5 Ways Paraphrasing Is Important In Academic Writing With Examples

Academic writing is a formal manner of writing that is strict and requires you to be on point with everything meaning there’s no room for tardiness. Academic writing is required of students submitting their assignments like essays, theses, research papers, and whatnot.

That is not to say that only students can make use of it. Whoever wants to make use of it, good luck to you because it is a hard format to nail properly.

There’s a need for something to convert your informal writing to a formal one for assignment submission.

That something is paraphrasing and it’s important in academic writing.

Allow me to show you just how important in 5 ways with examples to boot of course.

5 Techniques That Show Why Rephrasing Is Vital In Academic Writing With Samples

1.     Paraphrasing For Formal Academic Writing

Academic writing requires a rigid formal style. You have to read a checklist of what constitutes a formal write-up. You have to put your emotions aside and write facts and figures in a tone that suggests no prejudice on your end.

Avoid using unprofessional words and phrases. Avoid contradicting yourself at all times.

All this can be avoided and achieved by using accurate paraphrasing techniques. Techniques such as the use of synonyms to replace informal words and phrases with formal ones.

Paraphrasing in a way that removes the “I” or “Me” part of your writing in favor of third-person approach. Paraphrasing to avoid the maybe, could, would uncertain kind of wording.

For example, say you do this for your academic writing,

“I strongly believe, that artificial intelligence tools like ChatGPT are making students lazy and reducing their critical thinking skills. Maybe the students would be better off without relying on AI to save them all the time and instead make actual efforts for a change.”

By paraphrasing, we get an optimized version of this informal text,

“We concur after investigating this matter that artificial intelligence-powered programs like Chat GPT are making students lethargic and dampening their critical thinking skills. The students are better off relying on their own abilities to complete tasks instead of relying on AI all the time.”

2.     Paraphrasing For Enhanced Readable Academic Writing

Paraphrasing is also important for making readers understand your piece of writing. If you have great knowledge of source material and do a great piece of writing but mess up the readability then it’s of no use.

Paraphrasing is needed to replace complex dictions where needed and shorten sentence lengths so readers don’t lose track of the topic.

“For the general public, your text should reflect a readability of about 8th grade.”

This is easier said than done as everyone has a different grasp of vocabulary. People with a firm grasp of it often don’t see any problem with complicated words or the need to shorten sentences.

This can only be revealed to them if they take a readability test to recognize which parts need paraphrasing for improved readability.

Let’s illustrate this by showing an example sentence that could improve its readability:

“The dilemma of e-schooling is the lacking human bonding experience which is an indispensable part of your schooling.”

This is showing grade 13 on Hemingway’s readability grade:

This is how I paraphrased it to improve its readability:

“The problem with online education is the missing human connection. It is an essential part of the schooling experience.”

3.     Paraphrasing For Unique Perspectives With Online Paraphrasers

So far we haven’t even discussed the various benefits of using online paraphrasing tool. Outside of saving you the nuisance of paraphrasing multiple texts by yourself, they also provide tons of resources in the name of fresh ideas/perspectives.

At any given time, most paraphrasing tools (that I’ve tested) have at least two or more free paraphrasing modes that you can experiment with. Trying out these modes will give you new ways of explaining your academic writing that you probably didn’t think of.

It’s always nice to have a variety of options to choose from. Case in point, you can Paraphrase online using this rephrasing tool:

The word changer and sentence rephraser modes of this AI-powered web tool are there to lend you a helping hand. This paraphraser can you help you explain your academic writing in unique ways that others didn’t think of.

4.     Paraphrasing For Direct Quotes

Paraphrasing is a great way to include someone else’s work in your academic writing without directly quoting them. Nothing wrong with including direct quotes in your writing, it’s just that stylistically it may be a better choice to paraphrase those quotes and explain them.

A simple example of this would be the American theoretical physicist and father of atomic bomb’s quote, “Now I am become death, destroyer of worlds”. You can use this famous quote by J. Robert Oppenheimer in your writing like millions of others do as this:

“At the Trinity test site in Los Alamos, New Mexico, looking at the fireball of the atomic bomb explosion on July 16, 1945, J Robert Oppenheimer said: ‘Now, I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.’

Or you may stand out from the herd by paraphrasing like this to include the direct quote in your academic writing:

“Overlooking the fireball of the atomic bomb explosion on July 16, 1945, at the Trinity Proving Ground in Los Alamos, New Mexico. J. Robert Oppenheimer said, ‘I became the destroyer of the world’s death’.

5.     Paraphrasing To Avoid Plagiarism

While not its main purpose, paraphrasing can definitely be used to avoid plagiarism if detected. Plagiarism is the act of stealing someone’s work without giving them their credit. Plagiarism is an ethical offense that bears heavy consequences in every field it’s found.

Before publishing your work, it’s important that you check it for plagiarism either manually or through online detectors. Some leeway of 15-20% is generally allowed depending on your work and institute but if you manage to cross that threshold then there’s a simple solution.

This paragraph is taken from Rasmussen. I will proceed to paraphrase to remove plagiarism from it.

“Scholarly composing regularly requires understudies to coordinate data found in source fabric. There are different ways to do this; citations, outlines or rewords. A summarizing could be a repetition of data taken from source fabric composed in your claim words.”

This paraphrased text won’t show up for plagiarism anywhere.

Conclusion

Lord knows, how much I personally struggle with formal writing to this as you can imagine when reading this article. For me, there are just too many restrictions for me to even consider writing it let alone enjoy the process.

Paraphrasing can make you enjoy the process. It’s an effective solution for your academic writing worries. While I enjoy the creative process of paraphrasing on my own, I have to admit that online paraphrasing tools save me a ton of time.