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The Art of Paraphrasing
Much plagiarism is unintentional. The most common form of unintentional plagiarism occurs when students try to paraphrase. Many students and GSIs are confused about what constitutes an acceptable or unacceptable paraphrase. For instance, if you explain an author's ideas, omitting some details but retaining characteristic phrases and some of the original order of presentation, are you giving a paraphrase or a summary? If you juggle the order in which the ideas are presented, change the wording, and throw in a few of your own ideas here and there are you using the original author's ideas as a creative springboard or stealing them? When is an idea "common knowledge"?
Quoting, Paraphrasing, Summarizing
- Quotations reproduce a passage word for word.
- Paraphrases rephrase a passage in one's own words but retain all, or almost all, of the original ideas, structure, etc.
- Summaries also rephrase a passage in one's own words but retain only the main ideas of the original.
Why Use Quotations, Paraphrases, and Summaries?
Quotations, paraphrases, and summaries can all provide useful support for claims that you are making, and can be used to give examples of other points of view, or to provide background information that is relevant to your own ideas. A paraphrase is more appropriate than a quote in cases where the original author's ideas are more important than the manner in which they are expressed, and where the authority of the author is not an issue. Paraphrases and summaries can also serve a useful pedagogical function. It is only possible to give an accurate paraphrase or summary of an author's ideas if you have a clear understanding of those ideas and the language that the author is using to express them.
The Problem with Paraphrasing
Many students aren't sure when a paraphrase must be credited to the original author and when the ideas constitute common knowledge that need not be credited. The line between our own ideas and ideas that we have absorbed from other people is also often unclear. An essential part of the learning process is the absorption and assimilation of ideas. The ideas are broken down, reformulated, and integrated with ideas and beliefs that we already possess. In this way, they become our own. It is, therefore, often unclear when we have integrated and reordered an idea sufficiently to make it our own and when it must be credited to the original source. The line between paraphrasing and plagiarism can be a fine one.
Much unintentional plagiarism can be prevented by explaining the difference between quotations, paraphrases, and summaries, and giving students a set of guidelines and/or exercises to help them learn when they need/need not give credit to the original source.
Guidelines
Paraphrases must be credited to the original source if:
- they retain all or most of the original author's ideas or they use an idea from the original author that is not common knowledge.
- they retain the sequence of the original author's ideas or arrangement of the material or they modify the sequence of the ideas but central ideas and key phrases from the original.
An idea is common knowledge if:
- the same idea can be found in the same form in several different sources.
- it is information that your readers most likely already possess.
- it is factual information that is in the public domain, for example, widely known dates of historical events, facts that are cited in standard reference works, etc.
Of course, many students are still developing their sense of audience, or are still learning those things that others might consider common knowledge. Providing students with examples of common knowledge, correct citations, and the like will help them to get a firmer grasp on these issues.
Follow this link for some interactive exercises on paraphrasing.
Dealing with Academic Dishonesty Links:
Teaching Resources Links:
- Creating Ground Rules for Discussion Sections
- Using Group Work in Discussion Sections
- Strategies for Variety in the Classroom
- Developing Critical Reading Skills
- How to Teach Lab Sections
- Award-winning Teaching Ideas (Teaching Effectiveness Award Essays)
- Theories of Learning
- Dealing with and Preventing Academic Dishonesty
- Grading Students' Written Work
- Understanding & Using Instructional Technology
- Five Ways to Improve Your Teaching
- How to Write a Letter of Recommendation
- Campus Resources
- FAQs
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