Paraphrasing

Paraphrasing techniques (to avoid plagiarism)

  1. Use a different verb.
  2. Use opposites and converses (e.g. Every polygon has three sides or more. => There are no polygons with fewer than three sides.)
  3. Change the voice from passive to active, or vice versa.
  4. Add a category term, especially in definitions,

e.g. An algorithm describes a mathematical process. => An algorithm is an abstract set of steps in a mathematical process.

  1. Add/remove a prepositional phrase,

e.g. The term ‘chelant’ is used in water treatment programs and specifically in steam engineering, to describe a boiler water treatment system: Chelant Water Treatment system.

=> The term ‘chelant,’ with regard to water treatment programs and specifically to steam engineering, describes a boiler water treatment system: Chelant Water Treatment system.       [Sample from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chelation%5D

Resources:

University of Reading:
https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/english-for-study-intermediate/0/steps/35241

Simon Fraser University:
first step
https://www.lib.sfu.ca/about/branches-depts/slc/writing/sources/paraphrasing
second step
https://www.lib.sfu.ca/about/branches-depts/slc/writing/sources/techniques-paraphrasing

Paraphrasing Exercises

Sample 1: from Zue et al. (1997) Speech recognition. In Survey in State of the Art in Human Language Technology (eds. Varile et al.)

Speech recognition systems can be characterized by many parameters. An isolated-word speech recognition system requires that the speaker pause briefly between words, whereas a continuous speech recognition system does not. Spontaneous, or extemporaneously generated, speech contains disfluencies, and is much more difficult to recognize than speech read from a script.

Speech recognition systems can be characterized by many parameters.

Paraphrase 1:
Unlike continuous speech recognition systems, in isolated-word speech recognition systems the speaker must / is required to / has to pause after speaking each word. Ad lib / impromptu / unrehearsed speech is often not fluent / often discontinuous/ not smooth. For this reason / Therefore/ As a result, read-aloud speech is more easily decoded than unrehearsed speech.

Paraphrase 2 (another way)
In isolated speech recognition systems, the speaker must pause after each word spoken, and the speech is broken. In continuous speech recognition systems, in which the speaker is reading from a script or speaking from memory, the speech is fluent. For that reason, continuous speech recognition is more processing-intensive.

 
 
 

Sample 2

The human auditory system possesses intelligence characteristics such as the ability to extract information from multiple voice signals. These auditory intelligence characteristics are obviously related to brain functions. At present there is no integrated standard for measurement and evaluation of auditory intelligence.

 
 
 
 

Sample 3 (from Strengthening Markets for Recyclables: A Worldwide Perspective: Japan by Morton Barlaz and Daniel Loughlin)

The emphasis on the local governments’ responsibility for funding and managing collection and sorting activities is beginning to change as a result of the integration of extended producer responsibility (EPR) requirements for packaging and electronic goods. In the case of packaging materials, retailers are now responsible for taking back used packaging.

 
 
 

Sample 4 (from Zliding: Fluid Zooming and Sliding for High Precision Parameter Manipulation by Gonzalo Ramos, Ravin Balakrishnan)

The manipulation of a parameter is a fundamental task in most user interfaces. Although high precision parameter manipulation can be accurately achieved by simply entering an exact numeric value with an appropriate text input technique, from the user’s point of view this exact method is not always the most appropriate or preferred.