Paraphrasing
Most of your research paper will be paraphrases. Paraphrases are your words of the author's ideas.
Use this structure when paraphrasing, first read the original text for understanding, then close the book, turn off the monitor, or turn over the article and write the notes/paraphrase without looking at the original. You will restate the author's words (their ideas) into different words, grammar, and structure, all while maintaining the author's meaning. Changing up the structure is the hardest part for students. Do not merely rearrange words or change only a few words. When the paraphrase is complete, reread original and the paraphrase to make sure Ayou have captured the meaning and author’s point of view. Be sure the information is accurate but that you have not unintentionally used the author’s words. All paraphrases are followed by the source citation because you have used the author's ideas.
A few tips about citing sources of a paraphrase...
- All body paragraphs will minimally have one citation at the end of the paragraph.
- If all sentences in a paragraph come from the same source and page, the writer should place one citation at the end of the paragraph.
- If you use multiple sources or pages (pg. range greater than three), then you must add citations sentence by sentence. You can group sentences and include a source citation at the end of the group of sentences.
- It's very important to be clear about matching the content in your paper to the source from which it came, if you are unsure-->add a citation.
Watch this video tutorial on creating easy parenthetical citations which visually explains when and where to add citations to a paraphrase.