the reader that these changes were made by the author of the essay and not by the author of the original text.

Paraphrasing

Demonstrate that you clearly understand the text by expressing the main ideas in your own unique style and language. Now, you might be asking yourself, "Do paraphrases need to be cited like quotes?" The answer is a resounding "yes."

When deciding whether to paraphrase or use a direct quote, it is essential to ask what is more important: the exact words of the source or the ideas.

If the former is important, consider quoting directly. If the latter is important, consider paraphrasing or summarizing.

Direct quotation is best for well-worded material that you cannot express any more clearly or succinctly in your own style. It's actually the preferred way of reporting sources in the arts, particularly in literary studies.

Shortening a long quote is a great way to retain the original phrasing while ensuring that the quote reads well in your paper. However, direct quotations are often discouraged in the sciences and social sciences, so keep that in mind when deciding whether to paraphrase or quote.

Paraphrasing is best used for long portions of text that you can synthesize into your own words. Think of paraphrasing as a form of translation; you are translating an idea in another "language" into your own language. The idea should be the same, but the words and sentence structure should be totally different.

The purpose of paraphrasing is to draw together ideas from multiple sources to convey information to your reader clearly and succinctly. 

As a student or researcher, your job is to demonstrate that you understand the material you've read by expressing ideas from other sources in your own style, adding citations to the paraphrased material as appropriate. 

If you think the purpose of paraphrasing is to help you avoid thinking for yourself, you are mistaken.

When you paraphrase, be sure that you understand the text clearly . The purpose of paraphrasing is to interpret the information you researched for your reader, explaining it as though you were speaking to a colleague or teacher. In short, paraphrasing is a skill that demonstrates one's comprehension of a text.

Yes, paraphrases always need to be cited. Citing paraphrased material helps you avoid plagiarism by giving explicit credit to the authors of the material you are discussing. 

Citing your paraphrases ensures academic integrity. When you sit down to write your paper, however, you might find yourself asking these questions: "Do paraphrases need to be cited? How do I paraphrase?"

Here is a quick paraphrase example that demonstrates how to cite paraphrased ideas. The opening lines to one of Juliet's most famous speeches are "O Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore art thou Romeo? / Deny thy father and refuse thy name; / Or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love, / And I'll no longer be a Capulet" (Romeo and Juliet, 2.2.880–884). 

If you needed to paraphrase these lines in an essay, you could do so as follows:

Juliet muses about why Romeo's family name is Montague and concludes that if either gave up their name (and thereby their family affiliations) for the other, they could be together (Romeo and Juliet, 2.2.880–884).

Generally speaking, you must include an in-text citation at the end of a paraphrased sentence. 

However, if your paraphrased material is several sentences long, then you should check with your preferred style guide. Some style guides (such as APA) call for a paraphrase citation after the first paraphrased sentence. Other style guides (such as MLA) call for a paraphrase citation after the last paraphrased sentence. 

Remember, no matter what style guide you use, it is not necessary to cite every single sentence of paraphrased material in a multi-sentence paraphrase.

Don't Start Paraphrasing by Picking Up a Thesaurus

This might shock you, but a thesaurus is NOT the answer to the problem of paraphrasing. Why? Using a thesaurus to swap out a few words here and there from an original source is a form of patchwriting, which is a type of plagiarism.

You shouldn't have to resort to a thesaurus unless you are completely unsure about what a word means—although, in that case, a dictionary might be a better tool. Ideally, you should be able to use clear, simple language that is familiar to you when reporting findings (or other information) from a study.

The problem with using a thesaurus is that you aren't really using your own words to paraphrase a text; you're using words from a book. Plus, if you're unfamiliar with a concept or if you have difficulty with English, you might choose the wrong synonym and end up with a paraphrase like this: "You may perhaps usage an erroneous word."

This is a common mistake among writers who are writing about a field with which they are unfamiliar or who do not have a thorough grasp of the English language or the purpose of paraphrasing.

