Paraphrasing is an essential skill in academic writing. The following strategies will help you to write a successful paraphrase:

Read & Reread

• Read and reread the passage to ensure that you have a clear understanding of its meaning.
• Why is that important? Because a paraphrase must faithfully convey the intended meaning of the author.
• It’s not your reaction; it’s not your interpretation. Instead, it a re-presentation of the author’s ideas.

Recall & Rephrase

• After you have read and reread the passage to be paraphrased, cover the passage and RECALL the main idea(s) of the passage.
• REPHRASE those ideas in your own words. Write them down without looking at the text.

Review & Revise

• Once you have rephrased the passage, REVIEW the following:
  • Ensure that your paraphrase faithfully conveys the intended meaning of the author.
  • Vary sentence structure from the original passage.
  • Vary word choice from the original passage.
• Revise, if necessary

Remember . . .

Once you have an acceptable paraphrase, remember to add a correctly formatted in-text citation, which should include the author’s last name and year of publication in parentheses. Following these six strategies will help you write effective paraphrases.