Summary
Now summarize the four steps to effective paraphrasing by putting them into order.
Tips
As you follow these steps, you’ll also want to keep a few simple tips in mind to avoid accidentally plagiarizing:
- Replicate the same ideas without using the same words.
- Avoid using a thesaurus to just change the words individually.
- Collect information on each of your sources in order to cite them.
- Include the in-text citation of the author, year and page number immediately following the paraphrased paragraph (see Step 4—Citing your sources).
- Make sure to check out some resources in the Links menu if you need more help with paraphrasing.
Choosing to accurately paraphrase someone else’s idea over directly quoting them can lend credibility to your work since you are showing that you have understood the information you are discussing.