To paraphrase means to give words another meaning or to express oneself differently using someone else’s words. Paraphrasing gives the exact sense of a word or phrase without changing its original form.
One of the best ways to define paraphrasing is to use different words to convey the same set of ideas. It acts as an essential technique to speak about ideas. Not only does it resolve plagiarism issues for research scholars and bloggers, but it also aids them with a whole new choice of words. In addition to that, it allows the writer to amplify the subject matter, shorten the prolonged text, and prevent the intricate text and the overuse of quotes. You can use Smodin rewriter to paraphrase any text you want.
Benefits are numerous, giving more reasons for you to learn how to paraphrase. To facilitate that, in this blog, we will focus on different aspects of paraphrasing:
How to Paraphrase
Paraphrasing begins with finding the reference source that you would need to rephrase. The research is of prime importance because by doing so you can find the value-adding content for addition. One common mistake often done by many is taking one reference and rephrasing it from starting to end. That might seem an easier task for now, but not in the longer run. That is because it would consist of every notion presented by the other person.
Instead, you can look for different references by researching thoroughly on that single topic. There can be different ways of doing the same, and you can pick what suits you the best. However, the intent should be to take the relevant information. Now that we have learned about laying the foundation of value-adding content, let us now move to the further tips for paraphrasing the content.
- Rearrange sentence structure
As the need is to keep the information the same, you need to focus on changing how you convey it. With this, you can start by changing the structure of the reference sentence. A sentence structure is all about the arrangement of words in a sentence, and that is what you make changes in.
Example:
Phrase- Sharon is a management student with a zeal for basketball. He has roots in England, but he relocated to New York after his father changed his job. His father is very supportive of his passion for sports.
Paraphrased text– Sharon is a basketball enthusiast pursuing a management course. He belongs to England, but with a change in his father’s career, they moved to New York. His passion for sports gets the support of his father.
Let us now break it down-
Sharon is a management student with a zeal for basketball. In this sentence, management student comes before zeal for basketball. However, after rephrasing the sentence structure, it is presented as -Sharon is a basketball enthusiast (basketball coming first) pursuing a management course (management second.)
- Use synonyms
Many plagiarism-checking tools function by checking uniqueness in content from word to word. So you can change the words instead of changing the whole sentence. For this, you can add synonyms in place of the original word. Here is an example to explain the same method of paraphrasing.
Phrase– Wastage is a consequential issue prevailing for a long time now. Numerous prevention measures are implemented by government and social organizations. However, the situation has taken an unpleasant turn. Heavy utilization of electronic gadgets has resulted in a rise in e-waste, which needs serious action.
Paraphrased text– Wastage is a serious issue that has been existing for so long. Prevention measures are taken by the government and non-profit organizations. Yet, the situations have taken an uglier turn. Extensive usage of gadgets has led to e-waste, which is severe.
Now, let’s break it down.
Wastage is a consequential/serious issue prevailing/ that has been existing for a longer-term now/ for so long. Numerous/several prevention measures are being implemented/taken by the government and social organizations/non-profits. However/Yet, the situation has/have taken an unpleasant/uglier turn. Heavy utilization/Extensive usage of electronic gadgets has resulted in a rise in/led to e-waste, which needs serious action/is severe.
Highlighted words before the slash are replaced with the word after the slash.
- Change parts of speech
You can rephrase a sentence with a change in the parts of speech. If the sentence uses a noun, you can paraphrase it by using the adjective or verb form of the sentence. Here is an example:
Phrase- Jack is a diligent employee in this office. He stays active to solve problems in his organization. Last week, after eating his lunch, he used his remaining free time for work. If he keeps working like this, he will find success in it.
Paraphrased text– Jack works diligently in his office. He stays active in finding the solution to the problems of the organization. Last week, after lunch, he worked for the remaining time. If he works like this, he will become successful.
Now, let us break it down further-
Jack is a diligent employee/ works diligently in his office. He stays active to solve/finding solutions to the problems in his organization. Last week, after eating/lunch, he used his free time to work/he worked in his remaining time. If he keeps working/works like this, he will find success/ become successful.
- Use Idioms
You can interchange words with expressions or change the idioms of simple words. Take a look at the following examples:
Phrases:
- Leonard wished Penny luck!
- Sheldon believes in looking for smarter ways instead of exerting his body.
- Penny earns a big buck, so she does not need any side gig.
Paraphrased text:
- Leonard wished to break a leg on Penny. (term used in English to wish good luck)
- Sheldon believes in looking for smarter ways instead of breaking a sweat.
- Penny makes a lot of money, so she does not need any side gig.
Now, let us break it down.
- Wished Penny luck becomes breaking a leg to Penny.
- Exerting body becomes breaking a sweat.
- A big buck becomes a lot of money.
- Shorten or Combine Sentence
You can break long sentences into shorter ones or combine shorter sentences into longer ones. You can put some small sentences together if you discover one adjective or verb that conveys the same meaning. Here is an example
Phrases:
- Illiana is a good singer. Isha sings well too. The audience also listens to Jubin and John.
- Raman is an engineer, who works with a reputed company, and makes good money with it.
Paraphrased text:
- Illiana, Isha, Jubin, and John are famous singers.
- Raman is an engineer who works with a reputed organization. He makes good money from it.
Now, let us break it down:
- The first example consists of three different sentences talking about singing. However, after paraphrasing, many become one.
- The second example is a complex/ compound sentence broken into two different sentences.
- Turn quotes to indirect speech
You can use indirect speech to paraphrase a quotation. It can act as a preferred method of paraphrasing as it adjusts the verb effectively. Over here, you can also change the pronouns with other words. For example:
Phrase:
- Sheikha said, ‘I will take care of all the work’.
- Sheldon said, ‘I want to eat Chinese food for lunch.’
- Penny said, ‘ I find Sheldon annoying’.
Paraphrased text:
- Sheikha said she would look after the work.
- Sheldon said he wanted to eat Chinese food for lunch.
- Penny told Sheldon was annoying.
Now, let us break it down:
- I will take care of all the work becomes she would look after work.
- I want to eat Chinese for lunch becomes he wanted to eat Chinese food for lunch.
- I find Sheldon annoying becomes Sheldon was annoying.
- Use a paraphrasing tool
By now, you have come across some of the ideas for paraphrasing. However, if you do not want to save manual effort or time, you can even go ahead with paraphrasing tools. Some of the ones you can use are Smodin.io, Quillbot, and Smallseotools. Most of them are free, allowing you to paraphrase the content. Also, they have advanced well, which means they enhance the quality of the content when rephrasing it. You can give it a shot using Smodin Rewriter!
Conclusion
From research papers to assignments, paraphrasing is essential in creating content for different purposes. It refers to creating a fresh piece of text without having to change the concept of the original one. In this blog, you went across different methods of paraphrasing. They include rearranging sentences, using synonyms, turning them into indirect voices, and even shortening or combining sentences. If you do not want to put in any manual effort, you can even use a paraphrasing tool. Not only will it lessen your efforts, but using a paraphrasing tool can provide you with a plethora of other benefits as well. It can save you time and generate new ideas when you get short of them. Smodin.io has one of the paraphrasing tools you can count on for your assignments and create other types of content free from plagiarism.