Paraphrase facts for kids

A paraphrase (/ˈpærəˌfreɪz/) is a restatement of the meaning of a text or passage using other words. The term itself is derived via Latin paraphrasis, from Ancient Greek [παράφρασις (paráphrasis)] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help), meaning 'additional manner of expression'. The act of paraphrasing is also called paraphrasis.

History

Although paraphrases likely abounded in oral traditions, paraphrasing as a specific educational exercise dates back to at least Roman times, when the author Quintilian recommended it for students to develop dexterity in language. In the Middle Ages, this tradition continued, with authors such as Geoffrey of Vinsauf developing schoolroom exercises that included both rhetorical manipulations and paraphrasing as a way of generating poems and speeches. There is interest in the study of paraphrases relating to concerns around plagiarism and original authorship.

Types

For the purposes of education, Fred Inglis identifies five levels of paraphrase:

1. replacing words with synonyms
2. varying sentence structure
3. reordering information
4. turning long sentences into multiple shorter ones (or vice versa)
5. expressing abstract concepts more concretely.

Paraphrasing with synonyms is considered by some to be an acceptable stage in teaching paraphrase, but it is necessary that it is ultimately combined with techniques for altering sentence structure to avoid the appearance of plagiarism. Studies of English language students have found that ESL learners tend to rely on paraphrasing based on using synonyms rather than changing sentence structure. Participants in a study of some Vietnamese ESL learners expressed that they preferred using synonyms out of a fear that using the wrong sentence structure would lead to the sentence having a different meaning. Na and Mai suggest that ESL teachers should provide varied activities including tasks requiring changes in syntax, and that ESL students should be given source texts to paraphrase whose meaning they are already readily able to understand.

In your own words

The phrase "in your own words" is often used within this context to imply that the writer has rewritten the text in their own writing style – how they would have written it if they had created the idea. Nowadays, there are some models to learn and recognize paraphrase on natural language texts. Sentences can also be automatically paraphrased using text simplification software.

See also

In Spanish: Paráfrasis para niños

• Automated paraphrasing
• Text simplification
• Rogeting