Paraphrase material in your own style and language; do not simply rearrange sentence phrases. If you don't sufficiently change the original, you could be plagiarizing.

Original material Incorrect paraphrase Correct paraphrase
Through the earliest years of the 20th century, the spread of population from city centers was slowed by the relative difficulty of transportation to outlying areas. In the early years of the last century, population did not spread from the center of cities because it was relatively difficult to travel to outlying areas. Difficult travel to areas outside the city centers kept urban populations from spreading widely outside their boundaries in the first years of the 1900s.
Note: Remember that whether you quote, paraphrase, or summarize, you still need to provide a citation. Note: original sequence of words in the sentence has not changed; key phrases copied (outlying areas) or closely echoed (center of cities). Note: Sentence has been recast to reverse order of information, and new words (urban, boundaries) have been introduced.

To avoid charges of plagiarism, make sure you include a citation for all material or ideas from other sources. Introduce any quotation, paraphrase, or summary with the name of the author and end the passage with a page number in parentheses, or place the author's last name and page number inside a parentheses at the end of the citation. The following examples refer to a hypothetical article by John Smith.

Example one -- According to Smith, the real reason behind Harry Potter's popularity is J.K. Rowling's ability to "touch the heart and soul of the young reader" (134).

Example two: -- One reason for Harry Potter's popularity has been attributed to J.K. Rowling's ability to "touch the heart and soul of the young reader" (Smith 134)

At the end of each summary, paraphrase, or direct quotation, provide a specific page number within parentheses. If you have not introduced the material with the name of the author, include the name here.

Quotation Paraphrase Summary
The leading cause of unrest in the Roman Republic was the "inability of the ruling class to deal with the very real problems of unemployment, overcrowding, and a sense of powerlessness that pervaded the populace" (Jones 48). According to Jones, one of the biggest problems in the Roman Republic was the widespread unemployment and overpopulation in the cities, and the sense that the population was unable to do anything to improve it (48). The Roman government was unable to deal with three very real problems among its population (Jones 48).

.
 

Efforts are made to ensure the information on this page is complete, current, and accurate. However, changes in programs and policies do occur. Questions about specific information on this site should be directed to the Columbia High School office at (509) 493-1970. Original materials on this page copyright White Salmon Valley School District, and may not be duplicated without permission. Please contact the webmaster for pemissions, or with questions, problems, corrections, or suggestions regarding this page or site.