The ability to paraphrase—to express an idea using different words—is a valuable skill. Paraphrasing shows that you understand what you have read or heard. In addition, it shows that you can use a range of vocabulary and grammatical structures and helps you to avoid plagiarizing. However, when you paraphrase, it is not necessary to change every single word in the sentence.
How can we paraphrase this sentence?
- Many employees are hurt every year because they do not follow the safety rules.
Change Individual Words—Use Synonyms
Search the sentence for content words (nouns, verbs, adjectives, etc) that you can replace with words of similar meaning. Use words you are already familiar with; using a thesaurus for synonyms can result in awkward sentences.
Example:
- Many workers are injured each year because they do not follow safety regulations.
Change Word Order
See if you can rearrange the order within the sentence without changing the meaning, For example, change the position of adverbs, phrases, or clauses, if possible.
Example:
- Because they do not follow proper safety regulations, many workers are injured each year.
Change Grammatical Forms
Try changing the parts of speech within the sentence; for example, transform verbs into nouns, clauses into phrases or vice versa. Turn a complex sentence into a simple or compound sentence. Change from active voice to passive voice or vice versa.
Example:
- Each year, failure to follow proper safety regulations results in workplace injury.