Paraphrasing Guide: How to Rewrite Text Without Plagiarism

What Is Paraphrasing?

Paraphrasing is restating someone else's ideas in your own words while preserving the original meaning. It is fundamentally different from copying (plagiarism) and slightly different from summarising (which reduces length). Good paraphrasing changes the wording, sentence structure, and often the order of ideas — while keeping the core meaning intact.

When to Paraphrase vs Quote

Quote directly when: The exact words matter (legal definitions, statistics, powerful phrases). The source's authority adds credibility. The wording is memorable and cannot be improved.

Paraphrase when: You need to integrate the idea into your own writing smoothly. The original is too long or technical for your audience. You want to demonstrate understanding rather than just copying.

Five Paraphrasing Techniques

Use synonyms: Replace key words with alternatives, but only where synonyms have truly equivalent meaning. Legal and technical terms should not be casually replaced.

Change sentence structure: Active to passive, simple to complex, or vice versa.

Change word order: Restructure clauses and phrases.

Change parts of speech: "The analysis was comprehensive" → "The analyst covered everything comprehensively"

Break up or combine sentences: A single long sentence can become two shorter ones.

Common Paraphrasing Mistakes

Close paraphrasing: Changing only a few words while keeping the original structure. This is still considered plagiarism in academic contexts.

Changing meaning: Adding interpretations the original did not intend, or softening/strengthening claims.

Forgetting to cite: Paraphrased content still requires citation. Only your own original ideas do not need attribution.