Paraphrasing - an overview

This is an example of poor paraphrasing from Western Libraries (2021). 

• This is plagiarism - some words have been changed but the paraphrased text too closely resembles the original.
• The author has not been acknowledged (no in-text citation is provided). 

This is an example of good paraphrasing from Flowers (2016).

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• The paraphrased text is significantly different from the original, and the original meaning has been retained.
• The author has been acknowledged (an in-text citation is provided), however, to make this paraphrase perfect, the date of publication must also be included, for example, (Phillips, 2001). 

This example, from Hull Library (2019) illustrates how a poor paraphrase can become a perfect one. 

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• The first student's attempt at paraphrasing results in plagiarism.
  • The words are too similar to the original text.
  • The author has not been acknowledged.
     
• The second student achieves the perfect paraphrase.
  • The paraphrased text is significantly different from the original, yet the original meaning is retained.
  • The main ideas are expressed in the student's own words in a clear and simple style.
  • The author has been acknowledged (an in-text citation is provided).