How To Paraphrase Research Sources
When composing an essay or any form of written material, it isn’t unusual to include information derived from other materials. In fact, the presence of authoritative sources is usually what separates well-researched and well-thought-out essays from their poorly-executed counterparts.
Rewording
In order to be incorporated legitimately into your piece, however, all research materials will need to be paraphrased and reworded. That means you will need to present each source information in your own words, rewriting it with the help of a good grammar checking software, instead of copying it in the original form. Not doing so constitutes plagiarism and is considered intellectual property theft.
Some people paraphrase by copying verbatim then replacing words and phrases. It’s a bad way of doing things because you end up limiting yourself to the original structure of the piece. This leaves you little room to innovate, often resulting in either a poorly-written version or an near-exact copy, neither of which will gain you any favors with your readers.
A better technique is to read through the source, jot down the key details and proceed to write based on your understanding. That way, the material is presented entirely in your own words, with all key details peppered among the sentences.
Where To Use Paraphrases
On your essays, paraphrasing will generally need to be employed in the sections where you write out your supporting statements. Paraphrases are neither statements nor conclusions. Instead, they serve to either support other evidence, back-up your arguments or help them develop.