Paraphrasing Information

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Paraphrasing Information 

Overview

Paraphrasing the information you hear is one way to address issues of comprehension in any language. If you are able to take a text or something that someone has said or written and express the same ideas using different language, this tells you a lot about what you understand. In formal contexts, where communication is key to being successful, this skill can serve some important purposes. Let’s take a look at what is meant by this term “paraphrasing” and how this might help you.  

Paraphrasing Defined

A paraphrase contains all the information from the original text or what is said. It is when you take everything you hear and put it into your own words. In this case, no ideas are left out. 

How to Paraphrase Information

The best way to show you this is to provide an example. Please look at the following. 

Example One

Original Sentence – “About 4 000 chain stores have formed frequent –shopper clubs that offer freebies (items you don’t pay for) and discounts to customers who sign up, based on how much they spend.” ( McCarroll, quoted in Braine and May, 135) 

Paraphrased Sentence – McCarroll indicates that frequent shoppers can join organizations formed to give them free and discounted items at 4 000 chain stores, depending on how much these shoppers spend. 

Questions – Please circle what you think.

1.  Do you think all the ideas in the paraphrased sentence are represented in the first sentence?
     Yes    No
2.  Has the writer changed enough of the language? Yes   No
3.  Has the sentence structure changed? Yes  No
4.  Do you understand the meaning of both sentences being the same? Yes  No
5.  Do we know the source of this information? Yes   No

You should have answered “Yes” to all of the above questions. Basically, the second sentence is a good representation of the ideas in the first sentence. 

Avoiding Plagiarism

One thing you must avoid at all times is plagiarism. Plagiarism means that you do not give proper credit to the author or speaker of material that you might use. Now, we have talked about using paraphrasing as a way to help you learn language, but you must also be aware of the issue of plagiarism so that you do not use another person’s ideas unethically. There are 3 types of plagiarism:
1. Failing to cite quotations and borrowed ideas of another.
2. Failing to enclose borrowed language in quotation marks.
3. Failing to put paraphrases and summaries. 

What does all this mean? Simply, if you use the ideas of another to back up your own arguments or opinions, you must acknowledge the source. That is, you must indicate the author’s name and where it came from. Take a look at the example above to see how this has been done. If it is the direct words of another person, you must then put this information in quotation marks. Especially in paraphrasing you must be very attentive to changing the language into your own words, but you still need to acknowledge that these are the ideas of another person, and not your own ideas. In particular, this might happen when you have to write a report, send an informative email, or any other type of written communication.
  
Implications for Your Learning
When you are asked to paraphrase information, it might help you to: 

Ø  Learn to restate ideas to assess listening and/or reading comprehension.
Ø  Use different language to express the same idea. This gives you practice in language use and the clear expression of ideas.
Ø  To encourage you to further practice your English listening and comprehension skills, along with the production of ideas in English.

When you paraphrase information in a real world context, it might help you in the following situations:

Ø  In a written or oral communication such as an email or business meeting, paraphrasing information would allow you to be sure that there is a clear understanding between all people communicating.
Ø  When a person does not understand what you are saying, paraphrasing your own language could help someone understand your message more clearly. Remember that it often does not help to repeat things using the same language if people do not understand you. Choose different language and structure to get miscommunicated or unclear ideas across to your audience better.
Ø  When you do not understand the words of others, it is helpful to ask them to restate (or paraphrase) their ideas in order for you to be clearer about the intended message. Remember that it is your responsibility as the listener to be sure you understand what someone is saying to you. Asking for clarification is appropriate in order to reach a clear understanding. 


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