How to Paraphrase Direct Quotes: A Comprehensive Guide

Purpose of this guide

Paraphrasing is the process of expressing a source writer’s idea accurately in substantially new language and sentence form. A successful paraphrase preserves the original meaning while changing much more than a few individual words.

Although people sometimes say “paraphrase a direct quote,” the more precise description is “paraphrase a passage or an idea from a source.” A direct quotation reproduces the writer’s exact words and uses quotation marks. A paraphrase removes the quotation marks because the wording and construction have been genuinely transformed. The source must still be cited.

This guide is intended for:

• English language learners who need a repeatable method for academic writing;

• teachers who teach paraphrasing as a language and literacy skill; and

• teacher trainers who need to explain, model, diagnose, and assess paraphrasing.

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The central principle: preserve the idea, rebuild the sentence

An effective paraphrase does two things at the same time:

1. It remains faithful to the source. The facts, relationships, degree of certainty, and writer’s position stay the same.

2. It becomes a new piece of language. The focus, information order, sentence structure, grammar, and much of the wording change.

A paraphrase is not produced by replacing every important word with a synonym. That strategy often creates awkward language, inaccurate meaning, or patchwriting—a sentence that remains too close to the source.

Source sentence

Regular retrieval practice strengthens long-term memory because learners must reconstruct knowledge instead of merely rereading it.

Weak word-substitution version

Frequent retrieval exercises improve long-term memory because students have to rebuild information rather than simply read it again.

This version changes several words, but the sentence follows nearly the same order and grammatical pattern.

Stronger paraphrase

When students recall previously learned material without looking at it, the effort required to reconstruct that material can make it more durable in memory than repeated reading does.

The stronger version changes:

• the focus, from “retrieval practice” to what students do;

• the structure, from one statement followed by a because-clause to a when-clause plus a comparison; and

• the grammar, including the subjects, verbs, noun phrases, and clause relationships.

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The FSG method: Focus, Structure, and Grammar

A practical way to teach and produce paraphrases is the FSG method:

1. Change the focus: decide which part of the idea will become the starting point or main emphasis.

2. Change the structure: reorganize the order and relationships among the ideas.

3. Change the grammar: rebuild the message with different grammatical choices.

Vocabulary changes naturally during these three stages, but vocabulary should not be the only change.

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1. Changing the focus

The focus is the perspective from which the information is presented. It determines what comes first, what becomes the grammatical subject, and what the reader notices as the central point.

1.1 Shift from the actor to the action or result

Source

Teachers who provide specific feedback help learners identify the exact areas that require improvement.

Focus on the feedback

Specific feedback enables learners to recognize precisely which aspects of their work need further development.

Focus on the learners

Learners can identify what they need to improve more accurately when their teachers give them specific feedback.

Focus on the result

A clearer understanding of areas for improvement can result from detailed teacher feedback.

All three versions preserve the main relationship, but each begins from a different point.

1.2 Shift between cause and effect

Source

Students may participate less when they fear that their classmates will judge their mistakes.

Cause first

Fear of negative peer judgment can discourage students from participating.

Effect first

Reduced classroom participation may result from students’ concern about how peers will react to their errors.

Condition first

When learners expect classmates to evaluate their mistakes negatively, they may be less willing to contribute.

The causal relationship must remain the same. A paraphrase should not turn a possible effect into a guaranteed one.

1.3 Shift from a general claim to the mechanism

Source

Collaborative tasks can improve language learning by requiring students to negotiate meaning.

Mechanism-focused paraphrase

When learners work together, the need to clarify and adjust their messages can support language development.

Here, “negotiating meaning” is unpacked into actions that make the mechanism more explicit.

1.4 Shift the topic–comment relationship

In English, the beginning of a sentence often establishes the topic, and the rest of the sentence comments on it.

Source topic: formative assessment

Formative assessment gives teachers information that they can use to adapt instruction.

New topic: instructional decisions

Decisions about how to adjust instruction can be informed by evidence gathered through formative assessment.

New topic: teachers

Teachers can use formative-assessment evidence to modify subsequent instruction.

