paraphrasing in simple terms

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• What is Paraphrasing? An Overview With Examples
• Learn English
• James Prior
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• Updated February 23, 2024

What is paraphrasing? Or should I say what is the definition of paraphrasing? If you want to restate something using different words whilst retaining the same meaning, this is paraphrasing.

In this article, we cover what paraphrasing is, why it’s important, and when you should do it. Plus, some benefits and examples.

Table of Contents

Paraphrase Definition: What is Paraphrasing?

Paraphrasing is when you restate the information from a source using your own words while maintaining the original meaning. It involves expressing the ideas in a different way, often to clarify or simplify the content, without directly quoting the source.

When you paraphrase, you are not only borrowing, clarifying, or expanding on the information but also ensuring that you do all of these actions without plagiarizing the original content. It’s therefore definitely worth learning how to paraphrase if you want to improve your writing skills.

Why is Paraphrasing Important?

Paraphrasing is a valuable skill that allows you to convey information in your unique writing style while still giving credit to someone else’s ideas. It’s important for several reasons, and it serves various functions in both academic and professional writing.

Here are some key reasons why you should paraphrase:

• Paraphrasing allows you to present information from sources in your own words, reducing the risk of plagiarism. Proper in-text citation is still necessary, but paraphrasing demonstrates your understanding and interpretation of the material.
• When you paraphrase, you are required to comprehend the original content fully. You actively engage with the information, helping you better understand complex concepts and ideas. This process of restating the information in your own words showcases your understanding of the subject matter.
• By paraphrasing, you can clarify complex ideas or technical language and convey information in a clearer, shorter, and simpler form. This makes it more accessible to your audience and ensures they grasp the key points. This is particularly important when communicating with readers who may not be familiar with specialized terminology.
• Paraphrasing is valuable when synthesizing information from various sources. It enables you to blend ideas cohesively while maintaining a consistent writing style throughout your work.
• Paraphrasing allows you to inject your unique writing style and voice into the content. It helps you present information in a way that is more aligned with your personal expression and perspective.
• In certain situations where you need to meet specific length requirements for assignments or publications, paraphrasing allows you to convey information more concisely while still preserving the essential meaning.
• Paraphrasing helps maintain a smooth flow and cohesiveness in your writing. It allows you to integrate information seamlessly, avoiding abrupt shifts between your own ideas and those from external sources.
• Depending on your audience, you may need to adapt the language and level of technicality of the information you present. Paraphrasing allows you to tailor the content to suit the needs of your specific readership.

Incorporating paraphrasing into your writing not only showcases your understanding of the material but also enhances the overall quality and originality of your work.

When Should You Paraphrase?

Knowing when to paraphrase is an important skill, especially in academic writing and professional communication. Here are some situations in which you should consider paraphrasing:

• To Avoid Plagiarism:  Whenever you want to incorporate information from source material into your own work, but don’t want to use a direct quotation, paraphrasing is necessary to present the ideas in your own words while still acknowledging the original source.
• To Express Understanding:  Paraphrasing demonstrates your understanding of a topic by rephrasing the information in a way that shows you have processed and comprehended the material.
• To Simplify Complex Information:  If you encounter complex or technical language that may be difficult for your audience to understand, paraphrasing can help you clarify and simplify the information to make it more accessible and digestible.
• To Integrate Multiple Sources:  When synthesizing information from multiple sources, paraphrasing allows you to blend the ideas cohesively while maintaining your own voice and perspective.
• To Maintain Consistency in Writing Style:  In academic writing or professional writing, paraphrasing can help you maintain a consistent writing style throughout your work. This helps to ensure that all sections flow smoothly and are coherent.
• To Meet Specific Requirements:  Some assignments or publications may have specific requirements. This could relate to the number of words or concern the use of direct quotations. In such cases, paraphrasing allows you to meet these requirements while still incorporating relevant information from your sources.

What Are the Benefits of Paraphrasing?

Rewriting information in a clearer, shorter, and simpler form is called paraphrasing, so one of the benefits of paraphrasing is already clear! However, it can also be a useful exercise for other reasons, which are outlined below:

Avoiding Plagiarism

One of the main benefits of paraphrasing is mastering the ability to present information from external sources in a way that is entirely your own. By restructuring the content and expressing it using your words, you create a distinct piece of writing that reflects your comprehension and interpretation of the original material. This not only showcases your academic or professional integrity but also safeguards against unintentional plagiarism.

Paraphrasing is a fundamental skill in academic and professional settings, where originality and proper attribution are highly valued. This is especially true when it comes to writing research papers, where you’ll often need to reference someone else’s ideas with appropriate citations.

When you paraphrase effectively, you communicate to your audience that you respect the intellectual property of others while contributing your unique insights. This ethical approach to information usage enhances your credibility as a writer or researcher and reinforces the integrity of your work.

Enhancing Understanding

When you engage in paraphrasing, you actively participate in the material you are working with. You are forced to consider the ideas presented in the source material. You need to discern the essential concepts, identify key phrases, and decide how best to convey the message in a way that resonates with you.

This active engagement not only aids in understanding the content but also encourages critical thinking as you evaluate and interpret the information from your own standpoint.

By expressing someone else’s ideas in your own words, you deepen your understanding of the content. This process requires you to dissect the original text, grasp its nuances, and then reconstruct it using your language and perspective. In this way, you go beyond mere memorization and truly internalize the information, fostering a more profound comprehension of the subject matter.

Tailoring Information for Your Audience

Paraphrasing empowers you to adapt the language and complexity of the information to suit the needs and understanding of your audience. As you rephrase the content, you have the flexibility to adjust the level of technicality, simplify complex terminology, or tailor the tone to make the information more accessible to your specific readership.

Consider your audience’s background, knowledge level, and interests. Paraphrasing allows you to bridge the gap between the original content and the understanding of your intended audience.

Whether you are communicating with experts in a particular field or a general audience, the ability to paraphrase ensures that the information is conveyed in a way that resonates with and is comprehensible to your readers. This skill not only facilitates effective communication but also demonstrates your awareness of the diverse needs of your audience.

Improves Writing Skills

Paraphrasing helps in the development and refinement of your writing skills. When you actively engage in the process of rephrasing someone else’s ideas, you hone your ability to express concepts in a clear, concise, and coherent manner.

This practice refines your language proficiency, encouraging you to explore different types of sentence structure, experiment with vocabulary, and ultimately develop a more sophisticated and nuanced writing style.

As you paraphrase, you gain a heightened awareness of grammar, syntax, and word choice. This translates into improved writing, helping you construct well-articulated sentences and paragraphs. Moreover, paraphrasing allows you to experiment with different writing tones and adapt your style to suit the context or purpose of your writing, fostering versatility and adaptability in your expression.

Saves Time and Energy

Paraphrasing can significantly reduce the time and energy spent on the writing process. Rather than grappling with the challenge of integrating lengthy direct quotations or struggling to find the perfect synonym, paraphrasing allows you to distill and convey information in a more streamlined way.

This becomes particularly advantageous when faced with strict deadlines. By mastering paraphrasing, you empower yourself to produce well-crafted, original content in a shorter timeframe, allowing you to meet deadlines without compromising the quality of your work.

Examples of Paraphrasing

Here are some examples of paraphrasing:

• Original:  “The advancements in technology have revolutionized the way we communicate with each other.”
• Paraphrased:  “Technological progress has transformed how we interact and communicate with one another.”
• Original:  “Deforestation poses a significant threat to global ecosystems and biodiversity.”
• Paraphrased:  “The impact of deforestation represents a substantial danger to ecosystems and the diversity of life on a global scale.”
• Original:  “Effective time management is essential for achieving productivity in both professional and personal spheres.”
• Paraphrased:  “Efficient management of time is crucial for attaining productivity in both professional and personal aspects of life.”
• Original:  “The restaurant offers a diverse selection of culinary choices, ranging from traditional dishes to modern fusion cuisine.”
• Paraphrased:  “The restaurant provides a variety of food options, including both traditional and modern fusion dishes.”
• Original:  “The novel explores the complexities of human relationships in a rapidly changing society.”
• Paraphrased:  “The book delves into the challenges of human connections in a fast-changing world.”
• Original:  “Regular exercise is crucial for maintaining optimal physical health and preventing various health issues.”
• Paraphrased:  “Exercising regularly is important for keeping your body healthy and avoiding health problems.”

In these examples, you can observe the use of different wording, sentence structure, and synonyms while preserving the core meaning of the original sentences. This is the essence of paraphrasing.

What Are the Differences Between Paraphrasing, Quoting, and Summarizing?

So, we’ve established that successful paraphrasing is a way of rewriting someone else’s words whilst retaining their meaning and still giving credit to the original author’s ideas. But how is this different from quoting and summarizing?

While paraphrasing, quoting, and summarizing are all ways of incorporating information from source material into your own writing, there are key differences between them:

Paraphrasing

• Definition:  Paraphrasing involves rephrasing someone else’s ideas or information in your own words while retaining the original meaning.
• Usage:  You use paraphrasing when you want to present the information in a way that suits your writing style or when you need to clarify complex ideas.
• Example:  Original: “The study found a significant correlation between sleep deprivation and decreased cognitive performance.” Paraphrased: “The research indicated a notable link between lack of sleep and a decline in cognitive function.”
• Definition:  Quoting involves directly using the exact words from a source and enclosing them in quotation marks.
• Usage:  You use quoting when the original wording is essential, either because of its precision or uniqueness, or when you want to highlight a specific phrase or concept.
• Example:  Original: “The author argues, ‘In the absence of clear guidelines, individual judgment becomes paramount in decision-making.'”

The use of quotation marks is vital when quoting.

Summarizing

• Definition:  Summarizing involves condensing the main ideas of a source or original passage in your own words, focusing on the most crucial points.
• Usage:  You use summarizing when you need to provide a concise overview of a longer piece of text or when you want to capture the key points without including all the details.
• Example:  Original: A lengthy article discussing various factors influencing climate change. Summary: “The article outlines key factors contributing to climate change, including human activities and natural processes.”

In summary, paraphrasing is about expressing someone else’s ideas in your own words, quoting involves directly using the original words, and summarizing is about condensing the main points of a source.

Each technique serves different purposes in writing and should be used based on your specific goals and the nature of the information you are incorporating. If you want to level up your writing skills you need to be able to do all three of these.

Conclusion (In Our Own Words)

Paraphrasing is a valuable skill with numerous benefits. It helps you understand complex ideas, refine your writing style, and demonstrate ethical information use. It also allows you to tailor information for different audiences and can save time in academic and professional writing.

So, if you want to incorporate information from external sources into your writing in a way that is clear, concise, and respectful of the original author’s work, it’s worth mastering the art of paraphrasing.

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How to Paraphrase in 5 Simple Steps (Without Plagiarizing)

By Krystal N. Craiker

Paraphrasing is a tricky balance between using your own words and still getting the original message across.

Understanding what paraphrasing is, and how to do it well, takes the challenge out of paraphrasing and makes it a more user-friendly skill.

What Is Paraphrasing?

How to paraphrase in 5 easy steps, paraphrasing different types of content, paraphrasing examples, want to improve your essay writing skills.

The word paraphrase can be used as a noun or a verb .

A paraphrase (noun) is a restatement of someone else’s words into other words . If you’re reading a paraphrase, you’re reading someone else’s rephrasing of the original.

To paraphrase (verb) is the act of rephrasing a statement into your own words . When you paraphrase, you are essentially borrowing someone else’s ideas and putting them into your own words. Since you’re borrowing and not creating those ideas, be certain to give credit to the original source.

