Examples of paraphrasing sources (p. 264)

Paraphrasing may be defined as restating or rewording a passage from a text, giving the same meaning in another form. The objective of paraphrasing, then, is to present an author’s ideas in your won words. To paraphrase accurately, you must first read closely and understand completely what you are reading. The following are examples of unacceptable and acceptable paraphrasing.

Original Passage

During the last two years of my medical course and the period which I spent in the hospitals as house physician, I found time, by means of serious encroachment on my night’s rest, to bring to completion a work on the history of scientific research in the world of St. Paul, to revise and enlarge the Questions of the Historical Jesus for the second edition, and together with Widor to prepare an edition of Bach’s preludes and fugues for the organ, giving each piece directions for its rendering. (Albert Schweiterz, Out of My Life and Thought, New York: Mentor, 1963, p. 94)

Poor Paraphrase

Schweitzter said that during the last two years of medical course and period he spent in the hospitals as house physician he found time, by encroaching on his night’s rest, to bring to completion several works.

Note: This paraphrase uses too many words and phrases directly from the original without putting them in quotation marks and thus is considered plagiarism. Furthermore, many of the ideas of the author have been left out, making the paragraph incomplete. Finally, the student has neglected to acknowledge the source through a parenthetical citation.

A Good Paraphrase

Albert Schweitzer observed that by staying up late at night, first as a medical student and then as a “house physician,” he was able to finish several major works, including a historical book on the intellectual world of St. Paul, a revised and expanded edition of Questions of the Historical Jesus, and a new edition of Bach’s organ preludes and fugues complete with interpretive notes, written collaboratively with Widor (Schweitzer 94).

Note: This paraphrase is very complete and appropriate, it does not use the author’s own words, except in one instance, which is acknowledged in quotation marks. The students had included a parenthetical citation that indicates that paraphrase was taken from page 94 of the work by Schweitzer. The reader can find complete information on the work by turning to the bibliography at the end of the student’s paper.