Questions for changing the focus

Ask:

• Who or what is acting?

• Who or what is affected?

• What is the cause?

• What is the result?

• What condition makes the result possible?

• What process or mechanism connects the cause and result?

• Which part of the idea should the reader encounter first?

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2. Changing the structure

The structure is the way ideas are divided, combined, ordered, and connected. Structural change is one of the strongest protections against patchwriting.

2.1 Reorder the information

Source

Because multilingual learners draw on their full linguistic repertoires, strict separation of languages may limit their ability to construct meaning.

Paraphrase

Learners’ meaning-making may be restricted when classroom practices prevent them from using all the linguistic resources available to them.

The reason moves from the beginning to the end, and the vocabulary and grammar also change.

2.2 Divide one sentence into two

Source

Although automated feedback can identify certain surface-level errors quickly, students still require human guidance to understand complex rhetorical and disciplinary expectations.

Paraphrase

Automated systems can rapidly detect some problems in language form. However, teacher guidance remains necessary when learners must interpret more complex expectations related to argument, audience, or disciplinary writing.

Dividing a long sentence can improve clarity, especially for English language learners. The logical contrast must remain visible through a connector such as however.

2.3 Combine two or more source sentences

Source

Extensive reading exposes learners to large amounts of comprehensible language. Repeated exposure helps them develop faster word recognition.

Paraphrase

By encountering substantial amounts of understandable language through extensive reading, learners may gradually recognize familiar words more efficiently.

The two propositions are combined through a by-phrase and a main clause.

2.4 Change coordination to subordination

Source

Students planned their essays carefully, and their arguments were more coherent.

Paraphrase

Because careful planning can improve the organization of an argument, students who planned their essays tended to produce more coherent texts.

Caution: The source sentence may show correlation rather than definite causation. Do not introduce because unless the source clearly supports a causal interpretation. A safer version would be:

Students who planned their essays carefully also tended to present more coherent arguments.

2.5 Change subordination to coordination

Source

While explicit grammar instruction can increase learners’ awareness of a form, meaningful use is needed for that knowledge to become communicatively available.

Paraphrase

Explicit instruction may make learners more conscious of a grammatical feature, but they also need opportunities to use it meaningfully in communication.

2.6 Replace a definition with an explanatory structure

Source

Code-switching is the use of more than one language or language variety within an interaction.

Paraphrase

Speakers engage in code-switching when they move between languages or varieties during the same interaction.

2.7 Replace an example list with a category—or unpack a category

Source

Digital literacy includes evaluating sources, protecting personal information, and communicating appropriately online.

More general paraphrase

Digital literacy involves the critical, safe, and socially appropriate use of online information and communication.

Source

Learners use metacognitive strategies to regulate their learning.

More explicit paraphrase

Learners regulate their learning by planning how to approach a task, checking their understanding, and evaluating their progress.

The first paraphrase condenses examples into categories. The second explains an abstract category through representative processes.

Questions for changing the structure

Ask:

• Can the sentence be divided into two sentences?

• Can two related sentences be combined?

• Can the reason come after the result rather than before it?

• Can a contrast become the main organizing relationship?

• Can a definition be changed into a when-clause?

• Can a general term be explained through its processes?

• Can examples be grouped into a broader category?

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3. Changing the grammar

Changing the grammar means reconstructing the same idea through different grammatical resources. Effective paraphrasing usually requires several grammatical changes at once.

3.1 Change active and passive voice

Source: active

Researchers collected the data through semi-structured interviews.

Paraphrase: passive

The data were gathered in semi-structured interviews.

Source: passive

Learners’ confidence is influenced by previous classroom experiences.

Paraphrase: active

Previous classroom experiences can shape learners’ confidence.

The passive voice is useful when the action or result matters more than the actor. The active voice is often clearer when the actor is important.

3.2 Change word class

A concept can often be expressed as a noun, verb, adjective, or adverb.

Noun to verb

The implementation of peer assessment led to greater student reflection.

When teachers implemented peer assessment, students reflected more on their work.

Verb to noun

When learners repeatedly encounter a word, they are more likely to remember it.