Paraphrasing vs. Plagiarism

Plagiarism is when you steal someone’s words or ideas. Some people think that it’s only plagiarizing when you use the exact words.

Paraphrasing isn’t a way to steal someone’s ideas by putting it in your own words. If you’re paraphrasing someone else’s ideas, you must give them credit.

If you don’t acknowledge that source, you’ve plagiarized, which has serious ethical, and even legal, implications.

ProWritingAid can help you keep your work plagiarism-free with its plagiarism checker , and will never store or resell your work as some other plagiarism checking services sometimes do.

How to Paraphrase Properly

Why paraphrase when you could just use direct quotations? Direct quotes in academic writing and research papers do not demonstrate that you understand the original material.

Proper paraphrasing doesn’t mean rewriting the original passage word for word. It’s more than just pulling out a thesaurus. You are rewriting the ideas in your own words.

Just as you would provide the source of a direct quote, provide the source of paraphrased information according to whatever style guide you’re following (e.g. APA, MLA, Chicago, etc.) or by including the source within the paraphrase itself.

Typically, you’ll use an in-text citation alongside your paraphrased text, but sometimes you may use footnotes or endnotes.

When you use a direct quotation, it’s important to put the original passage or statement in quotation marks. But paraphrased text does not require quotation marks.

Paraphrasing is translating someone else’s words into your words. If you were to translate a sentence from one language into another going word-by-word, you’d end up with nonsense.

The same thing happens when you paraphrase. You’re performing a translation of sorts.

If you try to translate each word, you’ll end up with a paraphrase that reads more like a “word salad” than an intelligent rephrasing.

Why? When you isolate words, you take them out of their context.

The meaning of a word can change based on its context, so respect that context. Keep ideas whole to keep the original meanings intact.

Here’s what it looks like when you translate word for word.

Original Text: “Life expectancy isn’t set in stone: Both public policy and personal responsibility can tip the scales, experts said.” (Craig Schneider, Newsday)

If I paraphrase that text word-by-word, I could end up with something like this:

Word-by-Word Paraphrase: Human existences are not put in rocks. The pair of non-private systems and individual duty can point the measures, professionals uttered.

That makes no sense. Here’s a more effective paraphrase:

Proper Paraphrase: According to experts, public policy and individual choices can affect life expectancy.

This makes much more sense. Keep the entire context in mind when you paraphrase.

There are some practical steps you can follow to ensure skillful paraphrasing. It might take some practice at first.

As you become more experienced with paraphrasing, you’ll notice that you follow these steps naturally.

Step 1: Read, Reread, Then Read It Again

You can’t properly paraphrase if you don’t fully understand the original passage. For effective paraphrasing, reread the original text multiple times.

Pay attention to word choice and tone, as those contribute to the overarching message. Be sure that you know exactly what the original author was trying to get across before you move on.

Step 2: Determine the Big Idea

There’s a difference between paraphrasing and summarizing, but a quick summary is a great starting point for a paraphrase.

A summary is the main idea. What is the big idea of the original passage?

Try to sum up the big idea in one sentence using your own words.

If you’re only paraphrasing a short chunk of text, this might be the extent of your work and you can skip to step five. For longer quotes, start with the gist.

Step 3: Break It Down

Once you have the big idea, you can start looking at the individual ideas. A good paraphrase includes all the essential information. This is the step where you determine which pieces are essential.

You can start breaking it down sentence by sentence, but keep in mind that you’re really trying to understand it idea by idea.

There might be one idea in two or three sentences or two ideas in one long sentence!

Step 4: Rewrite, Idea by Idea

Once you know all the essential information, it’s time to rewrite. Use your own words and phrasing as much as possible.

Of course, sometimes you will have to use some of the same words. For example, if you’re paraphrasing a quote about the economy, you don’t need to find a new word for “economy.”

Plagiarism isn’t just the words you use, but also the order those words are in.

If you do use more than two of the same words as the original in a row, place them in quotation marks . Avoid this as much as possible for a good paraphrase.

Once you’ve rewritten each idea with the important information, it’s time to make sure your paraphrased version accurately expresses the intent of the original passage.

That leads us to the final step.

Step 5: Check and Cite

Have you ever heard the phrase “lost in translation?” It’s true for paraphrasing, too. Sometimes, when we rewrite something in our own words, we lose the intent and meaning of the original.

Reread what you’ve written and ask yourself the following questions:

• Does this portray the same big idea?
• Have I included all relevant information and ideas?
• Does my paraphrase maintain the integrity of the original’s intent?
• Are all sentences written in my own voice and my own words?

If you can answer yes to all four questions, you’ve successfully paraphrased! If not, return to the quoted material and go through each step again.

Finally, add your citation. Always credit the original source so you don’t plagiarize.

While the same basic steps apply no matter what you’re paraphrasing, it will look a little different depending on the type of text and why you’re paraphrasing.

Let’s take a look at three common situations that require paraphrasing.

How to Paraphrase in an Essay

Essays require paraphrases of many different quotes and sources.

While the occasional quote is fine, frequent direct quotes suggest that you don’t fully understand the material.

Your professor wants to know that you comprehend the subject and have thoughts of your own about it.

To paraphrase in an essay, start with a reasonable sized quote.

If the entire quotation is too long, your essay will become one giant paraphrase. You can always paraphrase another piece of the original text later in your paper.

Make sure the quote you are paraphrasing fits your thesis statement and is in the correct section of your essay.

Then, follow the five steps above to write a paraphrase. Don’t forget to cite your source material!

After you’ve paraphrased and cited the original text, offer your own commentary or thoughts.

How does that paraphrase answer the prompt of your research paper or support your argument? Original thoughts are crucial so your whole essay isn’t a paraphrase. That would be a form of plagiarism!

How to Paraphrase a Quote

Paraphrasing a quote requires you to pay special attention to the tone. Quoted material for academic writing often has a dry, informative tone. Spoken quotes usually don’t.

When you’re determining the big idea (step two), also determine the tone. You can note the tone in your paraphrase by saying the speaker was impassioned, angry, nostalgic, optimistic, etc.

When you move to step three and break down the ideas, pay attention to where the speaker placed emphasis. That’s a clue that you’ve found essential information to include in your paraphrase.

How to Paraphrase Complex Text

Complex and highly technical text can be difficult to paraphrase. All the same steps apply, but pay special attention to your words and sentence structure when you rewrite.

Whenever possible, simplify the complex text in your paraphrase.

Paraphrases are useful because they can make something easier to understand. Imagine that you are explaining the complex text to a middle school student.

Use simplified terms and explain any jargon in layman’s terms. Avoid clichés or idioms and focus only on the most essential pieces of information.

You can also use ProWritingAid’s editing tool to run a Jargon Report and a Cliché Report, as well as readability.

We use the Flesch-Kincaid Scale for readability , which is based on U.S. grade levels. You can see how old someone needs to be to understand your paraphrasing.

Your level of readability might change depending on the purpose of the paraphrase.

If you are paraphrasing complex text for a college-level essay, your readability score can be higher. If you are paraphrasing for a technical audience, some jargon is appropriate.

Let’s take a look at a couple of examples of properly paraphrased material.

Original Text : “Life expectancy isn’t set in stone: Both public policy and personal responsibility can tip the scales, experts said. Everyone can make choices that increase the odds of a longer life, said Cantor, of the Center for Socio-Economic Policy. Eating well, exercising, not smoking, getting enough sleep and staying in school are decisions made by each and every one of us, he said.” (Craig Schneider, Newsday )

Paraphrase: People do have some control over their life expectancy. While public policies matter, experts say personal choices can also affect how long you live and that making healthy lifestyle choices about food, sleep, education, and smoking is up to each individual.

Here’s another example from a speech.

Original Text: “We’ve got to accelerate the transition away from dirty energy. Rather than subsidize the past, we should invest in the future—especially in communities that rely on fossil fuels. That’s why I’m going to push to change the way we manage our oil and coal resources, so that they better reflect the costs they impose on taxpayers and our planet.” (President Barack Obama, State of the Union Address, January 12, 2016)

Paraphrase: President Obama emphasized the importance of investing in clean energy. He supports a shift in the way the country manages non-renewable resources to match the impact they have on both American citizens and the planet.

Remember, when you paraphrase, focus on the ideas, not rewriting word for word. Always cite your original source material even though you are using your own words.

(This article is an update to a previous version by Allison Bressmer.)

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Krystal N. Craiker

Krystal N. Craiker is the Writing Pirate, an indie romance author and blog manager at ProWritingAid. She sails the seven internet seas, breaking tropes and bending genres. She has a background in anthropology and education, which brings fresh perspectives to her romance novels. When she’s not daydreaming about her next book or article, you can find her cooking gourmet gluten-free cuisine, laughing at memes, and playing board games. Krystal lives in Dallas, Texas with her husband, child, and basset hound.

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• How to Paraphrase | Step-by-Step Guide & Examples

How to Paraphrase | Step-by-Step Guide & Examples

Published on April 8, 2022 by Courtney Gahan and Jack Caulfield. Revised on June 1, 2023.

Paraphrasing means putting someone else’s ideas into your own words. Paraphrasing a source involves changing the wording while preserving the original meaning.

Paraphrasing is an alternative to  quoting (copying someone’s exact words and putting them in quotation marks ). In academic writing, it’s usually better to integrate sources by paraphrasing instead of quoting. It shows that you have understood the source, reads more smoothly, and keeps your own voice front and center.

Every time you paraphrase, it’s important to cite the source . Also take care not to use wording that is too similar to the original. Otherwise, you could be at risk of committing plagiarism .

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Table of contents

How to paraphrase in five easy steps, how to paraphrase correctly, examples of paraphrasing, how to cite a paraphrase, paraphrasing vs. quoting, paraphrasing vs. summarizing, avoiding plagiarism when you paraphrase, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about paraphrasing.

If you’re struggling to get to grips with the process of paraphrasing, check out our easy step-by-step guide in the video below.

Prevent plagiarism. Run a free check.

Putting an idea into your own words can be easier said than done. Let’s say you want to paraphrase the text below, about population decline in a particular species of sea snails.

Incorrect paraphrasing

You might make a first attempt to paraphrase it by swapping out a few words for  synonyms .

Like other sea creatures inhabiting the vicinity of highly populated coasts, horse conchs have lost substantial territory to advancement and contamination , including preferred breeding grounds along mud flats and seagrass beds. Their Gulf home is also heating up due to global warming , which scientists think further puts pressure on the creatures , predicated upon the harmful effects extra warmth has on other large mollusks (Barnett, 2022).

This attempt at paraphrasing doesn’t change the sentence structure or order of information, only some of the word choices. And the synonyms chosen are poor:

• “Advancement and contamination” doesn’t really convey the same meaning as “development and pollution.”
• Sometimes the changes make the tone less academic: “home” for “habitat” and “sea creatures” for “marine animals.”
• Adding phrases like “inhabiting the vicinity of” and “puts pressure on” makes the text needlessly long-winded.
• Global warming is related to climate change, but they don’t mean exactly the same thing.

Because of this, the text reads awkwardly, is longer than it needs to be, and remains too close to the original phrasing. This means you risk being accused of plagiarism .

Correct paraphrasing

Let’s look at a more effective way of paraphrasing the same text.

Here, we’ve:

• Only included the information that’s relevant to our argument (note that the paraphrase is shorter than the original)
• Introduced the information with the signal phrase “Scientists believe that …”
• Retained key terms like “development and pollution,” since changing them could alter the meaning
• Structured sentences in our own way instead of copying the structure of the original
• Started from a different point, presenting information in a different order

Because of this, we’re able to clearly convey the relevant information from the source without sticking too close to the original phrasing.

