How to Paraphrase: 6 Steps With Before and After Examples

To paraphrase, read the passage until you understand it, put it away, and write the idea again in your own words and your own sentence structure, then compare it with the original and add a citation. A good paraphrase keeps the full meaning and roughly the same length; only the wording and the order of ideas change.

This guide shows you how to paraphrase by hand with real before and after examples, how to paraphrase a single sentence, how to use a free paraphrasing tool for a first draft, and how to cite a paraphrase in APA and MLA so it never counts as plagiarism.

What does it mean to paraphrase?

Paraphrasing means restating someone else's idea in your own words while keeping its meaning, its detail and roughly its length. It is not swapping a few words for synonyms. You change both the vocabulary and the sentence structure, keep technical terms that have no real substitute, and still credit the original author.

You paraphrase when the idea matters more than the exact wording: in essays, reports and literature reviews, in emails that pass on what someone else said, or when a sentence of your own sounds clumsy and needs a fresh start.

How to paraphrase in 6 steps

1. Read the passage twice. The first time for the gist, the second for details such as numbers, conditions and who did what.
2. Explain it in a short note. If you cannot say it simply without looking, you do not understand it well enough to paraphrase yet.
3. Hide the original and write. Work from your note or from memory. This one habit prevents most accidental copying.
4. Change the structure, not only the words. Turn a passive sentence into an active one, split a long sentence into two, start with a different part of the idea, or turn a noun into a verb ("the reduction of costs" becomes "cutting costs").
5. Compare with the original. Check that every key point is there, nothing new has been added and no distinctive phrase is copied. Put quotation marks around any phrase you keep on purpose.
6. Add the citation. Name the author and year (and the page, where your style asks for it) in the sentence or in brackets.

Paraphrasing examples: before and after

The examples below use sample passages written for this guide.

Original: "Because the new timetable reduced waiting times at the busiest stations, the number of passengers using the morning trains rose sharply during the first year."

Weak paraphrase (patchwriting): "Because the new schedule cut waiting times at the busiest stations, the number of people using the morning trains rose quickly in the first year."

This only swaps four words. The structure and most of the wording still belong to the original author, so it would be treated as plagiarism even with a citation.

Good paraphrase: "Morning trains carried far more people in the year after the timetable changed, mainly because passengers at the most crowded stations no longer had to wait as long."

The meaning is the same, but the sentence starts with the result instead of the cause, and almost every word is new.

Original: "Regular breaks during long study sessions can help students remember material more effectively than studying without stopping."

Good paraphrase: "Students who pause now and then while studying for long periods tend to recall what they learned better than those who keep going without a rest."

Notice that "can help" became "tend to": the paraphrase keeps the original's caution instead of turning it into a promise.

Technique	Original wording	Paraphrased wording
Change the word class	the reduction of costs	cutting costs
Passive to active	The survey was completed by the staff.	The staff completed the survey.
Reorder cause and effect	Because prices fell, sales rose.	Sales rose after prices fell.
Split a long sentence	One sentence with three clauses	Two shorter sentences
Use a synonym, with care	rose sharply	climbed steeply

How to paraphrase a sentence

To paraphrase a single sentence, find its core idea (who did what, and why), then rebuild it from a different starting point with new words. Keep names, numbers and technical terms exactly as they are, and make sure the result is still one complete idea, not a shorter summary of it.

A quick method for one sentence:

• Underline the subject, the action and the reason or result.
• Start your version with a different one of those three.
• Replace general words with your own; keep the specialist ones.
• Read both versions aloud. If they still sound alike, change the structure again.

Example: "The committee postponed the vote because several members were absent." becomes "Several members were missing, so the committee delayed the vote."

How to paraphrase without plagiarizing

Paraphrasing without plagiarizing needs two things: wording and structure that are truly your own, and a citation for the source. Rewording does not make an idea yours, so a paraphrase without credit is still plagiarism, even when no sentence matches the original.