Repeated exposure to a word can increase the likelihood of retention.

Adjective to noun phrase

The instructions were ambiguous, so students interpreted the task differently.

Ambiguity in the instructions resulted in different interpretations of the task.

Teaching note: Nominalization can make writing more concise and academic, but excessive nominalization may make it dense. Verb-based paraphrases are often more accessible to language learners.

3.3 Change clause types

Relative clause to participle phrase

Students who receive regular opportunities to revise often produce stronger final drafts.

Students receiving regular revision opportunities often produce stronger final drafts.

Participial phrase to relative clause

Feedback focused only on errors may reduce learners’ willingness to experiment.

Feedback that focuses only on errors may make learners less willing to experiment with language.

Noun clause to noun phrase

Teachers need to understand how students interpret the task.

Teachers need an understanding of students’ interpretations of the task.

3.4 Change direct reporting to indirect reporting

Source wording

Lee argues, “Students need to see revision as a normal part of writing rather than as evidence of failure.”

Paraphrase

Lee argues that students should regard revision as an ordinary stage of composing, not as a sign that they have failed.

The reporting verb and degree of commitment must remain accurate. Argues, suggests, demonstrates, and claims do not mean exactly the same thing.

3.5 Change conditional structures

Source

If learners do not notice the difference between two forms, they are unlikely to use them accurately.

Paraphrase

Accurate use of two contrasting forms is unlikely without learners first recognizing the distinction between them.

3.6 Change comparison structures

Source

Students remembered more vocabulary after retrieval practice than after rereading.

Paraphrase

Retrieval practice produced better vocabulary retention than repeated reading did.

Do not change which item performed better.

3.7 Change verbs while preserving the relationship

Source

Classroom anxiety reduces students’ willingness to communicate.

Possible accurate grammatical reconstructions include:

• Students may become less willing to communicate when they experience classroom anxiety.

• A lower willingness to communicate can be associated with anxiety in the classroom.

• Anxiety may discourage learners from contributing to classroom interaction.

The choice among reduces, is associated with, and may discourage depends on the strength of the original evidence. A paraphrase must not make the claim stronger or weaker without justification.

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4. Vocabulary change: important but secondary

Paraphrasing normally involves vocabulary changes, but synonym replacement alone is not sufficient.

4.1 Preserve technical terms when necessary

Some terms have precise disciplinary meanings and should not be replaced merely to appear original.

Examples include:

• formative assessment;

• working memory;

• code-switching;

• intrinsic motivation;

• phonological awareness;

• communicative competence.

A technical term can remain unchanged while the surrounding focus, structure, grammar, and explanation are transformed.

4.2 Use natural collocations, not dictionary synonyms

Source

The intervention had a significant effect on reading comprehension.

Awkward substitution

The intervention possessed an important consequence on reading understanding.

Natural paraphrase

Participants’ reading comprehension improved substantially following the intervention.

Words that appear as synonyms in a dictionary may not combine naturally in the same contexts.

4.3 Use definition, explanation, or category change

Instead of searching for one-word synonyms, try:

• replacing a term with a short definition;

• replacing a general category with a representative process;

• replacing examples with a broader category; or

• expressing the result rather than the named concept.

Source

Peer scaffolding helped students complete the task.

Paraphrase with explanation

Support provided by classmates enabled students to complete parts of the task that they could not initially manage alone.

4.4 Avoid changing key distinctions

The following pairs are related but not interchangeable:

• may / will;

• is associated with / causes;

• some / most / all;

• improves / is intended to improve;

• suggests / proves;

• less likely / unable;

• frequently / always.

A paraphrase that changes these distinctions is inaccurate even when the wording is original.

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5. A step-by-step paraphrasing procedure

Step 1: Read for meaning

Read the passage until you can explain it without looking at the wording. Identify:

• the topic;

• the main claim;

• important supporting ideas;

• the relationship among ideas, such as cause, contrast, condition, sequence, or example;

• the degree of certainty; and

• any technical terms that should remain.

Step 2: Record idea notes, not copied phrases

Write brief notes using symbols, keywords, or questions.

