What Is Paraphrasing? Definition, Examples and When to Cite
Paraphrasing is restating a passage from a source in your own words and your own sentence structure while keeping the original meaning. It is longer than a summary and, unlike a quotation, uses no quotation marks. A paraphrase still needs a citation, because the idea belongs to the source. Five before and after examples follow.
Definition: what is paraphrasing?
Paraphrasing is restating someone else's idea in your own words and your own sentence structure, keeping the original meaning and roughly the original length of detail. A good paraphrase is not a quotation, because you do not copy the wording, and it is not a summary, because you do not shrink the passage to its main point. Because the idea is still the author's, a paraphrase needs a citation in academic, journalistic and professional writing.
The word comes from the Greek paraphrasis, "additional manner of expression". In practice you do it every day: when you tell a friend what an email said, you are paraphrasing it.
Paraphrase vs quote vs summary
People mix these three up, and the difference decides how you cite and how much you can borrow.
| Paraphrase | Quotation | Summary | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wording | Your own | Exact words of the source | Your own |
| Length | About the same as the original passage | Same as the original | Much shorter |
| Quotation marks | No | Yes | No |
| Detail kept | All the main points and detail | All | Main idea only |
| Citation needed | Yes | Yes, usually with a page number | Yes |
| Best used for | Explaining a specific point in your argument | Memorable or precise wording, definitions, evidence you will analyse | Giving background on a whole source |
For a deeper comparison, see paraphrasing vs summarizing vs quoting and how to write a summary.
What makes a paraphrase good
A sound paraphrase passes four tests:
- Accurate. It says what the source says, with no added opinion and no lost qualification ("may" must not become "does").
- Original in form. The sentence structure and most of the wording are yours, not the source's with a few words swapped.
- Complete. It keeps the points that matter for your use.
- Credited. It carries a citation.
Keep technical terms that have no good substitute (for example "photosynthesis" or "interest rate"). Changing them would make the paraphrase less accurate.
Five worked examples
Example 1: academic text
Original: "Students who sleep fewer than six hours a night were more likely to report difficulty concentrating in morning lectures."
Paraphrase: "Getting less than six hours of sleep was linked to more trouble paying attention in early classes (Author, Year)."
What changed: sentence structure flipped, "students" folded into the context, "concentrating in morning lectures" became "paying attention in early classes". Meaning, including the cautious word "linked", is preserved. The names in brackets stand for your real source; replace them with its author and year.
Example 2: a news report
Original: "The city council voted 7 to 4 on Tuesday evening to postpone the bus-lane project until the next budget cycle."
Paraphrase: "On Tuesday night, a 7-4 council vote pushed the bus-lane project back to the next budget cycle."
What changed: the passive and active voices are swapped and the sentence is tightened. The numbers, day and decision stay exactly as reported, because facts must not drift.
Example 3: an email
Original: "Please be advised that the quarterly report is due on Friday and late submissions will not be accepted."
Paraphrase: "Reminder: the quarterly report is due Friday, and no late ones will be taken."
What changed: formal phrasing became plain, but the deadline and the rule did not change. Paraphrasing in emails is usually about tone and length.
Example 4: a longer academic idea
Original: "Although social media is often blamed for shortening attention spans, the evidence is mixed: some studies report small negative effects, while others find no meaningful relationship."
Paraphrase: "Social media is frequently said to shorten attention spans, but research does not agree. A few studies find a small harmful effect, and others find no real link (Author, Year)."
What changed: one long sentence became two, and the word "mixed" was explained, not just swapped. Notice that the paraphrase keeps the uncertainty. Making it sound more certain would be a distortion.
Example 5: a bad paraphrase for contrast
Original: "The company reported a 12 percent drop in revenue because of supply shortages."
Weak paraphrase: "The firm announced a 12 percent decrease in income due to supply deficiencies."
This only swaps words in the same order. Many instructors and similarity checkers would treat it as too close to the source. A better version: "Supply shortages were behind a 12 percent revenue decline at the company (Author, Year)." Different structure, same facts.
Why a paraphrase still needs a citation
It is a common misunderstanding that rewording removes the need to cite. It does not. You changed the words, but the idea, the finding or the argument came from someone else. Not crediting it is plagiarism, even if no sentence matches. For the rules, see what is plagiarism and paraphrasing vs plagiarism.