Explore the tabs below to see examples of paraphrasing in action.

• Journal article
• Newspaper article
• Magazine article

Once you have your perfectly paraphrased text, you need to ensure you credit the original author. You’ll always paraphrase sources in the same way, but you’ll have to use a different type of in-text citation depending on what citation style you follow.

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It’s a good idea to paraphrase instead of quoting in most cases because:

• Paraphrasing shows that you fully understand the meaning of a text
• Your own voice remains dominant throughout your paper
• Quotes reduce the readability of your text

But that doesn’t mean you should never quote. Quotes are appropriate when:

• Giving a precise definition
• Saying something about the author’s language or style (e.g., in a literary analysis paper)
• Providing evidence in support of an argument
• Critiquing or analyzing a specific claim

A paraphrase puts a specific passage into your own words. It’s typically a similar length to the original text, or slightly shorter.

When you boil a longer piece of writing down to the key points, so that the result is a lot shorter than the original, this is called summarizing .

Paraphrasing and quoting are important tools for presenting specific information from sources. But if the information you want to include is more general (e.g., the overarching argument of a whole article), summarizing is more appropriate.

When paraphrasing, you have to be careful to avoid accidental plagiarism .

This can happen if the paraphrase is too similar to the original quote, with phrases or whole sentences that are identical (and should therefore be in quotation marks). It can also happen if you fail to properly cite the source.

Paraphrasing tools are widely used by students, and can be especially useful for non-native speakers who may find academic writing particularly challenging. While these can be helpful for a bit of extra inspiration, use these tools sparingly, keeping academic integrity in mind.

To make sure you’ve properly paraphrased and cited all your sources, you could elect to run a plagiarism check before submitting your paper. And of course, always be sure to read your source material yourself and take the first stab at paraphrasing on your own.

If you want to know more about ChatGPT, AI tools , citation , and plagiarism , make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples.

• ChatGPT vs human editor
• ChatGPT citations
• Is ChatGPT trustworthy?
• Using ChatGPT for your studies
• What is ChatGPT?
• Chicago style
• Critical thinking

 Plagiarism

• Types of plagiarism
• Self-plagiarism
• Avoiding plagiarism
• Academic integrity
• Consequences of plagiarism
• Common knowledge

To paraphrase effectively, don’t just take the original sentence and swap out some of the words for synonyms. Instead, try:

• Reformulating the sentence (e.g., change active to passive , or start from a different point)
• Combining information from multiple sentences into one
• Leaving out information from the original that isn’t relevant to your point
• Using synonyms where they don’t distort the meaning

The main point is to ensure you don’t just copy the structure of the original text, but instead reformulate the idea in your own words.

Paraphrasing without crediting the original author is a form of plagiarism , because you’re presenting someone else’s ideas as if they were your own.

However, paraphrasing is not plagiarism if you correctly cite the source . This means including an in-text citation and a full reference, formatted according to your required citation style .

As well as citing, make sure that any paraphrased text is completely rewritten in your own words.

Plagiarism means using someone else’s words or ideas and passing them off as your own. Paraphrasing means putting someone else’s ideas in your own words.

So when does paraphrasing count as plagiarism?

• Paraphrasing is plagiarism if you don’t properly credit the original author.
• Paraphrasing is plagiarism if your text is too close to the original wording (even if you cite the source). If you directly copy a sentence or phrase, you should quote it instead.
• Paraphrasing  is not plagiarism if you put the author’s ideas completely in your own words and properly cite the source .

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To present information from other sources in academic writing , it’s best to paraphrase in most cases. This shows that you’ve understood the ideas you’re discussing and incorporates them into your text smoothly.

It’s appropriate to quote when:

• Changing the phrasing would distort the meaning of the original text
• You want to discuss the author’s language choices (e.g., in literary analysis )
• You’re presenting a precise definition
• You’re looking in depth at a specific claim

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Gahan, C. & Caulfield, J. (2023, June 01). How to Paraphrase | Step-by-Step Guide & Examples. Scribbr. Retrieved July 22, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/working-with-sources/how-to-paraphrase/

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• Literary Terms
• Definition & Examples
• When & How to Use Paraphrase

I. What is a Paraphrase?

A paraphrase (pronounced par – uh -freyz) is a restatement or rewording of a paragraph  or text,  in order to borrow, clarify, or expand on information without plagiarizing. Paraphrasing is an important tool to use when writing research papers, essays , and pieces of journalism.

II. Examples of Paraphrasing

For examples of paraphrasing, consider these possible re-wordings of the same statement:

She angered me with her inappropriate comments, rumor-spreading, and disrespectfulness at the formal dinner table.

She made me angry when she was rude at dinner.

This paraphrase is an example of a rewording which shortens and simplifies while maintaining the same meaning.

Her impoliteness, gossiping, and general lack of respect at dinner infuriated me.

This rephrasing maintains the same meaning but is rearranged in a creative way.

I was mad when she started spreading rumors, making inappropriate comments, and disrespecting other guests at our dinner.

Another paraphrase, this rewording properly and interestingly rearranges the information provided in the original sentence.

III. Types of Paraphrasing

A. change of parts of speech.

Parts of speech ranging from verbs and nouns to adjectives and adverbs are replaced with new parts of speech in this type of paraphrasing. Here is an example:

Original Sentence:

The boy quickly ran across the finish line, seizing yet another victory.

Paraphrase:

The quick boy seized yet another victory when he ran across the finish line.

In this example, many parts of speech are changed: the adverb quickly becomes the adjective quick, and the verb phrase with the gerund seizing becomes the verb seized.

B.  Change of Structure

This type of paraphrasing involves changing the sentence’s structure, sometimes creating a passive voice from an active voice and vice versa. The change in structure can be used to reflect the writer’s interpretation of the original quote. Here is an example of change of structure paraphrasing:

Puppies were adopted by numerous kind souls at the puppy drive.

Many kind souls adopted puppies during the puppy drive.

In this example, the object of the sentence (kind souls) becomes the subject with an active voice (adopted) rather than a passive voice (were adopted).

C. Reduction of Clauses

Reduction of clauses paraphrases reduce the number of clauses in a sentence, which can be interruptive or confusing, by incorporating the phrases into the sentence. Here is an example of reduction of clauses paraphrasing:

While I understand where you’re coming from, and truly respect your opinion, I wish you would express yourself more clearly, like Clara does.

I understand where you’re coming from and respect your opinion, but I wish you would be more like Clara and express yourself more clearly.

D. Synonym Replacement

Synonym replacement paraphrasing is one of the simplest forms of paraphrasing: replacing words with similar words, or synonyms. Here is an example:

The older citizens were honored with a parade for those once in the military.

Senior citizens were honored with a march for veterans.

In this example, many synonyms are used: older citizens are senior citizens, a parade becomes a march, and those once in the military refers to veterans.

IV. The Importance of Using Paraphrase

Paraphrasing is a way of referencing a source without directly quoting it or of further explaining a selected quote. Correct paraphrasing is important in that poor paraphrasing can result in accusations of plagiarism, or copying from a source without correctly citing it. Paraphrasing allows writers to examine the meaning of others’ work, creatively rephrase their statements, and craft information to suit an essay or composition’s goal or focus.

V. Paraphrase in Literature

Paraphrasing can be found in a variety of journalistic sources from newspapers to film documentaries to literary journals. Here are a few examples of paraphrasing in literature:

Someone once wrote that musicians are touched on the shoulder by God, and I think it’s true. You can make other people happy with music, but you can make yourself happy too.

In John Berendt’s nonfiction novel Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil , a character references what someone has once written by paraphrasing their message.

I’m going to paraphrase Thoreau here… rather than love, than money, than faith, than fame, than fairness… give me truth.

In this example from the nonfiction novel Into the Wild , Jon Krakauer paraphrases Thoreau’s larger message of transcendence.

So far, Laurance’s critiques of new road-building schemes have been well received, but he expects that to change.

In Michelle Nijhuis’ article “What Roads Have Wrought,” William Laurance is paraphrased rather than quoted to express his general viewpoint.

VI. Paraphrase in Pop Culture

Paraphrasing is often found in pop culture when attempting to translate the language of older plays, poems, and stories, such as Shakespeare’s works. Here are a few examples of paraphrasing in pop culture:

10 Things I Hate About You (1999):

Just a minor encounter with the shrew… the mewling, rampalian wretch herself.

In the modern-day adaptation of Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew , many characters ’ lines paraphrase Shakespeare’s originals. Here is Shakespeare’s version:

A meacock wretch can make the curstest shrew.

A Different World: Romeo, Oh Romeo

First, the student reads Shakespeare’s original words:

Oh gentle Romeo. If thou dost love, pronounce it faithfully. Or if thou thinkest I’m too quickly won, I’ll frown and be perverse and say thee nay, so thou wilt woo.

Then, she paraphrases to translate its meaning for modern ears:

It’s all about translation. Oh, sweet thang Romeo. If you think I’m all that, then step to me correctly. But if you think I’m a skeeze, I’ll be dissin’ and dismissin’, then you’ll be workin’ overtime getting’ me back.

VII. Related Terms

Like paraphrases, summaries are rewordings of original statements. Whereas paraphrases are precise and specific, summaries are brief and selective. Summaries report main points in a shortened version of the original, whereas paraphrases simply restate the original statement in a new way. Here is an example of summary versus paraphrase:

Original Statement:

At the party we had delicious red punch, a bunch of different appetizers, and a cookout. Since it was at the park, we played volleyball, went swimming, and sunbathed for fun.

At the party we enjoyed food and drink and various outdoor activities.

Here, the summary purposefully shortens the original statement while covering its major points.

At the party we drank some punch, ate a handful of appetizers, and had a cookout. The park allowed us to enjoy a number of enjoyable activities from volleyball to swimming to sunbathing.

As this example shows, the paraphrase rephrases the original statement and keeps more of its original content than the summary.

Translation

Although paraphrase sometimes translates difficult phrasing into more understandable phrasing, it is not literally considered translation. For something to be a translation, it must change writing in one language to another language. Here is an example of translation versus paraphrasing:

Original Phrase:

That’s life.

Translation into French:

C’est la vie.

That’s just how life goes sometimes.

Although we loosely may refer to paraphrase as translating ideas, technically it is not a tool of translation.

VIII. In Closing

Paraphrasing is an important tool for nonfiction writers, journalists, and essayists alike. It is a common proponent of news and reporting. Correct paraphrasing protects writers from plagiarism and allows them to creatively rephrase original works, incorporating them into their own compositions.

List of Terms

• Alliteration
• Amplification
• Anachronism
• Anthropomorphism
• Antonomasia
• APA Citation
• Aposiopesis
• Autobiography
• Bildungsroman
• Characterization
• Circumlocution
• Cliffhanger
• Comic Relief
• Connotation
• Deus ex machina
• Deuteragonist
• Doppelganger
• Double Entendre
• Dramatic irony
• Equivocation
• Extended Metaphor
• Figures of Speech
• Flash-forward
• Foreshadowing
• Intertextuality
• Juxtaposition
• Literary Device
• Malapropism
• Onomatopoeia
• Parallelism
• Pathetic Fallacy
• Personification
• Point of View
• Polysyndeton
• Protagonist
• Red Herring
• Rhetorical Device
• Rhetorical Question
• Science Fiction
• Self-Fulfilling Prophecy
• Synesthesia
• Turning Point
• Understatement
• Urban Legend
• Verisimilitude
• Essay Guide
• Cite This Website

• AI in action
• AI in the enterprise
• Humans of AI

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• Inside Writer
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• Inspiration

– 7 min read

How to paraphrase (including examples)

Jessica Malnik

Paraphrasing has gotten a bad reputation due to its association with plagiarism . However, when used correctly, paraphrasing has the potential to elevate your writing and give you a better understanding of the research.