If you choose to keep a few phrases from the original source but paraphrase the rest (i.e., combining quoting and paraphrasing), that's okay, but keep in mind that phrasing from the source text must be reproduced in an exact manner within quotation marks.

Direct quotations are more than three consecutive words copied from another source, and they should always be enclosed in quotation marks or offset as a block quotation.

A sentence that combines a direct quote with paraphrased material would look like this: 

In "The Laugh of the Medusa," Cixous highlights women's writing as a specific feat and speaks "about what it will do" when it has the same formal recognition as men's writing (Cixous 875).

The paraphrased paragraph of Cixous' essay includes a direct quote and a paraphrase citation.

Did you know that copying portions of a quote without quotation marks (i.e., patchwriting) is a form of plagiarism—even if you provide an in-text citation? If you've reworded sections of a quote in your own style, simply enclose any direct quotations (three or more words) in quotation marks to indicate that the writing is not your own.

When learning how to paraphrase, you need to distinguish between appropriate and inappropriate forms of paraphrasing. The Office of Research and Integrity , a branch of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, puts it this way:

Taking portions of text from one or more sources, crediting the author/s, but only making 'cosmetic' changes to the borrowed material, such as changing one or two words, simply rearranging the order, voice (i.e., active vs. passive) and/or tense of the sentences is NOT paraphrasing.

What does paraphrasing too closely look like? Here is an overly close paraphrase example of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' description of plagiarizing:

Using sections of a source, citing it, but only making surface-level changes to the language (such as changing a few words, the verb tense, the voice, or word order) fails as a paraphrase. True paraphrasing involves changing the words and syntactical structure of the original source. Keep reading for strategies for paraphrasing properly.

Get Help with Proper Paraphrasing

Hire an expert academic editor , or get a free sample.

In an article on how to paraphrase , the Purdue University Online Writing Lab suggests that you read the source text carefully and write paraphrases on notecards. You can then compare your version with the original, ensuring that you've covered all the key information and noting any words or phrases that are too closely paraphrased.

Your notecards should be labeled with the author(s) and citation information of the source text so that you don't lose track of which source you used. You should also note how you plan to use the paraphrase in your essay.

If you are a visual learner, the benefit of this strategy is that you can visualize the content you intend to paraphrase. 

Because a notecard is a tangible object, you can physically arrange it in an essay outline, moving the right information to the appropriate paragraph so that your essay flows well. (If you're not sure how to write an outline , check out our article.)

Plus, having a physical copy of paraphrased information makes it harder for you to accidentally plagiarize by copying and pasting text from an original source and forgetting to paraphrase or quote it properly. Writing out your paraphrase allows you to distance yourself from the source text and express the idea in your own unique style.

For more paraphrasing help, Jerry Plotnick from the University College Writing Centre at the University of Toronto provides a similar strategy for paraphrasing.

Plotnick advises that you take point-form notes of text that you want to use in your paper. Don't use full sentences, but instead "capture the original idea" in a few words and record the name of the source.

This strategy is similar to the notecard idea, but it adds another step. Instead of just reading the source carefully and writing your complete paraphrase on a notecard, Plotnick recommends using point-form notes while researching your sources. These notes can then be used to paraphrase the source text when you are writing your paper.

Like handwriting your paraphrases on notecards, taking notes and coming back to them later will help you distance yourself from the source, allowing you to forget the original wording and use your own style.

The Plotnick method above describes how to use point-form notes while researching a paper to keep your paraphrasing original. To paraphrase in your paper using Plotnick's method above, look at your sources and try the following:

Write down the basic point(s) you want to discuss on a notecard (in your own words).

Take your notecard points and turn them into sentences when you write your essay.

Add the reference for the source.

Compare your paraphrase to the original source to make sure your words are your own.

Practice Two-Step Paraphrasing: Sentence Structure and Word Choice

In an article on how to paraphrase by the Writing Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the first two strategies are acknowledged—taking notes and looking away from the source before you write your paraphrase. 

