Welcome to this online video tutorial
brought to you by HELPS. It's designed to assist you
in understanding the importance and techniques of paraphrasing skills
that can be applied to your academic writing.
A great deal of the work you produce at
University will involve the important ideas,
writings and discoveries of experts in your field of study.
The work of other writers can provide you with information
evidence and ideas but must be incorporated
into your work carefully. This can be done
through quoting, summarising and paraphrasing.
They're all different ways of including the works of
others in your assignments.
Your lecturers expect you
to demonstrate an understanding of the major ideas or concepts in the
discipline.
Paraphrasing is one technique that enables you
to develop and demonstrate your understanding
and interpretation of a text as well as to avoid
plagiarism. It's an important tool
for reshaping information to suit the many writing tasks
that will be required of you at university.
Paraphrasing is a way of presenting a text,
retaining the original meaning, but using your own way of expressing it
with different words and phrasing from the original.
We generally use paraphrasing with short sections of
text, such as phrases and sentences.
Paraphrasing offers an alternative to using direct quotations
and helps students to integrate evidence and source material
into assignments in a similar style to the student's
own writing.
Before paraphrasing, ensure you read the source carefully.
Make sure you understand it fully. Then identify the main points and keywords,
using bullet points to help you. Cover the original text
and rewrite it in your own words, changing the vocabulary
and sentence structure. Check that you have included the main points
and essential information based on your notes.
Don't forget you also need to cite the original
using references. Here are some points to consider when paraphrasing:
Write the paraphrase in your own style
Ensure you keep the original meaning
and maintain the same relationship between main ideas
and supporting points.
Use synonyms where appropriate. Key words that are specialised subject vocabulary
do not need to be changed. You do, however, need to change the grammar and sentence
structure.
Break up a long sentence into two shorter ones
or combine two short sentences into one. Change the voice
or change the word form. You also need to change the
order in which information or ideas are presented.
Try to identify the attitude of the authors to their subject
and make sure your paraphrase reflects this.
Finally remember to use appropriate
reporting verbs to show the attitudinal beliefs
of the original author. Let's take a look at a real-life example.
The extract on your screen is about the role of the English language globally.
One student read the original text on your left
and wanted to use the author's ideas in their assignment.
The extract that you see on your right is what the student actually wrote
in their essay. If you pause this video to compare the texts,
you'll see that the student has indeed maintained the original meaning.
They've also modified the word order and most
of the vocabulary. They have also
provided reference details. This could then be considered
an acceptable paraphrase. For more details on avoiding plagiarism,
go to this link and complete the quiz.
The paraphrasing skills that you develop at
university will support you now and in your future professional lives.
It's a skill that will help you to write clearer
and more efficient prose and to become a better communicator.
If you need help with your
academic studies or assistance at any stage of completing your assignments,
you can access the services at the HELPS unit
at UTS. For details on our location,
operating hours, services and programmes,
including a wealth of self-help resources, visit us
in person or online. We're at your service!
Thanks for watching
and
thanks for listening.