Paraphrasing is a common method for rephrasing or restating existing literature, research, or ideas in your own words whilst maintaining its original meaning. This is a valuable skill in academic writing as it allows for presentation of information in a concise manner. It is important to recognise that even though you are using your own words to make the statement, you are still required to reference this appropriately to acknowledge the original author.
There are multiple techniques to assist with paraphrasing which can help avoid plagiarism.
The following process can be used to help structure your approach.
Identify the purpose of your sentence, are you:
Read the original source material
Put aside the original source material
Note the original source material
Using your understanding of the original material, in addition to any notes, develop your sentence
Review your sentence against the original source
Integrate into your work
These steps will help to develop a set of Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) to paraphrase content effectively and efficiently. This process is generally linear; however, it is important to go back in stages as required – especially if you are struggling to understand the core concepts of the original material.
Five2Study developed collaboratively by the Australian Catholic University and RSL Queensland under the Veteran Wellbeing Grant 2022-2023