In this post, we’ll discuss what paraphrasing is, why we do it, and 6 steps to walk you through the process. We’ll also share what not to do with paraphrasing, along with some examples.

Paraphrasing definition and rules

Paraphrasing is simply a way of summarizing someone else’s content in your own words. When you paraphrase, you keep the meaning or intent of the original work without copying it word for word. However, paraphrasing can quickly become a form of plagiarism if done incorrectly. This is why it’s crucial to follow the rules of paraphrasing.

When borrowing the ideas from someone else’s content, there’s one important rule to follow: you must correctly cite your source. This can be done in a number of ways depending on the style guide you use. 

Source citing is different for MLA and APA formatting and style guides. You’ll need to familiarize yourself with the citation formats for whichever one you follow. However, in some cases, simply hyperlinking the source will be sufficient.

Why do we paraphrase?

There are a number of reasons that professional writers and students alike choose to paraphrase content. Here are just a few of the common reasons that a writer would choose to paraphrase instead of including a quote or summarization.

Process information better 

One benefit of paraphrasing is that it helps you process the author’s ideas. When you have to rewrite the material in your own words, it makes you really think about the context and how it fits into your piece. If you want to really understand the material you’re citing, try rewriting it. If you were to quote the same information, you would miss out on the benefit of analyzing the source material.

For example, if you are writing a research paper all about Shakespeare’s influence on modern-day literature, you don’t want to just use a ton of direct quotes, instead by paraphrasing original passages, it can help you comprehend and analyze the material better.  

Improve your credibility with readers

You can also improve your credibility by association with the sources you decide to paraphrase. 

When you rewrite the material, you create a connection between your content and the knowledge from the source. 

Your audience will have a better understanding of the direction of your piece if you’re paraphrasing a reputable source with established authority on the subject.

Present data in an interesting way

If you’re referencing a data-heavy webpage or study, then paraphrasing is an engaging way to present the information in your own writing style. 

This allows you to tell a story with the source material instead of simply citing numbers or graphs.

Show that you understand the source

Another reason for paraphrasing that’s particularly important in academic writing is to demonstrate that you’ve read and comprehended the source material. 

For example, if all of you are doing is copying and pasting the original words of a textbook, you aren’t really learning anything new. When you summarize the material in your own words, it helps you to understand the material faster.  

How to paraphrase in 6 steps

Paraphrasing is simple when you break it down into a series of steps. 

Here are the 6 steps you can use to paraphrase your sources:

1. Choose a reputable source

First, you need to pick a credible source to paraphrase. A credible source will likely have ideas and concepts that are worth repeating. Be sure to research the author’s name and publisher’s credentials and endorsements (if applicable).

You’ll also want to check the date of the publication as well to make sure it’s current enough to include in your writing.

2. Read and re-read the source material

You want to be sure that you understand the context and information in the original source before you can begin to rework it into your own words. Read through it as many times as you need so you’re sure that you grasp the meaning.

3. Take some notes 

Once you have an understanding of the passage, you’ll want to jot down your initial thoughts. 

What are the key concepts in the source material? 

What are the most interesting parts? 

For this part, it helps to break up the content into different sections. This step will give you a sort of mini-outline before you proceed with rephrasing the material.

4. Write a rough draft

Write your version of the content without looking at the original source material. This part is important. 

With the source hidden, you’ll be less likely to pull phrasing and structure from the original. You are welcome to reference your notes, though. This will help you write the content in your own words without leaning on the source but still hit the key points you want to cover.

5. Compare and revise

Once you have your initial draft written, you should look at it side by side with the original source. Adjust as needed to ensure your version is written in a way that’s unique to your voice. 

This is a good time to break out a thesaurus if you notice you have used too many of the same words as the original source.

6. Cite your source

Whether you use MLA, APA, Chicago, or another style guide, now is the time to give proper credit to the original author or source. When posting content online, you may only need to hyperlink to the original source.

Keep in mind that the paraphrased text will not change depending on the citation style that you follow. It will just change how it’s cited.

What you shouldn’t do when paraphrasing

Now that you understand the process of paraphrasing and can follow the steps, it’s important that you know what to avoid. When paraphrasing, here are a few things to keep in mind:

1. Do NOT write while you’re still researching

You might be tempted to start writing during the research phase. However, this sets you up to miss information or restate the copy too closely to the source material. Be sure to do your research first, take notes, and then start writing the piece.

2. Do NOT skip the citations

When you pull a small amount of information from a paraphrased source, you may think you don’t need to cite it. However, any idea or copy that’s taken from another source is considered plagiarism if you don’t give it credit, even if it is only a little bit of information.

Paraphrasing examples

Here are some examples to help you understand what paraphrasing looks like when done correctly and incorrectly

Excerpt from LinkedIn’s Official Blog:

“When reaching out to connect with someone, share a personalized message telling the person why you would like to connect. If it’s someone you haven’t been in touch with in a while, mention a detail to jog that person’s memory for how you met, reinforce a mutual interest and kickstart a conversation.”

Here’s another example. This one is from the U.S. Department of Education:

“ The U.S. Department of Education does not accredit educational institutions and/or programs. However, the Department provides oversight over the postsecondary accreditation system through its review of all federally-recognized accrediting agencies. The Department holds accrediting agencies accountable by ensuring that they enforce their accreditation standards effectively. ”

Here’s one more example to show you how to paraphrase using a quote from Mark Twain as the source material:

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So, throw off the bowlines, sail away from safe harbor, catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore, Dream, Discover.”

Paraphrasing can be a beneficial tool for any writer. It can give you credibility and a deeper understanding of the topic. However, to successfully use paraphrasing, you must be careful to properly cite your sources and effectively put the material into your own words each time.

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Definition of Paraphrase

Paraphrase and summary, examples of paraphrase in literature, example #1: romeo & juliet (by robert burns).

“But soft, what light through yonder window breaks? It is the east, and Juliet is the sun. Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon, Who is already sick and pale with grief, That thou, her maid, art far more fair than she … The brightness of her cheek would shame those stars As daylight doth a lamp; her eye in heaven Would through the airy region stream so bright That birds would sing and think it were not night .”

Example #2: The Sun Rising (By John Donne)

“Busy old fool, unruly sun, Why dost thou thus, Through windows and through curtains call on us?… Shine here to us, and thou art everywhere; This bed thy center is, these walls, thy sphere.”

Example #3: Pride & Prejudice (By Jane Austen)

“It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.”

Example #4: Macbeth (By William Shakespeare)

“Whence is that knocking?— How is’t with me, when every noise appals me? What hands are here! Ha, they pluck out mine eyes. Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood Clean from my hand? No, this my hand will rather The multitudinous seas incarnadine, Making the green one red.”

Function of Paraphrase

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Advanced Paraphrasing Tool

Elevate your writing with our free and ai-powered paraphraser. instantly correct or rephrase your sentences in different tones., paraphrasing tool, please rewrite my sentence, what is paraphrasing.

Paraphrasing is the art of rewriting text into other words. This includes using synonyms, restructuring phrases, and connecting ideas in different ways. A state-of-the-art paraphraser provides automatic and simple-to-use rephrasing of complete sentences.

Why Should I Paraphrase My Sentences?

By paraphrasing existing sentences, you can elevate your writing and achieve different goals as a writer. That’s why rephrasing is helpful in plenty of cases: rewriting citations, strengthening the message of your text, and rewording your ideas while improving style.

How Does Rephrasing Help Me Become a Better Writer?

This feature is highly customizable, meaning you’re in control. Choose from five different categories—general, formal, concise, fluent, or simple—to transform your writing to better suit the context and tone. Paraphrasing helps you by refining and perfecting your masterpieces.

Where Can I Use the Paraphrasing Tool?

Rephrasing is available wherever and whenever! All you need is a LanguageTool account and a stable internet connection to rewrite your sentences in almost all of LanguageTool's extensions. The feature is easily accessible for everyone that aims to improve their writing.

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What exactly does an online paraphraser do.

LanguageTool’s paraphrasing feature does so much more than just rewrite sentences. Not only does it check for stronger, more suitable word choice, but it also corrects your sentence as a whole to ensure high-quality writing. With its intuitive and user-friendly interface, everyone can leverage Artificial Intelligence to achieve the best results possible.

What Other Features Does LanguageTool’s Paraphraser Provide?

The best part of using A.I. to paraphrase your writing is that the suggested sentences come free of spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors. Want to also improve style? Simply go back to the general correction to view stylistic suggestions.

As multilingual as you

Make your text sound professional and avoid embarrassing style, punctuation, and grammar mistakes

It’s an online tool that rewrites texts in a new (stylistically different) way by using alternative wording and a rephrased sentence structure.

This function is recommended for all types of texts, including professional, academic, and creative writing. It’s available for all LanguageTool users, but unlimited paraphrasing is only available in Premium.

A paraphrasing tool can easily enhance your writing by improving the tone and style of your text. Moreover, it helps you avoid having to write direct citations by rewriting copy-and-pasted text.

Premium accounts offer even more useful and powerful features:

Only with Premium

Sentence correction of longer texts

Style guide for customizing individual rules

Team features for companies

More in-depth suggestions, especially for word choice and style

How Can I Effectively Use the Rephrasing Tool?

For basic users, the paraphrasing feature is limited to three times daily. If you need more rephrased sentences, you can upgrade to LanguageTool Premium to get access to unlimited paraphrasing in six languages and several English dialects. Remember: No personal data is stored (ever) and privacy guidelines are strictly followed (always).

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Paraphrasing - an overview

Paraphrasing is ..., what are the differences between quoting, paraphrasing & summarising .

• Why Paraphrase?
• Paraphrasing versus Plagiarism
• The Do's and Don'ts of Paraphrasing
• Paraphrasing - examples
• Further Information

Paraphrasing is 'a restating of someone else’s thoughts or ideas in your own words. You must always cite your source when paraphrasing’ (Pears & Shields, 2019 p. 245).  

(Solas English, 2017)

• Quoting means using someone else’s exact words and putting them in quotation marks.. 
• Paraphrasing means expressing someone else’s ideas in your own voice, while keeping the same essential meaning.
• Summarising means taking a long passage of text from someone else and condensing the main ideas in your own words.

Watch the video below for more information.  

(UNC Writing Center, 2019)

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Paraphrasing Explained: Definition, Techniques, and Examples for Effective Writing

Table of contents

While researching for your article or essay, you might have encountered a sentence or a paragraph that's so intriguing that you thought you must include it in your content! But you can't use those exact words, right?

Well, paraphrasing is the way to do that. However, the idea is not to steal someone's content but to capitalize on it by drafting a much better version while adding your input and research.

You can always have your own piece written and make it more intuitive to your audience while using the original one as a reference.

'It's easier said than done'

'Although the idea sounds like a good one in theory, it will still be difficult to actually execute it.'

Both the above sentences have similar meanings, but they appear different. That's a classic example of paraphrasing.

But how do you paraphrase while keeping the essence of the original sentence intact and still not plagiarising?

That calls for some tips and tricks! And here, we have got you covered.

