What is paraphrasing? How to paraphrase and cite it properly

Paraphrasing is restating someone else's idea in your own words and your own sentence structure, keeping the original meaning and roughly the same level of detail, and citing the source. It differs from summarizing, which condenses a passage to its main point, and from quoting, which copies the exact words inside quotation marks. All three need a citation, because the idea still belongs to the original author. To paraphrase well, understand the passage fully, write your version without looking at it, then check it against the original for accuracy and wording.

This guide shows the method step by step, with good and bad examples built from one passage.

Paraphrasing, summarizing and quoting compared

What the three share is the citation. Changing the words changes who wrote the sentence; it doesn't change whose idea it is.

When to paraphrase, summarize or quote

• Paraphrase when the detail of a passage matters to your argument, but the exact wording doesn't. Most use of sources in academic writing is paraphrase, because it shows you understood the material and lets your own voice carry the paper.
• Summarize when you need the main point of a long passage or a whole source, such as giving the finding of a study in one sentence.
• Quote when the exact words matter: a definition, a striking phrase, a claim you're about to analyze closely, or wording that can't be put another way without losing something.

A common guideline is to quote sparingly. A paper made mostly of quotations shows what other people think, not what you think about it.

One passage, five versions

Here is a short source passage. The author, Hartley, and her article are invented for this guide, so the examples use no one's real work. Suppose it appears on page 42.

Street trees cool cities in two ways. Their canopies block sunlight before it reaches pavement and buildings, and the water they release through their leaves draws heat from the surrounding air. Because neighborhoods with fewer trees tend to be poorer, the benefits of this cooling are not shared equally, and residents with the least ability to pay for air conditioning often live on the hottest streets.

Version 1: word swapping (not acceptable)

Street trees cool urban areas in two ways. Their canopies stop sunlight before it hits pavement and buildings, and the water they let out through their leaves pulls heat from the nearby air (Hartley, 2021).

This keeps the original's sentence structure and most of its words, swapping a few synonyms. This is called patchwriting. Even with a citation, most institutions treat it as plagiarism, because the sentences are still essentially the author's.

Version 2: a different structure, but the meaning drifts (not acceptable)

Trees are the main way cities stay cool, and poorer people can't afford air conditioning (Hartley, 2021).

The words are new, but the meaning has changed. Hartley says trees cool cities in two ways, not that they are the main way. She says poorer residents often live on the hottest streets, not that all poor people can't afford air conditioning. A paraphrase that misrepresents the source is inaccurate, even if it's original.

Version 3: a good paraphrase

Trees lower city temperatures both by shading hard surfaces and by giving off water through their leaves, a process that absorbs heat from the air. That protection is unevenly spread, however: the neighborhoods with the fewest trees tend to be lower-income, so the people least able to afford air conditioning are often exposed to the most heat (Hartley, 2021, p. 42).

The meaning and detail are all there, the sentence structure is new, and the wording is the writer's own. Terms with no good alternative ("air conditioning", "neighborhoods") are kept, which is fine.

Version 4: a summary

Hartley (2021) argues that street trees cool cities, but that poorer neighborhoods, which tend to have fewer trees, get less of that benefit.

One sentence, the main idea only.

Version 5: a quotation

Hartley (2021) warns that "residents with the least ability to pay for air conditioning often live on the hottest streets" (p. 42).

Exact words, in quotation marks, with a page number.

How to paraphrase, in five steps

1. Read until you understand

Read the passage more than once. Look up any terms you don't know. If you can't explain the idea out loud to a friend, you aren't ready to paraphrase it. Most bad paraphrases come from writers who didn't fully understand the source, so they stayed close to its words.

2. Note the key points, then put the source away

Jot down the main ideas as brief notes in your own words: "2 cooling methods: shade + water from leaves; poorer areas fewer trees; most exposed = least able to pay for AC". Then cover or close the source.

3. Write from your notes

Write your version from the notes, without looking back at the original. Start the sentence differently from the source; often the easiest way is to begin with a different part of the idea. Hartley starts with the trees; Version 3 starts with the effect on temperature.

