A PARAPHRASE IS:
• Your own version of the meaning of the ideas and/or information of someone else; a very few essential words of the source's may be included.
• A proper way of using information from a source who you cite.
• Different from a summary in that it consists of approximately the same number of words as the original; whereas a summary focuses on the main idea and condenses information.


PARAPHRASING IS A VALUABLE SKILL BECAUSE

• The mental process required for successful paraphrasing helps you to grasp the full meaning of the original.
• It helps you control the temptation to quote too much.
• It is better than quoting information from an undistinguished passage.


HOW TO PARAPHRASE EFFECTIVELY.

6 STEPS TO FOLLOW:

1. Reread the original passage to grasp its full meaning.

2. Think about the sense, the purpose, the reasoning of the original; then write out your paraphrase.

3. Check your version with the original to make sure that yours accurately expresses all the essential information
    without relying on the same phrasing or form of expression.

4. Use quotation marks to identify any unique terms you have borrowed exactly from the source.

5. Jot down a few words to remind yourself later about how you plan on using your paraphrase. Write a key
    word or phrase to indicate the subject of your paraphrase.

6. Record the source (including the page) so that you can credit it easily if you decide to incorporate the material
    into your paper.

Some examples to compare:

The original passage:

Students often overuse direct quotations when taking notes, and as a result they overuse quotations in the finished paper. Less than 5% of your final manuscript should appear as directly quoted matter. Therefore, you should strive to limit the amount of exact transcribing of source materials while taking notes.

A legitimate paraphrase:

In research papers students often quote excessively, failing to keep quoted material down to a desirable level. Since the problem usually originates during note taking, it is essential to minimize the material recorded verbatim.

An acceptable summary:

Students should take just a few notes in direct quotation from sources to help minimize the amount of quoted material in a research paper.

A plagiarized version:

Students often use too many direct quotations when they take notes, resulting in too many of them in the final research paper. In fact, less than 5% of the final copy should consist of directly quoted material. So it is important to limit the amount of source material copied while taking notes.

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