APA Style (7th ed.)
Paraphrasing refers to presenting another author’s work in your own words. A good paraphrase is both accurate and unique: your words in a paraphrase should stay true to the original meaning of a text without repeating anyone else's words. For example, a paraphrase will often explain paragraphs or sections of writing in several sentences rather than an individual word or sentence. The citation to paraphrased text must provide the author's last name and the year of publication, and “page or paragraph number ... when it would help readers locate the relevant passage within a long and complex work” (American Psychological Association, 2020, p. 269).
The paraphrased text should be significantly different from the original; simply rearranging words or changing a couple of words is not sufficient to qualify as paraphrasing. That kind of writing is referred to as "patchwriting" and isn't paraphrasing; for more information on how to avoid plagiarizing words and ideas while paraphrasing, please see the Avoid Plagiarism Guide by the American Psychological Association.
For more information on paraphrasing, including practice exercises, please see Summarizing and Paraphrasing in the Writing Centre's Quoting, Summarizing, and Paraphrasing guide. For an example of how to cite a long paraphrase (e.g., multiple sentences), please visit Paraphrasing on the APA Style website). For additional practice exercises, please visit Paraphrasing and Citation Activities, also from the APA Style website.
Reference
American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.). //doi.org/10.1037/0000165-000
When you paraphrase, you use your own words. This is usually preferable to direct quotes because the information is written in your own style, but you must be careful not to change the meaning. When paraphrasing, you must still acknowledge where you got the idea from by including a parenthetical citation.
When citing paraphrased information, APA requires you to include the author and date. It is also recommended (but not required) that you include the page number. The format of the page number depends on if the information is on a single page or range of pages.
Page Number Format
Single page number | p. 43 | Thompson (2014) believes that..... (p. 23). | (Thompson, 2014, p. 25) |
Page range | pp. 29-32 | Thompson (2014) believes that..... (pp. 11-17). | (Thompson, 2014, pp. 19-21) |
Examples of Citing Paraphrased Information at the Beginning of a Sentence
A review (Selby et al., 2017) identified several laws pertaining to cancer research in the UK that might be affected because of Brexit.
Patafio et al. (2016) investigated the relationship between cancer research funding and cancer research output and found that research output is not well correlated with the public health burden of individual cancers that was measure by mortality rates.
The authors (Lindqvist & Neumann) argue that security and privacy are crucial in the Internet of Things (IoT) because if future attacks are successful they can cause widespread destruction and even cost lives.
Bernard (2011) argues that Henry VIII's Catholicism was more than just Catholicism without the pope.
Examples of Citing Paraphrased Information in the Middle of a Sentence
Surgery is considered a last resort in the treatment of plantar fasciitis Owens (2017) argues.
Strength training as treatment for plantar fasciitis, according to (Huffer et al. 2017), does not contribute to the improved function and pain relief.
Many physical therapists use ultrasound therapy as treatment; however, numerous studies highlighted in the review published by Sanke and Radwan (2015) show that the therapy does not have any effect on the condition.
Examples of Citing Paraphrased Information at the End of a Sentence
There are multiple types of cyberbullying (El Asam & Samara, 2016).
A significant amount of youths' social interaction takes place through technology and children as young as 10 have access to mobile devices (Williford & DePaolis, 2016).
The authors found that undergraduate students are afraid to report cyberbullying (Watts et al., 2017, p. 273).
Example of how the original quotation might be paraphrased<
Original quotation:
American commitment to self-government rested on the early experience of colonization. English common law was introduced with the first settlers, and each new colony soon had an elected assembly designed to represent and protect the interests of the settler population, acting like a local equivalent of the Westminster House of Commons. In theory, popular participation in government was balanced by a strong executive, in the person of the governor, supported by an advisory council. Bit in the first years of settlement, when colonies were sponsored by private companies rather than the Crown, governors and councils were often themselves elected, reinforcing the tendency towards local control (Conway, 2013, p. 33).
The essay incorporating the paraphrasing:
The early settlers in Colonial American may have considered themselves English and loyal to the Crown. However, the local government structure supported a system of relative self-governance (Conway, 2013, p. 33).
More Information
- APA guide (Shapiro Library)
Further Help
This information is intended to be a guideline, not expert advice. Please be sure to speak to your professor about the appropriate way to cite sources in your class assignments and projects.
Campus Students
To access Academic Support, visit your Brightspace course and select “Tutoring and Mentoring” from the Academic Support pulldown menu.
Online Students
To access help with citations and more, visit the Academic Support via modules in Brightspace:
- Academic Support Overview: Getting Help with your Schoolwork This link opens in a new window
References
American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.). //doi.org/10.1037/0000165-000
Bernard, G. W. (2011). The dissolution of the monasteries. History, 96(324), 390-409.
Conway, S. (2013). A short history of the American Revolutionary War. I.B.Tauris.
El Asam, A., & Samara, M. (2016). Cyberbullying and the law: A review of psychological and legal challenges. Computers in human behavior, 65, 127-141. //doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2016.08.012
Lindqvist, U., & Neumann, P. G. (2017). The future of the internet of things. Communications of the ACM, 60(2), 26-30. //doi.org/10.1145/3029589
Owens, J. M. (2017). Diagnosis and management of plantar fasciitis in primary care. Journal for nurse practitioners, 13(5), 354-359. //doi.org/10.1016/j.nurpra.2016.12.016
Patafio, F. M., Brooks, S. C., Wei, X., Peng, Y., Biagi, J., & Booth, C. M. (2016). Research output and the public health burden of cancer: Is there any relationship? Current Oncology, 23(2), 75-80. //doi.org/10.3747/co.23.2935
Sanke, P. L., & Radwan, T. S. (2015). Ultrasound as an effective treatment for chronic plantar fasciitis. Journal of foot & ankle surgery, 54(4) 481-487.
Selby, P., Lawler, M., Baird, R., Banks, I., Johnston, P., & Nurse, P. (2017). The potential consequences for cancer care and cancer research of Brexit. Ecancermedicalscience, 11(752-769), 1-3. //doi.org/10.3332/ecancer.2017.ed63
Watts, L. K., Wagner, J., Velasquez, B., & Behrens, P. I. (2017). Cyberbullying in higher education: A literature review. Computers in human behavior, 69, 268-274. //doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2016.12.038
Williford, A., & Depaolis, K. J. (2016). Predictors of cyberbullying intervention among elementary school staff: The moderating effect of staff status. Psychology in the schools, 53(10), 1032-1044. //doi.org/10.1002/pits.21973