Source

Students are more likely to transfer a learning strategy to a new context when teachers make the conditions for its use explicit.

Idea notes

• transfer strategy to new situation

• more likely when learners know when/why strategy applies

• teacher explains conditions for use

The notes reduce dependence on the original sentence pattern.

Step 3: Look away from the source

Close, cover, or minimize the source. Explain the idea as though you were speaking to a colleague or student.

Step 4: Choose a new focus

Possible starting points include:

• the learner;

• the teacher;

• the condition;

• the result; or

• the transfer process.

Step 5: Rebuild the structure

Choose a different organizational pattern. For example:

• condition → result;

• result → condition;

• two sentences instead of one;

• one combined sentence instead of two; or

• general statement → explanation.

Step 6: Rebuild the grammar

Change several features, such as:

• subject and verb;

• active/passive voice;

• nouns and verbs;

• clause types;

• sentence boundaries; and

• connectors.

Step 7: Compare meanings

Reopen the source and check:

• Have I kept every essential idea?

• Have I added an interpretation that is not in the source?

• Have I changed the degree of certainty?

• Have I changed a correlation into a cause?

• Have I altered who did what to whom?

Step 8: Compare language and structure

Highlight any sequence of distinctive words that remains too close to the source. Check whether the sentence still mirrors the original order.

Step 9: Cite the source

Paraphrased material requires citation because the idea belongs to another writer.

Parenthetical style

Explicit discussion of when a strategy is useful can help learners apply it in unfamiliar situations (Author, year).

Narrative style

Author (year) explains that learners are more likely to apply a strategy in a new context when its conditions of use have been made clear.

A citation does not correct an overly copied paraphrase. Writers need both original expression and source acknowledgment.

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6. Extended worked examples

Example A: Changing focus, structure, and grammar together

Source

When teachers allow students to use their first language strategically, learners can draw on prior knowledge and participate in cognitively demanding tasks before they have full command of the second language.

Meaning map

• teacher permits strategic first-language use

• learners access prior knowledge

• learners can participate in difficult thinking tasks

• this can happen before second-language proficiency is complete

Paraphrase

Learners do not always need complete proficiency in the target language before engaging with intellectually challenging content. Strategic use of their existing language resources can help them activate what they already know and contribute to the task.

What changed?

• Focus: The paraphrase begins with learners’ ability to participate, not with teachers’ permission.

• Structure: One source sentence becomes two sentences.

• Grammar: The initial when-clause disappears; allow students to use becomes strategic use … can help; before they have full command becomes do not always need complete proficiency before.

• Vocabulary: First language becomes existing language resources; cognitively demanding becomes intellectually challenging.

Example B: Preserving cautious language

Source

Frequent corrective feedback may increase accuracy, but it can also discourage risk-taking if learners perceive it as constant criticism.

Inaccurate paraphrase

Correcting students frequently improves accuracy but prevents them from experimenting with language.

Problems:

• may increase becomes the stronger improves;

• can discourage becomes the absolute prevents;

• the condition if learners perceive it as constant criticism disappears.

Accurate paraphrase

Although regular correction has the potential to support more accurate language use, learners may become less willing to experiment when they experience that feedback as continual criticism.

Example C: Combining sources into a synthesized paraphrase

Source 1

Novice writers often revise at the word or sentence level rather than reconsidering the overall argument.

Source 2

Structured peer response can draw writers’ attention to organization, evidence, and audience.

Synthesized paraphrase

Because inexperienced writers may concentrate mainly on local wording during revision, structured feedback from peers can help redirect their attention toward broader rhetorical concerns such as organization, support, and audience (Source 1; Source 2).

A synthesis does more than place two paraphrases side by side. It shows the relationship between the ideas.

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7. Patchwriting: how to recognize and repair it

Patchwriting occurs when a writer follows the source’s wording or structure too closely while making limited substitutions, deletions, or rearrangements. It is common among developing academic writers and multilingual learners, but it should be treated as a stage requiring instruction and revision—not as a finished paraphrase.