In this blog, we will explain what is paraphrasing, why you might need to paraphrase, how to paraphrase, and the difference between paraphrasing and summarizing.

Let's dive in.

Table Of Contents

What is paraphrasing.

Paraphrasing is the process of restructuring or tweaking a paragraph so that it represents the same meaning or idea from the original statement but with different sentence construction, choice of words, formats, or, possibly, tone or voice.

It means making the meaning clearer, especially in a shorter and simpler form, along with your thoughts/comments. In addition to borrowing, clarifying, or expanding on information and your comments, paraphrasing is doing all the above-stated actions without plagiarizing the information.

Why do people paraphrase?

There are several reasons why people paraphrase. Following are some of the reasons for paraphrasing.

• Paraphrasing helps avoid plagiarism.
• It also provides support for claims or adds credibility to the writing.
• It demonstrates your understanding and provides an alternative method to using indirect and direct quotes in your own words (referenced) infrequently.
• Paraphrasing in academic research helps utilize source material for writing essays, providing evidence that the essay is appropriately referenced.
• Paraphrasing in writing helps you ensure that you use sources to communicate something important to your readers.

What is paraphrasing plagiarism?

Plagiarism is stealing someone else’s ideas without acknowledgment. Plagiarism can come in several forms: global, verbatim, patchwork, paraphrase, and self-plagiarism. However, apart from global plagiarism, other types of plagiarism are often accidental.

Although paraphrasing is accepted , rephrasing sentences or paraphrasing someone else’s idea without citing or acknowledging is considered paraphrasing plagiarism. Even when translating someone else’s words, if the translated text from another language is not cited, this is also a type of paraphrasing plagiarism.

How to paraphrase?

When it comes to paraphrasing, you can either do it manually or use an AI-powered tool like Writesonic to rephrase your content. While we will guide you through both processes, here is how to paraphrase with Writesonic Content Rephraser.

Check out the steps below:

• Log in to Writesonic or sign up (if you haven't already done so!).
• Search for Content Rephrase and select the tool from the results.

• On the Content Rephrase v2 window, put the text in the Content box.
• Select the Words Length from the drop-down for the rephrased content.
• Select your Brand Voice / Tone of Voice from the list.
• Finally, hit the Generate button.

If you are not satisfied with the output received, simply click on the Regenerate button.

If you want, you can also paraphrase manually without using any tool.  Here is a guide on different techniques to paraphrase effectively,

What is the difference between summarizing and paraphrasing?

Summarizing is a concise statement that briefs the contents of the passage. On the other hand, paraphrasing is just rewriting sentences using your own words. In fact, there is more than one difference between summarizing and paraphrasing.

Check out the comparison chart to learn the differences between summarizing and paraphrasing, besides their definition.

Top 5 tips and tricks to follow while paraphrasing

Following are 5 digestible paraphrasing tips you can incorporate when paraphrasing your sentences.

Identify the important parts

You can't paraphrase until you understand the meaning! In fact, paraphrasing demonstrates your understanding of the original material. Thus, read the original content until you get enough ideas to explain it in your own words.

Once you have the original concept, reduce it to the key points, and don't focus on the sentence structures at the start. Another way to rewrite or reword the source without losing your key points is to use a paraphrasing tool .

Change up the words

Change the words using synonyms while noting down the concepts or key points. However, if you face writer's block and can’t find the right words, which can make your content incompetent, use rewording tools .

AI rewording tools can come up with synonyms, organize your phrases, and enhance your sentence structure. Moreover, an AI wording tool ensures the content is unique, original, and plagiarism-free.

Make sure meaning is preserved

Although paraphrasing requires rewording and changing the words, ensure that the same meaning must be maintained along with the ideas. In addition to that, keep your word choices lucid and simple to convey the relevant information from the source without sticking too close to the original source.

One way to keep your writing consistent when paraphrasing is by using paraphrasing tools. The AI tool can alter the sentence structure while maintaining the original meaning.

Double-check for grammar and punctuation

When paraphrasing, double-check and compare the paraphrased copy with the original passage. Make adjustments to ensure it’s completely rewritten. Also, make sure that the grammar and punctuation are correct.

Double-checking your work for grammar and punctuation by reviewing it more than once improves its quality. Paragraph rewriters use AI for paraphrasing, which can tweak the tonality and narrative, ensure a grammar check, and make the content concise and conceivable.

Use an online paraphrasing tool like Writesonic

As stated previously in the article, using a paraphrasing tool is the fastest way to paraphrase your sources without plagiarizing them. One such creative AI writing tool that assists you with paraphrasing is Writesonic .

Writesonic is trained on billions of parameters. It refines the grammar, spelling, and style to generate original, paraphrased content. In addition to that, Writesonic generates unique and plagiarism-free content that resonates with the target audience with just one click.

With AI chatbots like ChatGPT by Open AI and ChatSonic by Writesonic taking away all the limelight, they can also be used effectively for paraphrasing text.

Different strategies for paraphrasing

Even though there are AI paraphrasing tools to make the work easier, the following are different strategies you can use to paraphrase your sentence.

Understanding the main ideas

One of the strategies for successful paraphrasing is understanding the source's main idea and writing style. When you understand the idea behind the sentence, it becomes easier to explain in your own words.

After taking note of the important nouns and verbs, see which synonyms might be appropriate to replace. You can use a synonym that expresses the same meaning for the key concepts or points in the original sentence.

Making connections

When you use synonyms, it is given that the structure may also need a little changing. So, instead of just swapping a single word, make appropriate changes around the words to make sense of the sentence. Here, your paraphrasing skills come into play.

Here is an example of paraphrasing: “ According to scientists, there is another method to achieve a pollution-free environment.”

The paraphrased content would say something like - “Scientists found an alternate way to attain a pollution-free environment.”

In the above sentence, the adjective ‘according to’ is swapped with the verb ‘found’ along with other necessary changes. These changes are made to maintain a harmonious connection between the words and to make the sentence sensible while retaining its meaning and avoiding plagiarism.

Focusing on syntax

The syntax is the arrangement of words in a specific order written in well-formed phrases or sentences. While paraphrasing is about restating or rewording, ensure to focus on the well-structured and grammatically correct sentences by making appropriate connections or paraphrases.

Benefits of paraphrasing

Paraphrasing has some benefits that you can reap in aspects of your writing skills and learning abilities.

Improves writing skills

Paraphrasing requires you to change the passages in your own words, which may help refurbish your writing skills. Rewriting or paraphrasing is essential in writing essays or research papers.

Paraphrasing allows you to express ideas or information with a fresh set of words to make the same thing sound more interesting or even simpler. You can see paraphrasing as an opportunity to enhance your writing skills without plagiarizing someone else’s work. This includes rewriting and expressing the ideas in your own voice.

Increases comprehension

Comprehension is understanding the written material and explaining what is read. At the same time, paraphrasing demonstrates your understanding of the complex details from the source and your ability to explain the connections between main points. Therefore, it's obvious that you can comprehend a text better when you paraphrase it.

Moreover, it was found that paraphrasing for comprehension is an excellent tool for reinforcing reading skills. It can assist by identifying the main ideas, finding supporting details, and identifying the original author's voice.

So when you rewrite the sentence in your own words, you can double-check your comprehension. This helps improve your awareness and allows you to gain a better understanding of the content, and allows you to write better.

Enhances understanding

To paraphrase words or phrases, you must extract their meaning by reading the material again and again and fully understanding the context. This allows the reader to understand the original statement more clearly by adding more clarity to it. So, when you paraphrase the original phrase, you articulate your thoughts and ideas more clearly and come up with new insights and perspectives on the topic.

Saves time & energy

Creating content from scratch is difficult and requires much time and energy. It requires you to do proper research, which is both time and energy-consuming.

An easy solution to the painstaking process is paraphrasing your sentence with appropriate citations. This will allow you to create the content without spending much time on research and ideation, saving much of your time and energy.

Helps avoid plagiarism

Among all the benefits, the most favorable benefit of paraphrasing is that it helps you avoid the accusation of plagiarism. You are simply committing plagiarism (an offense as stated by the federal government) when you use the same idea and speech from the original text, word by word.

However, by rewording the original source, you can present the ideas in your own words and easily avoid plagiarism. What’s more, paraphrasing can save you in both accidental and deliberate cases of plagiarism.

Paraphrasing examples

Now that we have known all about paraphrasing, its reasons for use, and its benefits, let’s look at some examples of paraphrasing and how exactly you can paraphrase.

#1 Example of Paraphrasing

#2 Example of Paraphrasing

Final Words

Once you grasp the concept of paraphrasing, it can be a powerful tool for writers. It provides several benefits in aspects of writing and learning skills. The correct way and right use of paraphrasing can protect writers from accusations of plagiarism.

However, note that successful and correct paraphrasing requires the use of multiple techniques each time. So, it is not sufficient to simply replace the keywords or the main concepts with synonyms.

One of the easiest ways to reword the original source is by using an AI writing tool. Writesonic is a well-known AI paraphrasing tool that can refine grammar, spelling, and style to generate original plagiarism-free AI content .

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Paraphrase: Definition and Useful Examples of Paraphrasing in English

What is a paraphrase? You may have heard someone using the word paraphrase when talking about the English language, and this is a concept which is very commonly used. But what do people mean when they talk about paraphrasing? In this article, we are going to be looking at exactly what a paraphrase is and how it is used. We are also going to be taking a look at some examples of paraphrasing as a way to gain a greater understanding of the concept.

What Is A Paraphrase?

In the most simple terms, paraphrasing is altering the wording used by someone else into your own words. The way that this is achieved is by rewriting the text with completely different words and phrases whilst keeping the original meaning intact . It is vital that when you paraphrase anything the original meaning is kept, and the key points are still acknowledged.

Some people may choose to quote the words of others within their speaking or writing and this is done by using the exact same words as the original speaker or writer and placing quotation marks around them to highlight that they were said by someone else. With a paraphrase, you are changing what was said in the original text.

It is important to remember that when you are paraphrasing something, that you provide references for the reader.

Why Do People Paraphrase?

There may be a variety of reasons why someone would opt to use paraphrasing over quoting. Let’s take a look at some of these reasons now.

• Being able to paraphrase a piece of text can show the author has a very clear understanding of the original text, so well that they are able to rewrite it into their own words.
• On top of the previous point, it also shows the reader that you fully understand what you have read and can relay it clearly and concisely.
• Paraphrasing gives you the chance to expand your own knowledge by explaining something in your own words. Often times, we learn better when we are absorbing information and paraphrasing is an excellent chance to do that.
• Paraphrasing is much more flexible than simply quoting the words of someone else.
• When you paraphrase a piece of text, you have the chance to use fewer or more words and sentences than the original depending on how you want your written work to come across.

When Is It Right To Paraphrase?

Sometimes simply quoting the words of another person is enough, however, there are times when it is preferable to paraphrase. Let’s take a look at what would make the ideal time to paraphrase:

• If a quote would be too lengthy
• You feel that your own wording would get the point across more easily.
• You are paraphrasing something with a large piece of writing.

How To Paraphrase

There are some easy steps that you can follow at times when you need to paraphrase, let’s take a closer look at these now.

• Read and make sure that you understand the original piece of writing.
• Make a note of the key ideas.
• Write a version of the text in your own words without referring back to the original.
• Compare the two with one another, making any amendments to the new version.
• Reference the source.

There are also some handy tips that can make paraphrasing very simple when you need to do it.

• Begin your new version of the text at a different point than where the original begins.
• Make good use of synonyms.
• Consider changing the sentence structure such as changing from a passive voice to an active voice.

