Paraphrasing and Reporting
the Work of Others
Whilst we are waiting…
Can anyone give me a definition
of paraphrasing before we start?
What?
Reporting somebody else’s words
IN YOUR OWN
You are explaining their ideas not
yours so don’t give your opinions
yet…
What else must I do?
YOU MUST REFERENCE
ALL PARAPHRASES
Tasks
Pick up an academic article/book chapter
and scan it. How much direct quotation do
you see? How much paraphrase do you
see? Can you draw any conclusions
about academic writing?
Look at the excerpt form the final year
dissertation and explain when and why the
student has needed to paraphrase.
Edited extract from MCS dissertation
Beverly Skeggs’ study has similar traits and strategies to
my study of these women. Skeggs’ work focuses on the
ways in which working class people have elected to go
to University in order to move away from their working
class environment. Skeggs notes that, for some women
in her study, completing college courses was an attempt
‘to escape’ (Skeggs, 1997: 76) the working class
predicament and its association with ‘low level skills’
(Walkerdine, 1993: 165). This desire to escape working
class roots was particularly poignant in this case study.
Hannh has always found University difficult and is
unhappy with her degree course in primary school
teaching. She has often stated that she would rather be
doing hairdressing but, when questioned, says that being
a primary school teacher is ‘better’.
When?
• To integrate the ideas of someone else into your own
essay
• To state somebody else’s theory so you can use it for
your own purposes
• When the original language is too difficult to understand
(don’t hide behind quotations/don’t quote if you don’t
understand the quote…)
• Paraphrase rather than quoting when it’s the IDEA you
are interested in rather than the language used to
express it
When else?
• In exams – you can’t remember
loads of quotes!
• In presentations – for smooth
delivery
Why paraphrase?
• To show that your work is well
founded/well evidenced and
therefore of academic interest
• In the interests of analysis and
critical analysis.
Task
Does the dissertation extract above follow
the principles of paraphrase we have
spoken about so far? Look at it again and
discuss whether the referencing is
successful.
Task: Basic Principles of Paraphrase
Read the following examples of
successful and unsuccessful
paraphrase and explain the
differences between the two.
Original Text
The cause of autism has also been a matter
of dispute. Its incidence is about one in a
thousand, and it occurs throughout the
world, its features remarkably consistent
even in extremely different cultures. It is
often not recognized in the first year of life,
but tends to become obvious in the second
or third year. (…)
– The original passage is from Oliver Sacks' essay ‘An Anthropologist on
Mars’. From: http://www.utoronto.ca/ucwriting/paraphrase.html
Successful
In ‘An Anthropologist on Mars’, Sacks (1995)
lists some of the known facts about autism. We
know, for example, that the condition occurs in
roughly one out of every thousand children. We
also know that the characteristics of autism do
not vary from one culture to the next. And we
know that the condition is difficult to diagnose
until the child has entered its second or third
year of life. As Sacks points out, often a child
who goes on to develop autism will still appear
perfectly normal at the age of one (1995, 247).
Unsuccessful
The cause of the condition autism has been
disputed. It occurs in approximately one in a
thousand children, and it exists in all parts of the
world, its characteristics strikingly similar in
vastly differing cultures. The condition is often
not noticeable in the child's first year, yet it
becomes more apparent as the child reaches
the ages of two or three. (…)
From: http://www.utoronto.ca/ucwriting/paraphrase.html
How do you do it then?
• Read the whole idea first and try to understand it
• Make sure you know why you are paraphrasing
– which part of this text fits in with your
argument?
• Look away from the original, then write
• Take notes, then paraphrase from them the next
day
Some Principles
Completely alter:
1. the sentence structure
2. the words
Change the structure
• Break up long sentences
• Combine short ones
• Expand or shorten phrases
Change the words
• Look for the important ideas and words
• Use synonyms for them
• See:
http://www.uefap.co.uk/writing/report/repfram.ht
m for a more detailed discussion.
• NB IF YOU ONLY ALTER THE WORDS YOUR
WORK WILL COUNT AS PLAGIARISM!
Change the grammar of the text
• Nouns to Verbs
– This rewriting of history was not so much a matter of a
new start.
– This rewriting of history was not so much a matter of
starting again.
• Verbs to Nouns
– The Normans invaded in 1066.
– The Norman invasion took place in 1066.
• See: http://www.uefap.co.uk/writing/report/repfram.htm
Now it’s your turn…
But a few words before we start..
Suspect
consider
question
believe
demonstrate
prove
note
conclude
argue
assert
contend
suggest recommend
accept
concede reflect
hypothesise
feel
point out
deduce
claim
complain
insist
From: http://www.amw.editing.care4free.net/faw/54.html
From: http://www.amw.editing.care4free.net/faw/54.html
• ‘Many students, who otherwise have a wide
vocabulary, lose all imagination and precision
here, thoughtlessly repeating 'points out' and
'argues‘’. http://www.amw.editing.care4free.net/faw/54.html
• Each verb should be selected carefully to
convey any or all of the following elements:
• your attitude towards the quotation you are
including
• the author's attitude towards the subject
• the academic community's attitude towards the
author's views
Task
Paraphrase the argument of the student
dissertation writer in the extract above.
Paraphrase this sentence
Later sources represent Felix and Sigebert
as having met in Gaul and travelled to
England together, but this is contrary to
Bede's narrative which seems to imply that
Felix's journey to East Anglia had been
made at the prompting of the archbishop
in Canterbury. (Blair 1970: 108)
One Possible Paraphrase
Whereas later sources claim that Felix
met Sigebert in Gaul and accompanied
him to England, the implications of
Bede's narrative are that it was the
archbishop in Canterbury who prompted
his journey to East Anglia. (Blair 1970
http://www.amw.editing.care4free.net/faw/paraphrase4.html
• Can you make this shorter?
Summary
• Paraphrasing is about capturing
other people’s ideas in your
words
• You need to provide references
when you are paraphrasing
• Many things need changing in the
original, not just a few words
Further Reading
• A very useful site dealing with when and how to do it,
successful vs unsuccessful paraphrases:
http://www.wisc.edu/writing/Handbook/QPA_paraphrase.
html
For lots of practice exercises:
http://www.uefap.co.uk/writing/report/repfram.htm
• This gives an eg of a successful and unsuccessful
paraphrase:
http://www.utoronto.ca/ucwriting/paraphrase.html
This Lecture is Dedicated to
John Peel