The authors then suggest another two-step strategy for paraphrasing: change the structure first and then change the words. Let's break down this process a bit further.

Sentences in English have two main components: a subject and a predicate . The subject is who or what is performing an action (i.e., a noun or pronoun), and the predicate is what the subject is doing (i.e., a verb). Sentences can be simple, compound, complex, or compound-complex. 

Here are some paraphrase examples using different sentence structures:

Simple: It was difficult.

Compound: It was difficult, but she knew there was no going back.

Complex: Although it was difficult, she knew there was no going back.

Compound-complex: Although it was difficult, she knew there was no going back, so she kept calm and carried on.

Once you have identified the structure of the original sentence, you can reconstruct it using one of the different types of sentences illustrated above.

You can also change passive voice to active voice, or vice versa.

The active voice is structured like this: Subject + Verb + Object (e.g., She learned how to paraphrase.)

The passive voice is structured like this: Object + "To Be" Verb + Past Participle (e.g., How to paraphrase was learned by the girl.)

See how awkward the passive sentence example is? It's best not to force a sentence into an unnatural sentence structure. 

Otherwise, you'll end up with Yoda-speak: "Forced to learn how to paraphrase a sentence, the girl was." (Did you like the unintentional "force" pun?)

Another way to distinguish your paraphrase from the original source is to use different sentence lengths. Often, scholarly articles are written using long, compound, complex, or compound-complex sentences. Use short sentences instead. 

Break down complex ideas into easy-to-understand material. Alternatively, you can combine several ideas from the source text into one long sentence, synthesizing the material. Try to stick with your own style of writing so that the paraphrased text matches that of the rest of your document.

Once the paraphrased sentence structure is sufficiently different from the original sentence structure, you can replace the wording of the original text with words you understand and are comfortable with.

Paraphrasing isn't meant to hide the fact that you are copying someone else's idea using clever word-swapping techniques. Rather, it is meant to demonstrate that you are capable of explaining the text in your own language.

One handy article on word choice by the Writing Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill lists some strategies for successful word choice, such as eliminating jargon and simplifying unnecessary wordiness. While this applies to academic writing in general, the "questions to ask yourself" are also useful as great paraphrasing help.

Once you have completed a sentence-long paraphrase, you include an in-text citation at the end of that sentence. However, if your paraphrased material is several sentences long, then you should check with your preferred style guide. 

Some style guides (such as APA) call for a paraphrase citation after the first paraphrased sentence. Other style guides (such as MLA) call for a paraphrase citation after the last paraphrased sentence. 

To paraphrase properly, you need to explain a text in your own words without using a direct quote . Keep in mind, however, that different styles require different formats when it comes to documenting paraphrased sources. Some styles require a citation after the first paraphrased sentence, while others require a citation after the last.

For this reason, we've outlined examples of how to paraphrase in the APA, MLA, and Chicago styles below. Be sure to check with your professor to see which style your essay requires.

APA guidelines for paraphrasing include citing your source on the first mention in either the narrative or parenthetical format. Here's a refresher of both formats:

Narrative format: Koehler (2016) noted the dangers of false news.

Parenthetical format: The news can distort our perception of an issue (Koehler, 2016).

Here's an example of how to paraphrase from a primary source in APA:

Dudley (1999) states that "direct quote" or paraphrase (Page #).

Note: It's not always necessary to include the page number, but it's recommended if it'll help readers quickly find a passage in a book.

Below are a couple of examples of how to paraphrase in APA. Keep in mind that for longer paraphrases, you don't have to add the citation again if it's clear that the same work is being paraphrased.

Short paraphrase:

Stephenson (1992) outlined a case study of a young man who showed increasing signs of insecurity without his father (pp. 23–27).

Long paraphrase:

Johnson et al. (2013) discovered that for small-breed dogs of a certain age, possession aggression was associated with unstable living environments in earlier years, including fenced-in yards with multiple dogs all together for long periods of time. However, these effects were mediated over time. Additionally, with careful training, the dogs showed less possession aggression over time. These findings illustrate the importance of positive reinforcement over the length of a dog's life.

