Page 527 - Wordsmith A Guide to College Writing
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Paraphrasing
A paraphrase captures an idea expressed in a short piece of writing,
such as a sentence or a paragraph. It is an author’s idea expressed in
your own words. Here are some pointers to help you when you
paraphrase:
It is always permissible to repeat key terms. If the author uses the
term geriatric medicine, there is no need to rephrase it as “medical
care of older adults.”
Unusual phrasing should be rephrased. If the author refers to a
spider web as “a spider’s gossamer trap,” a paraphrase should
simply call it a spider web.
A paraphrase is usually a bit shorter than the source material, but it
captures the entire idea.
The sentence structure of a paraphrase should vary from that of
the original material.
Exercise 11-1 Recognizing Effective
Paraphrases
For the numbered items below, circle the letter of the better
paraphrase.
1. Original material:
