To paraphrase without plagiarising, restate a source's idea in your own words and your own sentence structure, then cite it. Changing a few words is not enough; the result must show you understood the idea and expressed it in a new way.
This guide gives you a five-step method, examples of weak and strong paraphrases, and the citation formats you need in APA 7, MLA 9 and Chicago. It also shows how to spot patchwriting, the most common paraphrasing problem in student work.
The Five Steps to a Safe Paraphrase
- Read the passage until you can explain it without looking.
- Close or cover the source.
- Write the idea from memory, in your own words and structure.
- Compare your version with the original and change anything too close.
- Add a citation, with a page number if your style asks for one.
What Paraphrasing Is
A paraphrase expresses someone else's idea in your words, at roughly the same level of detail as the original. It differs from a summary, which condenses the main points, and from a quotation, which repeats the exact words.
| Technique | Length compared with source | Wording | Citation needed? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quotation | Same | Exact words, in quotation marks | Yes, with page number |
| Paraphrase | Similar | Your own words and structure | Yes |
| Summary | Much shorter | Your own words, main points only | Yes |
Why Paraphrase Instead of Quoting
- It shows understanding. Markers can see you grasped the idea, not just found it.
- It keeps your voice. A paper made of quotations reads as a collage of other writers.
- It lets you combine sources. You can bring several studies together in one sentence.
- It suits most disciplines. Sciences and social sciences rarely quote; they paraphrase and cite.
Save quotations for definitions, distinctive phrases or language you are analyzing closely, as in literature and law.
What Poor Paraphrasing Looks Like
Poor paraphrasing usually keeps the original's skeleton and swaps in synonyms. This is called patchwriting, and most plagiarism policies treat it as plagiarism even when the source is cited.
Original: "Children who are read to daily before the age of five enter school with substantially larger vocabularies than those who are not."
Patchwritten: Children who are read to each day before age five start school with considerably bigger vocabularies than those who are not (Hart, 2019).
Why it fails: the sentence structure and most of the words match the original. Only "daily", "enter", "substantially" and "larger" were swapped.
The Five-Step Method in Detail
1. Understand the Passage
Read it more than once. Look up unfamiliar terms. If you cannot explain the idea to a friend, you are not ready to paraphrase it.
2. Put the Source Away
This is the step most people skip. Looking at the original while writing pulls you towards its wording. If you need a prompt, jot down two or three key words first, then close the source.
3. Write from Memory
Write the idea as you would explain it. Start the sentence from a different point, change the order of information, and use your own vocabulary.
4. Compare and Adjust
Check your version against the original. If any run of three or more words matches, or the structure mirrors the source, rewrite that part. Keep technical terms that have no real alternative.
5. Cite the Source
Add the citation in your required style. A paraphrase without a citation is plagiarism, however different the wording.
Before-and-After Examples
Social science original: "Employees who perceive their managers as fair report higher job satisfaction and are less likely to seek other employment."
Paraphrase: When staff believe they are treated fairly by their managers, they tend to be happier at work and less inclined to look for new jobs (Ruiz & Clark, 2020).
Health science original: "Regular physical activity reduced the risk of developing type 2 diabetes by approximately one third among participants with prediabetes."
Paraphrase: Among adults with prediabetes, those who exercised regularly were about a third less likely to go on to develop type 2 diabetes (Osei et al., 2021).
In both, the meaning and level of detail match the source, but the order, structure and vocabulary are new. Technical terms such as "prediabetes" stay, because changing them would change the meaning.
How to Cite a Paraphrase
| Style | Parenthetical | Narrative | Page number? |
|---|---|---|---|
| APA 7 | (Ruiz & Clark, 2020) | Ruiz and Clark (2020) found... | Encouraged, not required |
| MLA 9 | (Ruiz and Clark 45) | Ruiz and Clark argue... (45) | Yes, if the source has pages |
| Chicago notes | Footnote number | Name in text, footnote number at end | Yes, in the note |
If you paraphrase the same source across several sentences, you do not need a citation after every sentence. Make it clear where the paraphrase starts and ends, for example by naming the author at the start and citing at the end, and cite again if another source intervenes.
Paraphrasing Several Sources at Once
In literature reviews and essays, the strongest paraphrases often combine sources. Instead of paraphrasing each study in turn, you state what they show together, then note where they differ.
Three separate paraphrases: Ahmed (2019) found that flexible hours improved retention. Baker (2020) also found that flexible hours improved retention. Cole (2021) found the effect only in larger firms.
One synthesized paraphrase: Flexible working hours appear to improve staff retention (Ahmed, 2019; Baker, 2020), although one study found the benefit only in larger firms (Cole, 2021).
The synthesized version is shorter, shows you have compared the sources, and leaves room for your own analysis in the next sentence.
Subject Differences
In the sciences and social sciences, almost all source use is paraphrase, and quotations are rare. In history, literature and law, you will quote more often because exact wording is part of the evidence. Even there, paraphrase background points and save quotations for the words you analyze.
Spotting Patchwriting in Your Own Work
- Your sentence follows the same order of ideas as the source.
- You can match most words one for one with the original.
- You kept distinctive phrases that are clearly the author's.
- You wrote with the source open next to you.
- You cannot explain the sentence without looking back at the source.
If two or more of these apply, rewrite the passage from memory. Reading your draft aloud also helps: patchwritten sentences often sound unlike the rest of your writing.
Practical Tips for Better Paraphrasing
- Change the starting point: if the original begins with the cause, begin with the effect.
- Split long sentences or combine short ones.
- Change the grammar: turn nouns into verbs or passive into active.
- Combine sources: "Two studies found..." shows synthesis as well as understanding.
- Avoid automatic paraphrasing tools; they produce patchwriting and often change meaning.
Paraphrasing Checklist
- The meaning matches the original exactly.
- The sentence structure is your own.
- No distinctive phrase is copied without quotation marks.
- Technical terms are kept only where necessary.
- The source is cited in your required style.
- It is clear where your paraphrase ends and your own analysis begins.
How Bibloq Helps with Paraphrasing and Citations
Send your draft and the sources you paraphrased. A specialist compares your paraphrases with the originals, flags any that sit too close, and corrects every citation to your style. You do the rewording, with clear notes showing what to change.
To build the citations themselves, the free Bibloq citation generator creates reference entries with no sign-up. Free revisions within the scope of your original request are included with every order.
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Frequently Asked Questions
A paraphrase restates a specific passage in your own words at similar length. A summary condenses the main points of a longer passage or whole work into a much shorter version.
Yes. The idea belongs to the original author, so a paraphrase always needs a citation, even though the words are yours.
There is no fixed number, but a run of three or more matching words usually needs rewriting or quotation marks. Technical terms with no alternative can stay.
No. Swapping synonyms while keeping the structure is patchwriting. Change the structure and wording, and express the idea in your own way.
APA 7 does not require them for paraphrases, but encourages them when they help readers find the passage, especially in long works.
Paraphrase the original source if you can read it. If you cannot, use a secondary citation, such as "as cited in" for APA.
Check your university's policy. Many treat tool-generated text as academic misconduct, and these tools often produce patchwriting or change the meaning.
Compare it with the original after writing. It should say the same thing, with no added claims or lost conditions, such as "in adults" or "approximately".
Quote when the exact wording matters: a definition, a distinctive phrase, or language you are analyzing. For most other uses, a cited paraphrase shows more understanding and keeps your own voice.