Paraphrasing vs. Plagiarism: Examples & Practice Worksheet

The distinction in one example

Imagine a source argues that a small study found a short-term improvement in recall after practice testing. A legitimate paraphrase might say: “In that study, students remembered more immediately after practice tests, but the result does not establish a long-term benefit.” You would cite the study and check that its methods support the sentence.

A risky version merely swaps synonyms in the original sentence while keeping its structure. An uncited version presents the study's idea as your own. Neither becomes safe because a paraphrasing tool produced it.

What must be attributed

Credit is needed not only for direct quotations but also for borrowed ideas, data, interpretations, and distinctive explanations. Common knowledge is a separate category, but when in doubt, trace a specific claim to the source you used. Purdue OWL explicitly distinguishes paraphrasing from copying and shows why missing citation can make an otherwise reworded passage plagiarized.

A five-step paraphrasing method

1. Read the passage and surrounding context until you understand the claim and its limits.
2. Close the source and write a note about the idea in your own words and order.
3. Reopen the source. Compare meaning, certainty, numbers, and scope.
4. Add the required in-text citation and record full source details.
5. Ask whether the sentence supports your argument or is only filling space.

Keep necessary shared terminology accurate; it does not automatically need quotation marks or an awkward synonym. If you retain distinctive borrowed wording exactly, mark it as a quotation and give the source. Follow the required style for quotations and source locators.

What AI paraphrasers cannot decide

A rewriting tool does not know whether you have permission to use AI, whether a source is credible, or whether the new wording changes a result from “may” to “does.” It also cannot make an uncited borrowed idea original. Use it, if permitted, to compare clarity options after you have identified the source and written your own draft.

Before submission

For every paragraph, underline the claim, identify the supporting source, and open the exact passage again. If you cannot point to a source or explain the connection, revise or remove the sentence. Our academic integrity checklist covers the final review.

Paraphrasing practice: read the original passage

Original fictional practice material. The note and versions below were written for this exercise, not taken from a museum, study, student submission or AI output. The local source label is an exercise locator, not a publication or citation-style example.

Constructed source C, paragraph 1

An exhibition label should give visitors enough context to examine an object without deciding its meaning for them. A short description of material and use can start that inquiry. When space is limited, remove secondary background before cutting the details a visitor needs to identify the object.

Before reading the versions, write the note’s purpose and its recommendation for a space-limited label. Set the source aside, draft your own account of that relationship, then reopen the passage to check it. Keep the source locator with your attempt.

Compare wording, meaning and attribution separately

Inspect each version before opening its explanation. The questions differ: is the expression independent, is the meaning preserved and can the reader identify the source? A citation alone does not answer all three.

Necessary shared terms such as “exhibition label” need not be replaced just to make the text look different. Mark distinctive wording you borrow exactly as a quotation, cite the source and follow the relevant style. Do not judge a paraphrase by a synonym count or an invented similarity threshold. [1] [2] [3]

Keep a record for your own paraphrase

Use the downloadable TXT file for the complete exercise and blank prompts. It separates the attempt space from the worked explanations. For your own paragraph, replace the fictional note with a source you can recover and use the citation style your assignment requires.

1. Your purpose for using this passage:
2. Source reference and exact passage location:
3. Main idea and relationship to preserve:
4. Qualifications or conditions that must remain:
5. Your first attempt with the source set aside:
6. Meaning check after reopening the source:
7. Distinctive wording retained as a quotation, if needed:
8. Required citation and your reason for the final wording:

If the exact language matters to your analysis, a short accurate quotation with a citation may be more appropriate than a forced paraphrase. If you need only the main point of a longer passage, write a summary that preserves the relevant meaning. Neither option removes attribution. [1] [2]

For an uncertain factual claim, use the claim-to-source worksheet. For a paragraph whose evidence is accurate but its reasoning needs work, follow the paragraph revision example. These are distinct checks; fresh wording cannot make unsupported evidence sufficient.

Sources and editorial note

This guide draws on the educational and writing resources below. The examples are suggested workflows, not results of a product benchmark. Your institution's own rules take precedence.

• Purdue OWL: paraphrasing — primary guidance or official product information
• UW–Madison Writing Center: quoting, paraphrasing and shared language — primary guidance or official product information
• Harvard Guide to Using Sources: plagiarism and mosaic copying — primary guidance or official product information