The Puzzling Paraphrase

Plagiarism is using someone else's exact words, numbers or unique ideas without properly citing the source. Plagiarism is dishonest, unethical and at times illegal. Students who plagiarizes can be expelled from the university. One way to avoid plagiarism is to use the direct quote. When you use a direct quote, all you do is use the author's exact words, identified with quotation marks. To view another document that will contain more information on using quotes.

Another way to avoid plagiarism is the indirect quote, which is also called paraphrasing. When you paraphrase, you restate the original passage in your own words and in your own style. Remember, the information still needs to be documented because the idea belongs to the author. An explanation of the MLA style of documentation. Another sytle of documentation explaination is available. It is the called the APA style of documentation.

The following are helpful paraphrasing hints:

• Comprehend the full meaning of the information. Be sure to thoroughly understand the original passage before you attempt to paraphrase. You want to restate the idea while conveying the same meaning.
• Cover the essential information. Be sure to hit all the main points.
• Explain difficult material. Paraphrasing can be used to make hard to understand passages easy to understand.
• Write your own passage first. Then reread the original passage after you paraphrase to check for accuracy.
• Avoid borrowing language. Any language borrowed from the original passage needs quotation marks.
• Use a thesaurus. But avoid just replacing one word with another. Use your own grammatical structure. If you use the author's original grammatical structure, it is plagiarism if it is not properly cited. Be careful when you use a thesaurus, there can be small differences between words. You might think they mean the same thing, but they do not.
• Use paraphrasing. Avoid using too many quotes, the paper is suppose to be yours. When you use direct quotes too often the paper is just a copy of the original.

To paraphrase or not to paraphrase?

• Is it common knowledge? Any information that could be found in a number of general sources it does not have to be cited. Examples of common knowledge are well known dates and familiar sayings.
• Is the idea original to the author? If it only appears only in one book or is only written about by one author, paraphrase then cite the source.
• Is there doubt? If you are not sure, it is better to cite the source.

Sources:

Corbett, Edward P.J. The Little English Handbook . Glenview, Ill.: Scott, Foresman. 1984

Brusaw Charles, Gerald Alred and Walter Oliu. Handbook of Technical Writing. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1987.

Ebbitt David and Wilma. Writer's Guide and Index to English. 6th ed. London: Scott, Foresman and Co., 1978.

Lester, James D. Writing Research Papers. Glen view, Ill.: Scott, Foresman, 1984

Hacker, Diana. Rules For Writers. 2nd ed., New York: St. Martin's Press, 1988.

Sears, Donald. Harbrace Guide to the Library and the Research Paper. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1984.

Winkler, Anthony C., and Jo Ray McCuen. Writing the Research Paper. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1985.

©1995 Mary Backes