Paraphrase Examples

Now that we have a good understanding of what paraphrasing is and what it is used for, we are ready to start looking at some examples. Studying these examples will give you a better understanding of how the process works.

Paraphrasing Example 1

Original text.

Many people consider classical music as being a broad range of styles, however, the classical period only falls into a small period of time in the 1700/1800’s. What many people believe as being classical music may well be baroque or romantic music for example. The composer, Beethoven lived and worked in the romantic era of music and as such his music falls into the romantic category, but most people would call him a classical composer. The same can be said for J S Bach, who, whilst being commonly referred to as a classical composer, was, in fact, a baroque musician .

Paraphrased Version

Over the years, there have been many periods of music with the classical period being the most famous and the most referred to. With that it mind, the classical period is often misused when it comes to talking about certain composers. Beethoven, one of the most well-loved composers from history is often called a classical composer, however, his career fell in the romantic period. Hundreds of years before this there lived another famous composer who is often credited as being classical, J S Bach was a baroque composer with the style being evidently clear.

We can see in both pieces that the key points have been retained but the wording has been totally overhauled.

Paraphrasing Example 2

Let’s look at a further example.

In the time of the baroque era, there were nowhere near as many musical instruments available in the orchestra for composers to work with. If you listen to music from this time regularly, you will be able to hear that the harpsichord was a favoured instrument, almost fashionable at the time. However, later down the line as more instruments became available, classical composers would make the most of this and you begin to hear more strings and wind instruments in the pieces. As time progressed, even more, many of the romantic composers favoured the piano with many pieces featuring simply a piano and one other instrument, also known as a concerto.

Depending on what period of time a piece of music was written will highly depend on what instruments were used. This was mainly due to a lack of options in the earlier days of music, with composers being limited to their choices. One of the most popular options in the baroque era was the harpsichord, giving the music of this period a unique sound that is easily recognisable to the discerning ear. Moving through the years, more instruments entered into the various sections of the orchestra giving composers greater freedom with the sounds they could create. The piano became a popular choice during the romantic era with many concertos being composed for this instrument along with one other, quite often a violin.

Paraphrasing is a great skill to have as it enables you to rewrite a piece of text using your own words whilst keeping the main points. There are certain techniques which can be used whilst paraphrasing that make it easier to do.

Paraphrase Infographic

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Paraphrase: Write It in Your Own Words

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Paraphrasing is one way to use a text in your own writing without directly quoting source material. Anytime you are taking information from a source that is not your own, you need to specify where you got that information.

A paraphrase is...

• Your own rendition of essential information and ideas expressed by someone else, presented in a new form.
• One legitimate way (when accompanied by accurate documentation) to borrow from a source.
• A more detailed restatement than a summary, which focuses concisely on a single main idea.

Paraphrasing is a valuable skill because...

• It is better than quoting information from an undistinguished passage.
• It helps you control the temptation to quote too much.
• The mental process required for successful paraphrasing helps you to grasp the full meaning of the original.

6 Steps to Effective Paraphrasing

• Reread the original passage until you understand its full meaning.
• Set the original aside, and write your paraphrase on a note card.
• Jot down a few words below your paraphrase to remind you later how you envision using this material. At the top of the note card, write a key word or phrase to indicate the subject of your paraphrase.
• Check your rendition with the original to make sure that your version accurately expresses all the essential information in a new form.
• Use quotation marks to identify any unique term or phraseology you have borrowed exactly from the source.
• Record the source (including the page) on your note card so that you can credit it easily if you decide to incorporate the material into your paper.

Some examples to compare

Note that the examples in this section use MLA style for in-text citation.

The original passage:

Students frequently overuse direct quotation in taking notes, and as a result they overuse quotations in the final [research] paper. Probably only about 10% of your final manuscript should appear as directly quoted matter. Therefore, you should strive to limit the amount of exact transcribing of source materials while taking notes. Lester, James D. Writing Research Papers . 2nd ed., 1976, pp. 46-47.

A legitimate paraphrase:

In research papers, students often quote excessively, failing to keep quoted material down to a desirable level. Since the problem usually originates during note taking, it is essential to minimize the material recorded verbatim (Lester 46-47).

An acceptable summary:

Students should take just a few notes in direct quotation from sources to help minimize the amount of quoted material in a research paper (Lester 46-47).

A plagiarized version:

Students often use too many direct quotations when they take notes, resulting in too many of them in the final research paper. In fact, probably only about 10% of the final copy should consist of directly quoted material. So it is important to limit the amount of source material copied while taking notes.

A note about plagiarism: This example has been classed as plagiarism, in part, because of its failure to deploy any citation. Plagiarism is a serious offense in the academic world. However, we acknowledge that plagiarism is a difficult term to define; that its definition may be contextually sensitive; and that not all instances of plagiarism are created equal—that is, there are varying “degrees of egregiousness” for different cases of plagiarism.

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How to Perfect Your Paraphrasing: Advice and Examples

So, you're finally getting around to writing that research paper for your biology class and need to gather some evidence to support your thesis . Or maybe you realized that you can't just simply skim through the textbook when preparing for your next history exam (you learned you lesson on the last one…). Or maybe you're just really confused about what a particular passage is saying in your book and you're looking for a way to simplify the meaning without losing the original ideas. If this is you, you might consider paraphrasing. What's paraphrasing? We're glad you asked!

Paraphrasing

Did your teacher ever tell you to cover a book and rewrite what you just read from memory? We can remember doing this as early as elementary school, when we were learning about how to incorporate evidence into our (appropriately) elementary-level paragraphs. Your teachers were introducing you to the process of paraphrasing!

Paraphrasing is the process of rewording something written or spoken by another source to provide a simplified, clearer meaning. Paraphrasing is done at all levels, and for several purposes: teachers paraphrase material for their students' benefit, and scholars often paraphrase the sources they use in their papers and other published research . Paraphrasing, therefore, is a great way for academics to better understand what it is they are reading, researching, or studying. After all, what better way to understand material than to put it into words you're familiar with?

Paraphrasing is useful in research papers or analytical essays because it allows you to bring external sources into your own work without relying too heavily direct quotations. This isn't to say that you can paraphrase a work without referencing the source (that would be plagiarism!), but it is a good way to make your work more coherent and independent.

Now, just because we might remember being introduced to this process so early in our academic careers does not mean that it's an easy process. On the contrary, paraphrasing can actually be quite challenging. Paraphrasing requires analytical and deductive thinking and great writing skills. You must be able to read and understand material and then reword it in your own words and style while maintaining the original meaning of the source.

Summarizing vs paraphrasing

You may be asking yourself, what's the difference between summarizing and paraphrasing? While they may seem quite similar at first glance, there is a difference between the two processes.

Summarizing is a much broader concept, literally. Summaries will present the material in a much more general fashion, rewording only the biggest main ideas from a source. Summaries are almost always be short and to the point.

Paraphrasing can be about any part of a source, not just the main ideas. Paraphrasing will expand beyond the main ideas to include all the source material, although special attention may be drawn to particular points, if that was the original source's intention. There is more attention to detail in paraphrasing. A paraphrase may be shorter, longer, or the same length as the original source.

When to paraphrase

Paraphrasing is widely used in academia because it is a way for academics to provide evidence towards their own arguments or to learn more about a particular subject. When you want to paraphrase is really up to you, but here are just a few instances where you may choose to paraphrase:

• To clarify short sentences or passages from a source
• To break down a larger passage or quote from a source for clarification
• When you want to use the source as evidence to prove your argument but do not want to use direct quotations
• When you want to reword someone else's ideas
• When you want to take notes on a certain source while maintaining the original meaning of the source
• When you want to explain images from research such as charts and graphs

How to paraphrase

Since paraphrasing can be difficult, we've devised a step-by-step guide for you to follow. This will help simplify the process as you simplify your source material.

• Read the section of text, carefully : This may seem like a no brainer, but you should always begin by selecting the section of the text you wish to paraphrase and reading it.
• Reread the source, carefully : We may sound a bit redundant with all this "reading carefully" instruction, but it's essential that you use close-reading skills to deduct what is being said. Have you ever read something without reading it, like when you're skimming a paragraph but you're thinking about something entirely different, so it's basically like you read nothing? Save the skimming for another day.
• Understand what you're reading : It's essential that you understand what you're reading. This why we keep directing you to read carefully. Again, this is not a time to get distracted. You can skim material without actually reading it, but this will lead to mistakes in paraphrasing and even potential plagiarism . This is why we said paraphrasing requires analytical thinking and writing skills. If you find that you're in over your head with the source material, we suggest looking at alternative sources you understand more readily, or you could read up more on the particular source you are determined to understand. Either way, understanding what you're reading is essential to paraphrasing. After all, how can you reword something you don't even understand?
• Identify the main points : You've selected a section of the source or text you wish to paraphrase and have read it over a couple of times, ensuring that you understand the meaning. Great! Now, you should pull out the main points of the section, including any specific vocabulary or references to particular points that are essential to what the source is saying. This is what you're going to want to include in your own paraphrasing. If you find these terms or points important, then you need to highlight them in your own words. This brings us to our next step in successful paraphrasing.
• Use similar (but not exact) language : Synonyms are your best friends here. They're a great way to retain the original intention behind certain words or phrases without using the exact language from the source. For example, if a source describes something as being "impactful", you may use the world "influential" as a synonym. "Impactful" and "influential" both allude to the noun as having some kind of effect on something else.
• Retain the original source's voice/attitude : If you're reading a source that conveys a positive attitude about the subject material, then you should also maintain a positive voice when rewording the material. You may be using this information to as evidence to prove or disprove your own paper's argument. Regardless of how you intend to use this source, you must maintain the integrity of the original source by maintaining a similar tone. Changing the voice of the source would mean altering the meaning behind what was already written, which is the very opposite of what you want to do when paraphrasing.
• Create your own sentence structure : For this, we don't mean simply putting the first sentence last and the last sentence first. Remember, paraphrasing is not just changing a few words here and then and switching around the sentence order. What we mean by this is that you can (and should!) play around with the syntax. This is a great way to paraphrase the original text without losing the original meaning. You can lengthen some sentences, shorten others, or combine similar ideas into one sentence. As long as the sentences are your own, you can experiment with how you present them.
• Use quotes for specific vocab : If you're reading something that has field-specific vocabulary, it's best to quote these terms or phrases instead of using synonyms. For example, it's easy and not harmful to the original text to change the word "impactful" to "influential", as we did above. However, it's not as easy to use synonyms for a field-specific vocabulary word like "biodiversity." You should use your best judgement when determining what you should keep in quotes and what you should change.
• Be concise : The whole point of paraphrasing is for you to break down what you have read and put it into your own words to better understand it. Don't complicate things by including new terminology or explanations. Model your paraphrasing after the original while remaining clear and concise in your language and sentence structure. If you read over your paraphrased work and it seems more complicated than the original text, then you've done something wrong.
• Check your work : Now that you've paraphrased the text, compare it to the original. You should ensure that you've accurately conveyed the original meaning of the text while maintaining a safe distance from the original. What we mean by this is you should check to ensure you've done an adequate job of rewording what was already written. Although you want what you have written to have a similar meaning to the original, make sure you have not unintentionally plagiarized.
• Cite the original source : Although this may not be your usual way of including evidence in your writing, such as providing direct quotations, you do still need to cite your source . These ideas are not originally yours. Since you got them from somewhere, make sure to give credit where credit is due. This will allow you to refer back to the source that helped you and it will provide another source for readers of your work to reference. Academia is all about sharing information to expand knowledge and resources.