When paraphrasing in MLA, include an in-text citation at the end of the last paraphrased sentence. 

Your in-text citation can be done either parenthetically or in prose, and it requires the last name of the cited author and the page number of the source you're paraphrasing from. Here are MLA citation examples :

Parenthetical:

Paraphrase (Author's Last Name Page #)

Author's Last Name states that paraphrase (Page #)

In addition to adding a short in-text citation to the end of your last paraphrased sentence, MLA requires that this source be included in your Works Cited page, so don't forget to add it there as well.

Here are two examples of how to paraphrase in MLA:

In an attempt to communicate his love for Elizabeth, all Mr. Darcy did was communicate the ways in which he fought to hide his true feelings (Austen 390).

Rowling explains how happy Harry was after being reunited with his friends when he thought all was lost (17).

Paraphrasing correctly in Chicago style depends on whether you're using the notes and bibliography system or the author-date system.

The notes and bibliography system includes footnotes or endnotes, whereas the author-date system includes in-text citations.

Below, you'll find the correct way to format citations when paraphrasing in both the notes and bibliography and author-date systems.

Notes and Bibliography

For the notes and bibliography system, add a superscript at the end of your paraphrase that corresponds to your footnote or endnote.

Johnson explains that there was no proof in the pudding. 1

Author-Date

For the author-date style, include the page number of the text you're referencing at the end of your paraphrase. If you mention the author, include the year the source was published.

Johnson (1995) explains that there was no proof in the pudding (21).

In summary, the purpose of paraphrasing is not to simply swap a few words; rather, it is to take ideas and explain them using an entirely different sentence structure and choice of words. It has a greater objective; it shows that you've understood the literature on your subject and are able to express it clearly to your reader.

In other words, proper paraphrasing shows that you are familiar with the ideas in your field, and it enables you to support your own research with in-text citations. 

Knowing when to paraphrase or quote strengthens your research presentation and arguments. Asking for paraphrasing help before you accidentally plagiarize shows that you understand the value of academic integrity.

If you need help, you might consider an editing and proofreading service, such as Scribendi. While our editors cannot paraphrase your sources for you, they can check whether you've cited your sources correctly according to your target style guide via our Academic Editing service.

Even if you need more than just paraphrase citation checks, our editors can help you decide whether a direct quote is stronger as a paraphrase, and vice versa. Editors cannot paraphrase quotes for you, but they can help you learn how to paraphrase a quote correctly.

What Is the Meaning of "Paraphrase"?

Paraphrasing is when you write text from another source in your own words. It's a way of conveying to your reader or professor that you understand a specific source material well enough to describe it in your own style or language without quoting it directly. 

Paraphrasing (and citing your paraphrases) allows you to explain and share ideas you've learned from other sources without plagiarizing them.

You can write things in your own words by taking original notes on the sources you're reading and using those notes to write your paraphrase while keeping the source material out of sight. 

You can also practice putting things in your own words by changing sentences from passive to active, or vice versa, or by varying word choice and sentence length. You can also try Jeremy Plotnick's idea of paraphrasing from your own point-form notes.

When you're paraphrasing something, it means you are putting someone else's writing in your own words. You're not copying or quoting content directly. Instead, you are reading someone else's work and explaining their ideas in your own way. 

Paraphrasing demonstrates that you understand the material you're writing about and gives your reader the opportunity to understand the material in a simplified way that is different from how the original author explained it.

About the Author

Scribendi's in-house editors work with writers from all over the globe to perfect their writing. They know that no piece of writing is complete without a professional edit, and they love to see a good piece of writing turn into a great one after the editing process. Scribendi's in-house editors are unrivaled in both experience and education, having collectively edited millions of words and obtained nearly 20 degrees collectively. They love consuming caffeinated beverages, reading books of various genres, and relaxing in quiet, dimly lit spaces.

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