brought to you by HELPS. It's designed to assist you

in understanding the importance and techniques of paraphrasing skills

that can be applied to your academic writing.

A great deal of the work you produce at

University will involve the important ideas,

writings and discoveries of experts in your field of study.

The work of other writers can provide you with information

evidence and ideas but must be incorporated

into your work carefully. This can be done

through quoting, summarising and paraphrasing.

They're all different ways of including the works of

others in your assignments.

Your lecturers expect you

to demonstrate an understanding of the major ideas or concepts in the

discipline.

Paraphrasing is one technique that enables you

to develop and demonstrate your understanding

and interpretation of a text as well as to avoid

plagiarism. It's an important tool

for reshaping information to suit the many writing tasks

that will be required of you at university.

Paraphrasing is a way of presenting a text,

retaining the original meaning, but using your own way of expressing it

with different words and phrasing from the original.

We generally use paraphrasing with short sections of

text, such as phrases and sentences.

Paraphrasing offers an alternative to using direct quotations

and helps students to integrate evidence and source material

into assignments in a similar style to the student's

own writing.

Before paraphrasing, ensure you read the source carefully.

Make sure you understand it fully. Then identify the main points and keywords,

using bullet points to help you. Cover the original text

and rewrite it in your own words, changing the vocabulary

and sentence structure. Check that you have included the main points

and essential information based on your notes.

Don't forget you also need to cite the original

using references. Here are some points to consider when paraphrasing:

Write the paraphrase in your own style

Ensure you keep the original meaning

and maintain the same relationship between main ideas

and supporting points.

Use synonyms where appropriate. Key words that are specialised subject vocabulary

do not need to be changed. You do, however, need to change the grammar and sentence

structure.

Break up a long sentence into two shorter ones

or combine two short sentences into one. Change the voice

or change the word form. You also need to change the

order in which information or ideas are presented.

Try to identify the attitude of the authors to their subject

and make sure your paraphrase reflects this.

Finally remember to use appropriate

reporting verbs to show the attitudinal beliefs

of the original author. Let's take a look at a real-life example.

The extract on your screen is about the role of the English language globally.

One student read the original text on your left

and wanted to use the author's ideas in their assignment.

The extract that you see on your right is what the student actually wrote

in their essay. If you pause this video to compare the texts,

you'll see that the student has indeed maintained the original meaning.

They've also modified the word order and most

of the vocabulary. They have also

provided reference details. This could then be considered

an acceptable paraphrase. For more details on avoiding plagiarism,

go to this link and complete the quiz.

The paraphrasing skills that you develop at

university will support you now and in your future professional lives.

It's a skill that will help you to write clearer

and more efficient prose and to become a better communicator.

If you need help with your

academic studies or assistance at any stage of completing your assignments,

you can access the services at the HELPS unit

at UTS. For details on our location,

operating hours, services and programmes,

including a wealth of self-help resources, visit us

in person or online. We're at your service!

Thanks for watching

and

thanks for listening.