4. Compare with the original

Now look at the source again and check:

• Meaning: is every point accurate? Nothing added, nothing dropped, nothing exaggerated?
• Wording: are any distinctive phrases still the author's? Any run of several identical words should either be rewritten or put in quotation marks.
• Structure: does your sentence follow the original clause by clause? If so, rewrite it more freely.

5. Cite it

Add an in-text citation and a full entry in your reference list. Signal where the borrowed idea starts, for example with "Hartley argues" or "According to Hartley", so the reader can tell your ideas from the source's.

Techniques that help

These techniques help you build a new sentence, but they work only after you have understood the passage. On their own, they lead to patchwriting.

• Change the structure: combine sentences, split long ones, or reverse the order of cause and effect.
• Change word forms: "the benefits are not shared equally" becomes "the benefit is unequal".
• Change the voice: active to passive or the other way round, where it reads naturally.
• Use synonyms carefully: keep technical terms, names and data exactly as they are. "Transpiration" or "median income" should not be swapped for loose alternatives.

How to cite a paraphrase

APA 7

Give the author and year, either in parentheses or in the sentence:

• (Hartley, 2021)
• Hartley (2021) found that ...

APA doesn't require a page number for a paraphrase, but encourages one when it would help the reader find the passage, especially in a long work: (Hartley, 2021, p. 42). Direct quotations always need the page number.

MLA 9

Give the author's surname and the page number, with no comma between them:

• (Hartley 42)
• Hartley argues that ... (42).

In both styles, the in-text citation points to a full entry in the reference list (APA) or Works Cited list (MLA).

When you paraphrase across several sentences

If a paraphrase runs over more than one sentence, make it clear that all of it comes from the source. Name the author at the start ("Hartley explains that ...") and cite at the end, or refer back to the author again ("She adds ..."). Don't leave the reader guessing where the source ends and your own analysis begins.

Keeping track of exact page numbers and matching entries is where many citation errors creep in. In ScribeSprout, you cite sources from your library in APA, MLA and other styles with a page number, and the reference list builds itself under your draft. Verify citations then checks each citation's formatting and source and, where your library has the source's text, whether it supports the sentence that cites it, a useful check that a paraphrase hasn't drifted from what the source says.

Common paraphrasing mistakes

• No citation. The most serious mistake. Your words, their idea: cite it.
• Patchwriting. Swapping synonyms into the original sentence structure.
• Changing the meaning. Overstating, oversimplifying or adding your own claim into the author's.
• Paraphrasing what should be quoted. If wording is the point, quote it.
• Paraphrasing common knowledge. Widely known facts, such as the date of a major historical event, usually don't need a citation. If you're unsure, cite.

If you use any tool to reword a source, the same rules apply: the idea still needs a citation, and you are responsible for checking that the meaning is accurate. Check your course's policy on such tools before using them.

Frequently asked questions

Is paraphrasing plagiarism?

Not when it's done properly. A paraphrase that uses your own words and structure and cites the source is honest use of a source. It becomes plagiarism when there is no citation, or when the wording and structure stay so close to the original that the sentences are still essentially the author's.

What is the difference between summarizing and paraphrasing?

A paraphrase restates one passage in your own words at roughly the same length and level of detail. A summary condenses a passage or whole source to its main idea, so it is much shorter. Both use your own words, and both need a citation.

Do you use quotation marks when paraphrasing?

No. Quotation marks show exact words copied from a source, and a paraphrase uses your own words. If you keep a distinctive phrase from the original, put that phrase in quotation marks within your paraphrase, and cite as usual.

How do I cite a paraphrase in APA?

Include the author's surname and the year: (Hartley, 2021), or Hartley (2021) in the sentence. APA 7 encourages, but doesn't require, a page or paragraph number for a paraphrase, such as (Hartley, 2021, p. 42). Add a full entry to your reference list.

How do I cite a paraphrase in MLA?

Include the author's surname and the page number with no comma: (Hartley 42). If you name the author in the sentence, put only the page number in parentheses at the end. Add a full entry to your Works Cited list.