Paraphrase

"Paraphrasing is the act in which a statement or remark is explained in other words or another way — as to clarify the meaning, or when a direct quotation is unavailable." (Wikipedia, 2006).

 

Wikipedia lists the following characteristics of a well-done paraphrase:

  • It is not a summary.
  • It does not contain words or phrases from the original (plagiarism).
  • It includes all minor details from original.
  • The meaning of the writing being paraphrased is clearer to the reader than in the original text.
  • It restates the thesis.
  • It is usually as long as, or longer than, the original.

 

An example (in Danish) is given by Nielsen (2002).

 

 

 

 

Literature:

 

Nielsen, D. (2002). Commented paraphrase (in Danish) of Hjørland & Kyllesbech Nielsen (2001): Subject Access Points in Electronic Retrieval. Annual Review of Information Science and technology, 35, 249-298. Original: Click for full-text .pdf: The paraphrase: Parafrase.doc

 

Townsend, D. (1988). The problem of paraphrase. Metaphor and symbolic activity, 3(1), 37-54.
 

Wikipedia. The free encyclopedia. (2006). Paraphrase. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paraphrase

 

 

 

 

Birger Hjørland

Last edited: 12-06-2006

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