Signs of patchwriting

• the same grammatical subject begins both sentences;

• ideas appear in exactly the same order;

• several short word sequences are copied;

• synonyms are inserted into an unchanged frame;

• the source’s clause boundaries remain intact;

• unusual or distinctive expressions remain without quotation marks.

Repair procedure

1. Stop looking for synonyms.

2. Write a one-line statement of the main idea.

3. Draw arrows showing cause, effect, contrast, or sequence.

4. Choose a different starting point.

5. explain the idea aloud without viewing the source.

6. Write a new sentence from that oral explanation.

7. Compare the meanings and then compare the language.

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8. Common problems and corrections

Problem 1: Changing words but not the sentence

Correction: Change the focus and information order before selecting vocabulary.

Problem 2: Using unfamiliar synonyms

Correction: Prefer accurate, natural language that the writer understands and can defend.

Problem 3: Changing the writer’s certainty

Correction: Preserve hedging and boosting words such as may, tends to, often, clearly, and strongly.

Problem 4: Omitting an important condition

Correction: Identify every condition, limitation, exception, and contrast before drafting.

Problem 5: Adding personal evaluation

Correction: Keep the paraphrase separate from commentary. First represent the source accurately; then evaluate it in a new sentence.

Problem 6: Retaining distinctive language

Correction: Use quotation marks for memorable or uniquely phrased language, or restructure the passage more completely.

Problem 7: Producing a paraphrase that is much longer than necessary

Correction: Distinguish paraphrasing from explaining. A paraphrase normally remains reasonably close to the source’s level of detail, although it may be somewhat longer when technical language must be unpacked.

Problem 8: Believing citation permits copying

Correction: Citation acknowledges ownership of the idea. Quotation marks acknowledge exact wording. A paraphrase needs a citation and genuinely new wording and construction.

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9. Paraphrase, summary, quotation, and synthesis

Method	Main purpose	Relationship to source length	Exact wording allowed?	Citation needed?
Direct quotation	Preserve exact language	Usually shorter extract	Yes, with quotation marks	Yes
Paraphrase	Restate a specific idea in new language	Usually similar detail	Only unavoidable technical terms	Yes
Summary	Condense the main point(s)	Considerably shorter	Normally no	Yes
Synthesis	Combine related ideas from multiple sources	Varies	Normally no	Yes, for all sources

Use a direct quotation when the exact wording itself matters. Use a paraphrase when the idea matters more than the phrasing. Use a summary when only the broader point is needed. Use synthesis when sources need to be connected, compared, or integrated.

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10. Teaching paraphrasing to English language learners

Paraphrasing should be taught as a meaning-making and grammar-reconstruction process, not as a synonym exercise.

Recommended teaching sequence

Stage 1: Identify meaning relationships

Students label the relationship in a short source sentence:

• cause and effect;

• contrast;

• condition;

• problem and response;

• claim and evidence; or

• category and example.

Stage 2: Practice focus shifts

Give students one sentence and require three openings:

• begin with the actor;

• begin with the result; and

• begin with the condition.

Stage 3: Practice one structural transformation at a time

Examples:

• combine two sentences;

• divide one sentence;

• move a reason clause;

• change a definition into a when-clause; or

• convert examples into a category.

Stage 4: Practice grammatical transformation

Students transform:

• active to passive;

• noun to verb;

• relative clause to participial phrase;

• direct statement to reported statement; and

• positive expression to an equivalent negative construction.

Stage 5: Integrate FSG changes

Students produce a full paraphrase that changes focus, structure, and grammar while preserving meaning.

Stage 6: Add citation and source integration

Students place the paraphrase into a paragraph with:

1. a lead-in or reporting phrase;

2. the paraphrased idea and citation; and

3. an explanation of why the source matters to the writer’s argument.

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11. Activities for teacher education and professional development

Activity 1: Three-focus challenge

Provide one source sentence. In groups, participants create:

• an actor-focused paraphrase;

• a process-focused paraphrase; and

• a result-focused paraphrase.

They then discuss how the choice of focus changes emphasis without changing meaning.

Activity 2: Paraphrase diagnosis

Give participants four versions:

• one accurate paraphrase;

• one patchwritten version;

• one version with changed certainty; and

• one version with an omitted condition.