How to cite depends on the style:
- APA 7: author and year in the text; a page number is optional for paraphrases, for example (Garcia, 2021).
- MLA 9: author and page, no year, for example (Garcia 45).
- Chicago: a footnote or endnote number after the paraphrase.
- Harvard: author, year and often a page, for example (Garcia 2021, p. 45); details vary by institution.
Citations in this guide use placeholders. For the real format of a source, use the citation generator and check it against your instructor's style guide. For wording the in-text citation, see how to cite a paraphrase.
How to paraphrase in five steps
- Read the passage until you understand it fully.
- Put the source away and write the idea from memory, or in your own words from notes.
- Compare with the original. Fix meaning errors and any phrasing that is too close.
- Keep exact technical terms and put any remaining copied phrase in quotation marks.
- Add the citation straight away.
The longer how-to is how to paraphrase.
Self-test: is it a paraphrase?
Answer yes or no for your own draft:
- Could someone who has not read the source understand my sentence?
- Did I change the structure, not only the words?
- Is every fact, number and qualification still correct?
- Is any phrase of four or more words copied exactly? If so, is it in quotation marks?
- Did I add a citation?
- Is the passage about as detailed as the original? If it is much shorter, it is a summary and should be cited as one.
If you can answer yes to every question except the copied-phrase one (where the answer should be no, or yes with quotation marks), you are in good shape.
Using a paraphrasing tool honestly
The AdeptWrite Paraphrasing Tool rewrites a passage in seven modes:
- Standard for a general rewrite.
- Formal for a more official tone.
- Casual for a conversational one.
- Academic for study and research writing.
- Creative for more varied wording.
- Shorten to condense.
- Expand to add detail.
Treat the result as a draft. A tool can reword sentences but it cannot judge whether the meaning shifted, whether a fact survived, or whether you have a duty to cite. Compare the output with the source, correct any drift, and add the citation yourself. Each run is limited by the character limit shown in the editor, so paste one passage at a time. You can then run the result through the plagiarism checker to see whether any passage still matches open sources, and use the grammar checker for a final polish. Neither replaces your judgement or your instructor's rules. If your course restricts AI tools, follow that rule first.
Common mistakes
- Replacing words with synonyms and keeping the sentence skeleton.
- Changing the meaning, often by dropping a "may" or "some".
- Paraphrasing a passage you do not understand.
- Forgetting the citation because the words are different.
- Leaving a few exact phrases without quotation marks.
- Paraphrasing a whole page when a short quotation would be clearer.
- Citing a secondary source as if you had read the original.
Paraphrasing in different settings
At school, paraphrase to show you understood a source and to keep your essay in one voice. At university, paraphrase findings from journal articles and cite them precisely, because markers read the reference list as closely as the prose. In journalism, a paraphrase of what a spokesperson said must stay faithful to the statement, and a direct quote is safer for anything contentious. At work, paraphrase to turn a long policy, contract clause or client message into plain language for a colleague, and link or name the source document so the reader can check it.
When to quote instead
Quote when the exact wording matters: a definition, a legal clause, a striking phrase, or a passage you will analyse closely. Paraphrase when the idea matters more than the wording. In most essays, paraphrase far more than you quote, and keep quotations short.
Summary
Paraphrasing is restating a source's idea in your own words and structure, with the meaning intact and a citation attached. It differs from quoting (exact words) and summarizing (a shorter overview). Practice by understanding first, writing from memory, then checking against the source.
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Frequently asked questions
What is the simplest definition of paraphrasing?
Paraphrasing is saying what someone else said in your own words and sentence structure, without changing the meaning. It has no quotation marks and about the same level of detail as the original, and it still needs a citation to the source.
Do I need to cite a paraphrase?
Yes. The words are yours, but the idea comes from the source, so you must credit it with an in-text citation and a reference entry in whatever style you use, such as APA, MLA, Chicago or Harvard.
What is the difference between paraphrasing and summarizing?
A paraphrase restates a specific passage in your own words at about the same length and detail. A summary condenses a whole text, or a long section, to its main points. Both use your own words and both need a citation.
How different must a paraphrase be from the original?
Change both the wording and the sentence structure while keeping the meaning and any technical terms. Swapping a few synonyms in the same order is not enough. If you must reuse an exact phrase, put it in quotation marks.
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