2.4 What does it mean to paraphrase someone else's words, ideas and research?
Being able to paraphrase
well is key to good writing. Paraphrasing and analyzing other people's research demonstrates your knowledge and ability much better than quoting phrases and passages. While paraphrasing is trickier than directly quoting a source, you will have to do it more often in order to show that you understand the source material you are using in your work.
How is paraphrasing different from just restating what an author is saying using a few different words?
When you paraphrase, you can't just switch a few words and slightly alter the sentence order or structure of the original passages; at the same time, however, you must ensure that you are still stating the correct meaning of the original research.
EXAMPLE: If this is the original passage:
"With the ever-increasing availability and accessibility of the Internet, students are able to access a multitude of resources in support of their studies. However, this has also led to an increase in their ability to cheat through plagiarizing text and claiming it as their own. Increased pressures of balancing work and study have contributed to this rise. Not only confined to the student population, some academics are also guilty of engaging in this practice providing a less than favorable role model for their students" (Kenny, 2006, p. 14).
This would be an example of a correct paraphrase of the passage:
The internet is an important learning tool, but it can also make available more opportunities for committing plagiarism, especially when students are under a lot of pressure or if they have academically dishonest peers and professors (Kenny, 2006, p.14).
NOTE: You don't need to paraphrase every sentence. A paraphrase should include a summarized version of the ideas you think are most important, written in your own words.
In order for a paraphrase to not be considered plagiarism, you still have to include an in-text citation and a full reference for your source at the end of your paper. For example: Kenny, D. (2006). Student plagiarism and professional practice. Nurse Education Today, 27. 14-18.
The following would be considered inadequate paraphrasing:
Minor changes are highlighted in purple; original wording is highlighted in green.
With the all-encompassing accessibility and availability of the Internet, students are able to access a multitude of resources for their studies. This has also led to an increase in their ability to cheat by plagiarising text and claiming it as their own work. Not only students but some academics are also guilty of engaging in plagiarism and being bad role models for their students. Increased pressures of work and study have caused this (Kenny, 206, p. 14).
Changing only a few words a phrases, as in this example, would be considered plagiarism. Even though the two examples contain the same information and a citation, in the second example passages are copied from the original source without any attempt to indicate that they are direct quotes. Instead, only some words are changed and some sentences are rearranged, while the sentence structure and wording of the original text is too closely followed to be considered to be in the student's own words.
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I never worked on this project, but I'm going to say I did so that I can put it on my resume!
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It's cheating if you take credit for something you haven't accomplished! Your work must be original and it must be done by you!