Both major citation styles ask for a citation:

• APA (7th edition): author and year, for example (Lee, 2021). A page or paragraph number is encouraged, especially for a long work, but not required. See the APA Style guide to paraphrasing.
• MLA (9th edition): author and page number, for example (Lee 14).

The Purdue OWL paraphrasing handout adds a useful habit: record the source and page on your note as you write the paraphrase, so the credit is never lost.

Common mistakes to avoid:

• Patchwriting: keeping the original structure and swapping words, as in the weak example above.
• Changing the meaning: dropping a condition such as "in some cases", or turning "may" into "will".
• Adding your opinion inside the paraphrase. Put your comment in a separate sentence.
• Paraphrasing a whole article sentence by sentence. If you only need the main points, summarize instead.

How to paraphrase with a paraphrasing tool

A paraphrasing tool gives you a quick first draft that you then check and make your own. The free WoowTools paraphrasing tool rewrites up to 5,000 characters at a time with AI and needs no account.

1. Paste your text into the box. The counter shows words and characters as you type.
2. Pick a mode: Standard, Fluent, Formal, Simple, Creative or Shorten.
3. Click Paraphrase and wait a few seconds.
4. Compare the result with your original. Under the result you see its word count and how it compares with your text in percent.
5. Change a few words so it sounds like you, then click Copy.

Mode	Use it when
Standard	You want natural rewording with the same tone and length
Fluent	A draft reads awkwardly or was written in a second language
Formal	The text is for a report, an application or a work email
Simple	You need plain words and short sentences
Creative	You want fresher wording for a post or marketing copy
Shorten	You must fit a word limit; it aims for 30 to 50% fewer words

Two honest limits. The tool is told to keep your meaning, names and numbers, but you should still check them. And it does not add citations: rewording another author's ideas with a tool needs the same credit as rewording them by hand. Your text is processed once and not stored.

Paraphrase vs summarize: which one do you need?

Paraphrase when you need all of a passage's meaning in your own words; summarize when you only need the main points. A paraphrase is about as long as the original passage, while a summary is much shorter and can cover a whole article or chapter in a few sentences.

	Paraphrase	Summary
Covers	One passage, all its points	A whole text, main points only
Length	About the same as the original	Much shorter
Needs a citation	Yes	Yes

To condense a long text instead, try the free text summarizer.

Final checks before you hand it in

• Every key point of the original is there, and nothing new has crept in.
• No distinctive phrase is copied without quotation marks.
• The citation matches your style guide.
• The grammar is clean; a quick pass with the grammar checker helps.
• The length fits the assignment; check it in the word counter.

Ready to try it? Paste a paragraph into the free paraphrasing tool, pick a mode, and compare its draft with your own version before you choose the final wording.

Frequently asked questions

What is the easiest way to paraphrase?

Read the passage until you understand it, hide it, and write the idea from memory in your own words. Then compare your version with the original to check the meaning and add a citation. Writing without looking is what keeps the wording truly yours.

Do you need to cite a paraphrase?

Yes. A paraphrase uses someone else's idea, so it needs a citation even when every word is new. In APA give the author and year; in MLA give the author and page number.

How much do you have to change when paraphrasing?

Change both the words and the sentence structure, not just a few synonyms. Keep names, numbers and technical terms that have no real substitute. If your version still follows the original word order, rebuild it from a different starting point.

Is using a paraphrasing tool plagiarism?

Using a tool to improve your own writing is fine. Rewording another author's ideas with a tool does not make them yours, so you still need to cite the source. Also check your school's rules on AI tools before using one for coursework.

How do you paraphrase a quote?

Work out what the speaker meant, then say it in your own words without quotation marks and name the speaker as the source. If the exact wording matters, quote it instead of paraphrasing.

Should a paraphrase be shorter than the original?

Not necessarily. A paraphrase keeps all the points of the passage, so it is usually about the same length. If you want a much shorter version with only the main points, write a summary.