Although we've provided you with a comprehensive, step-by-step guide on how to paraphrase, you may still be scratching your head. That's okay! It's normal to struggle with paraphrasing. If you need additional help, you can use this tool . This paraphrasing tool allows you to insert a block of text from a source you're trying to paraphrase and to choose from a variety of tools that will best paraphrase the text. For example, you may be worried about paraphrasing because it can morph into plagiarism if you are not careful. Fear not, there is a tool for that! Simply paste the text into the tool and choose "Plagiarism Remover." This will paraphrase the original source to ensure you are not plagiarizing.

Examples of paraphrase

Now that you know how to paraphrase, we figured we would provide you with some of our own examples of paraphrase. We will show you the do's and don't's of paraphrasing, so you know if you failed or succeeded in your mission.

• Original : In some studies, coffee has been proven to expand the life of human beings.
• Bad paraphrase : In some studies, coffee has been proven to extend the life of humans.
• Good paraphrase : Studies have shown that coffee can extend human life.

So, what made the bad paraphrase bad? Notice how we only changed one word: "expand". We changed "expand" to "extend" but this is not enough. We plagiarized the rest of the sentence, so this is not paraphrasing. What makes the good paraphrase good? Notice how we maintained the point of the original sentence, that coffee has been shown to add years to human lives, but we did more than just change a single word. Let's take a look at another example.

• Original : Covid-19 is an airborne virus and may result in a stuffy nose, coughing, slow heartrate and breathing, and in some instances, a fever.
• Bad paraphrase : Covid-19 can be an airborne virus which results in a stuffy nose and cough, a fever, and breathing problems.
• Good paraphrase : Covid-19 can spread via airborne particles and can result in a variety of symptoms including, but not limited to, fever, respiratory issues, and nasal congestion.

Notice how our bad paraphrase changed a few words and terms but is mostly too similar to the original sentence. Also, the bad paraphrase creates ambiguity where there is none. The original states, "Covid-19 is an airborne virus" and the bad paraphrase states "Covid-19 can be an airborne virus." This is especially dangerous in medical/science writing!

Our good paraphrase changed the sentence structure, so our paraphrase ended up being longer than the original sentence, which is fine. We condensed symptoms like "coughing" and "slow heartrate and breathing" into "respiratory issues" and changed "stuffy nose" to "nasal congestion." This is an example of properly paraphrasing a source. We maintained the main ideas of the original sentence while using our own words and sentence structure.

Give it a try

Now it's your turn to try paraphrasing! Whether you're gathering evidence for your next English essay or jotting down notes to study for your next chemistry exam, try to paraphrase the source material. Not only will this help you simplify what you're reading, but it will also provide you with excellent practice for your analytical thinking and writing. It forces you to think analytically and creatively, stretching those mind muscles to think for yourself and reflect your own learning in what you write!

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• How to Paraphrase | Step-by-Step Guide & Examples

How to Paraphrase | Step-by-Step Guide & Examples

Published on 8 April 2022 by Courtney Gahan and Jack Caulfield. Revised on 15 May 2023.

Paraphrasing means putting someone else’s ideas into your own words. Paraphrasing a source involves changing the wording while preserving the original meaning.

Paraphrasing is an alternative to  quoting (copying someone’s exact words and putting them in quotation marks ). In academic writing, it’s usually better to paraphrase instead of quoting. It shows that you have understood the source, reads more smoothly, and keeps your own voice front and center.

Every time you paraphrase, it’s important to cite the source . Also take care not to use wording that is too similar to the original. Otherwise, you could be at risk of committing plagiarism .

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Table of contents

How to paraphrase in five easy steps, how to paraphrase correctly, examples of paraphrasing, how to cite a paraphrase, paraphrasing vs quoting, paraphrasing vs summarising, avoiding plagiarism when you paraphrase, frequently asked questions about paraphrasing.

If you’re struggling to get to grips with the process of paraphrasing, check out our easy step-by-step guide in the video below.

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Putting an idea into your own words can be easier said than done. Let’s say you want to paraphrase the text below, about population decline in a particular species of sea snails.

Incorrect paraphrasing

You might make a first attempt to paraphrase it by swapping out a few words for  synonyms .

Like other sea creatures inhabiting the vicinity of highly populated coasts, horse conchs have lost substantial territory to advancement and contamination , including preferred breeding grounds along mud flats and seagrass beds. Their Gulf home is also heating up due to global warming , which scientists think further puts pressure on the creatures , predicated upon the harmful effects extra warmth has on other large mollusks (Barnett, 2022).

This attempt at paraphrasing doesn’t change the sentence structure or order of information, only some of the word choices. And the synonyms chosen are poor:

• ‘Advancement and contamination’ doesn’t really convey the same meaning as ‘development and pollution’.
• Sometimes the changes make the tone less academic: ‘home’ for ‘habitat’ and ‘sea creatures’ for ‘marine animals’.
• Adding phrases like ‘inhabiting the vicinity of’ and ‘puts pressure on’ makes the text needlessly long-winded.
• Global warming is related to climate change, but they don’t mean exactly the same thing.

Because of this, the text reads awkwardly, is longer than it needs to be, and remains too close to the original phrasing. This means you risk being accused of plagiarism .

Correct paraphrasing

Let’s look at a more effective way of paraphrasing the same text.

Here, we’ve:

• Only included the information that’s relevant to our argument (note that the paraphrase is shorter than the original)
• Retained key terms like ‘development and pollution’, since changing them could alter the meaning
• Structured sentences in our own way instead of copying the structure of the original
• Started from a different point, presenting information in a different order

Because of this, we’re able to clearly convey the relevant information from the source without sticking too close to the original phrasing.

Explore the tabs below to see examples of paraphrasing in action.

• Journal article
• Newspaper article
• Magazine article

Once you have your perfectly paraphrased text, you need to ensure you credit the original author. You’ll always paraphrase sources in the same way, but you’ll have to use a different type of in-text citation depending on what citation style you follow.

Generate accurate citations with Scribbr

It’s a good idea to paraphrase instead of quoting in most cases because:

• Paraphrasing shows that you fully understand the meaning of a text
• Your own voice remains dominant throughout your paper
• Quotes reduce the readability of your text

But that doesn’t mean you should never quote. Quotes are appropriate when:

• Giving a precise definition
• Saying something about the author’s language or style (e.g., in a literary analysis paper)
• Providing evidence in support of an argument
• Critiquing or analysing a specific claim

A paraphrase puts a specific passage into your own words. It’s typically a similar length to the original text, or slightly shorter.

When you boil a longer piece of writing down to the key points, so that the result is a lot shorter than the original, this is called summarising .

Paraphrasing and quoting are important tools for presenting specific information from sources. But if the information you want to include is more general (e.g., the overarching argument of a whole article), summarising is more appropriate.

When paraphrasing, you have to be careful to avoid accidental plagiarism .

Students frequently use paraphrasing tools , which can be especially helpful for non-native speakers who might have trouble with academic writing. While these can be useful for a little extra inspiration, use them sparingly while maintaining academic integrity.

This can happen if the paraphrase is too similar to the original quote, with phrases or whole sentences that are identical (and should therefore be in quotation marks). It can also happen if you fail to properly cite the source.

To make sure you’ve properly paraphrased and cited all your sources, you could elect to run a plagiarism check before submitting your paper.

To paraphrase effectively, don’t just take the original sentence and swap out some of the words for synonyms. Instead, try:

• Reformulating the sentence (e.g., change active to passive , or start from a different point)
• Combining information from multiple sentences into one
• Leaving out information from the original that isn’t relevant to your point
• Using synonyms where they don’t distort the meaning

The main point is to ensure you don’t just copy the structure of the original text, but instead reformulate the idea in your own words.

Paraphrasing without crediting the original author is a form of plagiarism , because you’re presenting someone else’s ideas as if they were your own.

However, paraphrasing is not plagiarism if you correctly reference the source . This means including an in-text referencing and a full reference , formatted according to your required citation style (e.g., Harvard , Vancouver ).

As well as referencing your source, make sure that any paraphrased text is completely rewritten in your own words.

Plagiarism means using someone else’s words or ideas and passing them off as your own. Paraphrasing means putting someone else’s ideas into your own words.

So when does paraphrasing count as plagiarism?

• Paraphrasing is plagiarism if you don’t properly credit the original author.
• Paraphrasing is plagiarism if your text is too close to the original wording (even if you cite the source). If you directly copy a sentence or phrase, you should quote it instead.
• Paraphrasing  is not plagiarism if you put the author’s ideas completely into your own words and properly reference the source .

To present information from other sources in academic writing , it’s best to paraphrase in most cases. This shows that you’ve understood the ideas you’re discussing and incorporates them into your text smoothly.

It’s appropriate to quote when:

• Changing the phrasing would distort the meaning of the original text
• You want to discuss the author’s language choices (e.g., in literary analysis )
• You’re presenting a precise definition
• You’re looking in depth at a specific claim

Cite this Scribbr article

If you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the ‘Cite this Scribbr article’ button to automatically add the citation to our free Reference Generator.

Gahan, C. & Caulfield, J. (2023, May 15). How to Paraphrase | Step-by-Step Guide & Examples. Scribbr. Retrieved 22 July 2024, from https://www.scribbr.co.uk/working-sources/paraphrasing/

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Paraphrase Online

Paraphrase online is a free online paraphrasing tool used to change words and rephrase sentences.

How to Use our Paraphrasing Tool?

It is very easy to paraphrase online with our paraphrasing tool. To rephrase, follow the steps below.

• Type/paste the text into the input box or upload a file (.doc, .docx, .pdf, .txt) from local storage.
• Select the required paraphrasing mode and click on the "Paraphrase" button.
• The paraphrased text will be displayed on the right box. You can also change the modes for different outputs.
• You can also copy and download the paraphrased text by clicking on the output buttons.

Free Paraphrasing Tool

Our paraphrasing tool (paraphraser) helps students, writers, and bloggers to avoid plagiarism. This rewording tool uses advanced AI algorithms to change sentence structure, synonymize the text and make other similar changes. 

This word changer has a built-in paraphrase generator that helps in rephrasing any paragraph accurately.

What is Paraphrasing?

Paraphrasing is one way to use a text in your own writing without directly quoting source material ( according to Purdue University ). It is the process of rewording and rearranging sentence structure while keeping the original meaning of the context.

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Paraphrase Online offers numerous features such as paraphrasing essays, assignments, and rewording articles. Our paraphrase tool works as the best sentence rephraser and word changer.

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Our paraphrasing tool offers five different paraphrasing modes/styles that you can choose from as per your need and requirement. Here is a brief profile of each mode:

Word Changer

The Word Changer mode is designed to replace the words in the text with suitable synonyms. This mode focuses on changing words and does not make other types of alterations.

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The Sentence Rephraser mode is made to rephrase sentences as a whole by making changes to the words as well as the phrases.

The Academic mode of our paraphrasing tool makes your text more formal and suitable for academic uses.

The Creative mode makes smart and extensive changes to the text to make it look different from the original version. This mode is best for avoiding plagiarism, improving readability, and enhancing engagement.

The Shorten mode rephrases text while also making it shorter than the original input. This mode is best for creating a paraphrased + summarized output for your existing text.

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Our paraphrase tool is the best rewording tool that helps you to write content in your own words. This paraphrase generator changes words and phrases quickly and accurately.

Supported Languages

ES , ID , BR

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This paraphraser is widely used by:

Students can use this paraphrasing tool to paraphrase their assignments and research papers. Our tool can help students:

Avoid plagiarism : It helps students to make their work plagiarism-free.

