We explain what paraphrase or paraphrasing is, how to paraphrase, and some examples. We also discuss mechanical and constructive paraphrasing. Please read other MTV articles for more information. If you share it, it will be of little help to us.
What is paraphrase?
Paraphrase (or colloquially “paraphrasing”) refers to the action of explaining the content of any text using one’s own words to facilitate understanding of the text through a different language. This procedure is common in teaching, assessment, and knowledge testing.
The term “paraphrase” comes from the Greek words para, meaning “together,” and phrasis, “diction.” It is commonly understood as the act of “translating” a statement or text from its original language into a more personal, intimate, plain, or colloquial one. It is a method of summarization since paraphrasing tends to be shorter, simpler, and more straightforward than its original.
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Paraphrasing is a mechanism used very frequently in our lives and can be classified into two different types: mechanical paraphrasing and constructive paraphrasing, depending on the degree of distortion of the original text.
Mechanical Paraphrasing
Mechanical paraphrasing is that which is content to replace the words of the original text with simpler or colloquial equivalents. It usually keeps the structure of the original text intact, making only minimal syntactical changes, since it essentially uses synonyms and equivalents.
For example, if the original sentence says: “Playwrights delve into their own creative dynamics with the confidence of those who enjoy a captive audience,” we could mechanically paraphrase it as follows: “Playwrights immerse themselves in their methods of literary creation with the confidence that comes from always having the same audience.”
Constructive Paraphrase
Constructive paraphrase allows itself much more liberties with the original text, reconstructing and intervening in profound ways, while always preserving the same meaning intact.
For example, if the original sentence reads “Playwrights delve into their own creative dynamics with the confidence of those who enjoy a captive audience,” a constructive paraphrase could read: “When it comes to creating, playwrights have an advantage that other types of writers don’t: they have a captive audience to give them greater confidence.”
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Examples of Paraphrases
Some examples of paraphrases are:
Original: “So what I hold is that Love is not only the oldest of the gods and the most dignified, but also the most effective in helping men, both living and dead, to achieve virtue and happiness” (Plato, 1983, p. 40).
Paraphrase: In the Symposium, it is stated that love is the god who guides men to achieve virtue and happiness.
Original: “The purpose of art is to embody the secret essence of things, not to copy their appearance,” said Aristotle.
Paraphrase: According to Aristotle, art has the mission of embodying the hidden essence of reality, rather than simply copying its appearance.
Original: “And it is noteworthy that the destruction of these islands and lands began after the death of the Most Serene Queen Isabella became known, which was in the year 1504” (from Fray Bartolomé de las Casas, A Brief Account of the Destruction of the Indies).
Paraphrase: The destruction of those islands and lands began after the news of Queen Isabella’s death became known in 1504.
Original: “Some recent research by E. Fermi and L. Szilard, which has been communicated to me in a manuscript, leads me to believe that the element uranium could become a new and important source of energy in the immediate future.” (Albert Einstein, in a letter to Franklin D. Roosevelt)
Paraphrase: Albert Einstein had received the then-recent research of E. Fermi and L. Szilard and had concluded that uranium could become a new and important source of energy in the not-too-distant future.
How to write a paraphrase?
Writing a paraphrase is very simple, but above all, it requires understanding the original text. Therefore, the first step is reading and interpreting it to fully understand what it says. You can then extract the main ideas from the text, followed by the secondary ideas.
Once you have this information, you can proceed to explain in your own language what the original text said, knowing that the main idea must be the same and the secondary ideas must have the same relationship in the text. Tertiary or contextual ideas can be discarded.
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References
All the information we offer is supported by authoritative and up-to-date bibliographic sources, ensuring reliable content in line with our editorial principles.
- Paraphrase on Wikipedia.
- Paraphrase – What is paraphrasing? (video) in Language and Literature.
- Paraphrasing in the Academic Portal of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (CCH).
- Paraphrasing in the Dictionary of the Language of the Royal Spanish Academy.
- Paraphrasing in the University of South Australia.
