6 steps to make a good paraphrase?

What is a paraphrase? Paraphrase is to take up in one's own words the ideas of an author. Like the quote, she supports her ideas. It allows, however, to present the ideas of an author without using the same words. By integrating directly with the text, it facilitates reading. It is particularly useful in cases where the terms used by the author do not appear adequate for what we want to demonstrate. But, in any case, when paraphrase is used, never forget to refer to the document from which the information comes. However, paraphrasing is not just about replacing words in the original text with synonyms. We must completely rewrite the passage, that is to say, change the words and sentence structure. If you want to keep even a few words of the original passage, you must put them in quotation marks ("). Paraphrase is therefore an art. The more we practice it, the better we will become. Its use is important because it shows that we really understood what the author meant. In addition, it allows highlighting his own style of writing, because it is his words and not those of the author that appears on the page. The link between his ideas and those of others will, therefore, be more fluid.

How to introduce a paraphrase?

One can introduce his paraphrase with a formula that indicates which author one paraphrases, as According to X or From X.

How to make a good paraphrase?

To make a good paraphrase, it is important to understand the original text. It is easier to rewrite in one's own words an excerpt from a text whose meaning has been grasped. • At ease with paraphrase? So, we can simply read the passage we want to paraphrase several times, close the book and rewrite the passage in his own words. • Not comfortable with paraphrasing? So follow the method proposed below.

Six-step method

1- Replace certain words (nouns, adjectives, verbs, adverbs, etc.) with synonyms

When paraphrasing, make sure you keep the meaning of the author's words. We must choose words that have substantially the same meaning as those used by the author. One must also select words with which one is familiar. If one is unsure of the meaning of a word, it must be verified in the dictionary. Warning: do not replace each word of the original passage with a synonym, but simply the most important words.

2- Change the structure of the sentences

It is necessary to change the order of the words, which is to say to rewrite the sentences under a new form. To do this, we can, among other things, modify logical connectors, such as coordination conjunctions and subordination conjunctions. To help, one can consult the table of equivalence of the logical connectors.

3- Change the parts of the speech

The parts of the speech are the different categories among which the words of the language are distributed: nouns, adjectives, verbs, adverbs ... It is therefore a question here of replacing a noun by a verb, an adjective by a noun, a verb by name, etc. This change will undoubtedly alter the order of the words in the sentence.

4- Making any other changes deemed relevant

Any change that allows the author's ideas to be otherwise expressed can be brought to the original extract.

5- Comparing the paraphrase to the original extract

In this way, we will ensure not only that we did not accidentally use the same words or phrase structure as the author, but also that the paraphrase contains well the ideas of the author.

6- Indicate the source

Although we do not repeat the exact words of the author, we still resume his ideas. It is therefore essential to indicate the reference of the text that has been paraphrased. Do not forget to indicate the page where we took the information.