Participants identify and explain each problem rather than merely choosing the “best” sentence.

Activity 3: Grammar transformation stations

At separate stations, participants transform the same source through:

• voice;

• word class;

• clause type;

• sentence combination; and

• sentence division.

The class then compares which combinations produce the clearest paraphrase.

Activity 4: Meaning-first note taking

Participants read a short passage, remove it from view, and write only five keywords plus arrows or symbols. They create a paraphrase from the notes and later compare it with the source.

Activity 5: Strength-of-claim continuum

Place reporting and stance expressions on a continuum, for example:

proves → demonstrates → indicates → suggests → may indicate

Participants decide which expressions accurately preserve the source writer’s level of commitment.

Activity 6: Think-aloud modeling

A teacher trainer models the process aloud:

• “The source begins with the teacher, but the main point I need concerns learners.”

• “The relationship is conditional, so I must preserve that condition.”

• “I will divide the sentence and change the noun participation into the verb participate.”

• “Now I will compare the strength of my claim with the original.”

Think-alouds make normally invisible decisions observable to novice teachers.

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12. A practical assessment rubric

Score each category from 0 to 4.

Criterion	4: Strong	3: Competent	2: Developing	1: Limited	0: Missing or unacceptable
Meaning accuracy	Preserves all essential ideas, relationships, and qualifications	Minor imprecision that does not alter the main idea	Some details or relationships are unclear	Meaning is substantially changed	Misrepresents or does not address the source
Change of focus	Establishes a clear new perspective or information emphasis	Some effective change in emphasis	Focus changes only slightly	Same topic–comment pattern as source	Essentially copied
Structural transformation	Reorganizes ideas and clauses substantially and coherently	Shows meaningful structural change	Uses limited restructuring	Closely follows source order	Copies source structure
Grammatical transformation	Uses several accurate grammatical changes	Uses more than one appropriate grammatical change	Relies on a narrow range of changes	Makes superficial substitutions	Copies grammar or produces unintelligible language
Language naturalness	Language is clear, idiomatic, and appropriate for context	Mostly natural, with minor awkwardness	Understandable but noticeably awkward	Frequent language problems interfere	Meaning cannot be followed
Source acknowledgment	Citation and reporting are complete and appropriate	Minor citation or integration issue	Citation present but poorly integrated	Incomplete acknowledgment	No acknowledgment

A high-quality paraphrase must score well in both accuracy and transformation. Original wording cannot compensate for inaccurate meaning, and accurate meaning cannot compensate for copied construction.

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13. Student checklist

Before submitting a paraphrase, ask:

• Can I explain the source idea without looking at the original sentence?

• Have I identified the main claim and all important conditions?

• Did I choose a different focus?

• Did I change the order or grouping of the information?

• Did I change several grammatical features?

• Did I preserve the original level of certainty?

• Did I avoid unnatural dictionary synonyms?

• Did I keep only necessary technical terms?

• Does my version sound like language I understand and would naturally use?

• Is any distinctive wording still too close to the source?

• Did I cite the source?

• Did I clearly separate the source’s idea from my own commentary?

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14. Teacher-trainer observation checklist

When observing a paraphrasing lesson, consider whether the teacher:

• begins with comprehension rather than word replacement;

• explicitly teaches relationships among ideas;

• models changes in focus, structure, and grammar;

• demonstrates how to preserve hedging and claim strength;

• distinguishes technical terms from replaceable wording;

• uses examples of both successful and unsuccessful paraphrases;

• asks learners to justify their choices;

• treats patchwriting diagnostically and provides a repair process;

• includes source citation and integration; and

• assesses meaning accuracy separately from linguistic difference.

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15. A compact classroom formula

Students can remember the process as:

Understand → Note → Hide → Refocus → Restructure → Regrammar → Compare → Cite

Or, more briefly:

Keep the meaning; rebuild the message.

The purpose of paraphrasing is not to disguise borrowed language. It is to demonstrate that the writer understands another person’s idea well enough to represent it accurately, independently, and appropriately within a new text.