Make assignments more readable : Our tool also makes content more readable and free of grammar errors. And if English is not their first language then this tool is no less than a best friend.

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Creating class notes and study material on the same topic is a very tough task for teachers. Hey teachers! You can thank us for this awesome rewording tool. You can:

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Frequently Asked Questions

Is using an online paraphrasing tool illegal.

No, using an online paraphrasing tool is not illegal. If you want to paraphrase someone else’s content, be sure to cite the source to avoid plagiarism.

Why is paraphrasing important?

Paraphrasing is important as it lets you avoid plagiarism and make your content more easily understandable. Paraphrasing is often done to improve clarity in a piece of text.

Which paraphrasing tool is best for university students?

The paraphrasing tool by Paraphrase Online is an excellent choice for university students. It is free and provides accurate results.

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You can easily use our paraphrase tool for improving the quality of your research papers and for getting new/better ideas for them. Using Paraphrase Online is easy and simple. You just have to enter your text, choose a mode, and then click on the button.

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Paraphrasing can help make communication easier and more clear. You can paraphrase your mails and messages to make them more readable, natural, and better-flowing.

Paraphrasing in communication examples:

• You can paraphrase your work emails to make sure that the recipient easily understands them.
• You can paraphrase your letters and memos to make them clear and understandable for the office people.
• You can also paraphrase simple text messages to avoid having to repeat or explain yourself afterward.

The Point Conversations and insights about the moment.

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Frank Bruni

Contributing Opinion Writer

Trump May Pay a Steep Price for Vance

Taylor Swift fans are vowing vengeance on JD Vance. Jennifer Aniston is cursing him . Those are hardly data points auguring the outcome on Nov. 5, but they’re developments unusual enough to carry a message: Donald Trump chose a creepy bully for a running mate — a much younger and more grammatical facsimile of himself — and may come to regret it.

Over the past week, that line of thinking has achieved a prominence that suggests more at work than just an extrapolation of contempt for Trump, especially because vice-presidential picks often enjoy a brief honeymoon when analysts swoon over the political prettiness of them. (“My, what gorgeous favorables you have!”) Vance wasn’t five feet from the altar when his ugliness dominated the discussion.

A batch of polls showed that more voters disliked than liked him. And given the timing of those surveys, most respondents probably hadn’t yet savored a video snippet — which resurfaced early this week — of Vance on Fox News in 2021, when he name-checked Kamala Harris and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez as examples of a country run “by a bunch of childless cat ladies who are miserable at their own lives and the choices that they’ve made and so they want to make the rest of the country miserable, too.”

That set off not only Aniston, who has publicly discussed her unsuccessful struggle to become pregnant, and the Swifties, whose ruler is a childless cat lover , but also, well, all people with a modicum of sensitivity, a shred of decency and the basic humility not to believe that their own life choices and fecundity should be everyone else’s.

Search “Vance” and “ buyer’s remorse .” Marvel at the windfall . And puzzle over what Trump thought he was accomplishing by bringing the hillbilly eulogizer onboard. Trump didn’t need a partner gifted at insults and disdain. That’s his jam. He didn’t need a scowling divider. He scowls and divides just fine on his own. Vance brought little diversity to the Republican ticket, and Trump was going to win Vance’s home state, Ohio, anyway.

In thrall to his ego, Trump made the choice that flattered him — a Trump blasphemer turned Trump worshiper, someone with a patina of intellectualism that gave his conversion extra weight, a celebrity of sorts. Vance was an act of supreme self-indulgence. The kind that tends to exact a price.

Tressie McMillan Cottom

Opinion Columnist

What Harris’s First Campaign Ad Reveals About Her Candidacy

President Biden has been given his graceful exit. Kamala Harris has cleared the deck. A new age in presidential politics is about to begin. A biracial Black and South Asian woman is at the top of a national ticket. A new campaign advertisement shows exactly what kind of candidate she intends to be.

“Freedom,” Beyoncé’s high-energy anthem about Black expression, plays as a standard montage of campaign images unfolds. Harris paints both Donald Trump and JD Vance as regressive and dangerous. “Our campaign has a different vision of America,” she says.

Her voice sounds like a fist in a velvet glove. Her preferred uniform — softly tailored pantsuits — offers a vision of leadership that feels generational. She is not trying to downplay her female characteristics to be more like the boys. Nor is she bound to the strictures of traditional, nonthreatening female presentation: the dress and bob combo.

In the coming months, a lot will be made of Harris’s dual racial identity, which means that, if elected, she would be the first Black, South Asian and female president. In a gutsy move, the first ad suggests that as a candidate Harris will try to present herself both as a fresh new voice and as an incumbent.

The idea of Harris as an incumbent is surely intended to quell doubts about her preparedness. But it’s also important that the candidate who is making history owns that history, to excite her base. Turnout is the best weapon the Democratic Party has in a deeply gerrymandered post-Voting Rights Act environment. An excited base hopefully will become an expanding one.

Her late-season candidacy means the Harris team has less time to educate voters on who she is and how she would govern. That she would also be a new kind of leader only ups the ante. She has to prove that a woman can lead, that a Black woman can be qualified, that a South Asian woman can be legible, that a childless woman can be a nation’s ersatz parent, and that a Gen-X sensibility can resonate with boomers.

This first ad says that she and her team know exactly what they are up against and they are running to win.

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Meher Ahmad

Opinion Staff Editor

Laïcité Comes for French Olympians

As the Olympic Games are set to begin in Paris, it’s difficult to forget the recent snap elections in France that resulted in a stunning defeat for the National Front, a party with openly Islamophobic policies. The results were “a relief for the majority of our country, the real France that has always loved republican values,” said Jean-Luc Mélenchon, the left-wing leader of the largest party in the winning alliance.

Thousands rejoiced in the street after they received final election results, celebrating a rebuke of the far right’s racist ideologies. Many in France don’t find it ironic, though, that even as those celebrations took place, France’s Olympic athletes had been banned from wearing Islamic coverings while they compete.

The country’s staunch approach to secularism, or laïcité, has for decades caused tension with the French Muslim community, the largest of any European country. France has outlawed Muslim women from wearing veils in schools and while they work in public offices, but the bans and debates surrounding them have continued into all spheres of public life, from the street to the office — even at the beach .

So it wasn’t a surprise when France’s sports minister announced rules limiting outward religious symbols at sporting events in September. At least one athlete representing France at the Olympic Games, Sounkamba Sylla , running in the 400-meter dash, has come to an uneasy solution: She will wear a cap that covers her hair instead of her typical hijab, a decision reached after a back-and-forth with French sporting authorities.

For Muslims in France, Islamophobia is hardly confined to the far right. President Emmanuel Macron himself pushed forward a 2021 law aimed at curbing “community withdrawal and radical Islamism,” which critics called discriminatory toward Muslims. In fact, many laws that regulate what Muslim women can’t wear have come into effect under leaders from the center and the left.

In 2016, I filmed a documentary on France’s laws regarding how Muslim women dress. Our camera crew followed two high schoolers who lived in a Paris suburb, both Muslims who wore hijabs. On their first day of school, we watched as their teacher forcibly removed their head coverings before they set foot on campus. For some in France, that’s an example of republican values in action. But I found it difficult to see anything but prejudice.

I’ll be thinking of those girls and the many French Muslim women who can’t compete for their own country when I see Sylla at the Olympics. For them, a defeat for the far right at the polls hardly guarantees their freedoms.

Jessica Bennett

Contributing Editor, Opinion

Why Did Trump Promote a Book by One of His Accusers?

Donald Trump has never been one for discretion. But promoting a book whose co-author is a woman who accused him of sexual assault seemed brash even for him. Was it possible he didn’t even notice?

On Tuesday, Trump posted on Truth Social about a book called “ Captive ” by the actress Catherine Oxenberg — which tells the story of her quest to save her daughter, India, from a notorious sex cult, Nxivm. Declaring Oxenberg a “remarkable woman who has written an incredible book,” Trump called it a “powerful example of unconditional love” and encouraged his followers: “Buy the book!”

He appeared not to notice — or care — that the second name on that book cover was Natasha Stoynoff. Stoynoff is a journalist who writes celebrity memoirs, including Oxenberg’s. She is also one of 26 women who have credibly accused Trump of sexual misconduct, allegations he has denied.

Remember them? Trump’s accusers? They’ve been notably absent from the conversation about the Republican nominee these past months. So absent, it seemed, that Trump’s promoting a book with one of them as an author came and went with little notice.

It was not surprising to me that Trump wouldn’t remember Stoynoff’s name or account. But I hope the rest of us will.

In 2005, Stoynoff was a reporter at People magazine when she traveled to Mar-a-Lago to interview Trump and his new wife, Melania. There, she says, Trump pinned her against a wall and forcibly kissed her. She testified to that experience under oath in the civil trial of E. Jean Carroll, whom Trump was found liable of sexually assaulting.

Oxenberg recently donated $50,000 to a GoFundMe authorized by Trump to support victims of the shooting at the Trump rally in Butler, Pa., which is perhaps what perked his memory about Oxenberg and her book, if not its co-author.

But there was a teensy bit of poetic justice for Stoynoff: The book shot up the Amazon charts.

Carlos Lozada

Biden Didn’t Choose Patriotism Over Ambition. He Chose Both.

Joe Biden’s decision to end his re-election campaign is being hailed as an act of great patriotism, of putting the national interest over individual political fortunes. Jon Meacham, the presidential biographer and sometimes Biden scribe, wrote in The Times this week that the president “has put the country above self, the Constitution above personal ambition, the future of democracy above temporal gain.” Biden himself made the case in his Oval Office address on Wednesday: “Nothing can come in the way of saving our democracy. That includes personal ambition.”

It’s a lofty sentiment, but self-abnegation is not a prerequisite for principled action. Patriotism and ambition need not stand opposed; they can and should come together, as they so often do among the men and women who seek power or who seek to retain it.

It is no disrespect to Joe Biden to recall that before finally deciding to end his re-election campaign, he tried hard to avoid doing so. It is no disservice to his record to note that he was angry at the party leaders pressuring him to step aside.

Even now, Biden still thinks he has earned another go. “I believe my record as president, my leadership in the world, my vision for America’s future, all merited a second term,” he said in his Oval Office address. Only when the polling and the money started going wrong did he yield to what now seems inevitable.

In Biden’s 2020 campaign, patriotism and ambition were mutually reinforcing. He ran because he sought to protect American democracy from a second Trump term and because he felt he was the only one who could. The sad irony is that Biden’s case for his candidacy in 2020 — the need to win the battle for the soul of America, as he puts it — is the very reason, four years later, his own party urged him not to run.

“Ambition must be made to counteract ambition,” James Madison wrote in Federalist 51, making the case for constitutional checks and balances. Our system assumes political ambition; it depends on it. Even Biden’s decision to forgo a chance at a second term serves his ambitions. He knows history will judge him more kindly for leaving the race — giving his chosen successor a chance to extend his legacy — than for insisting on what increasingly looked like a losing effort.

I admire Biden’s patriotism and his personal ambition. Ambition can be enlisted in the service of patriotism, while patriotism can be made real through raw, individual ambition. When we peer into the soul of America, we should always find both.

Farah Stockman

Editorial Board Member

On Immigration, Harris Is a Bit of a Chameleon

One of the million-dollar questions about Kamala Harris’s candidacy is how she’d deal with the no-win situation at the southern border, where humane policies demanded by progressive activists have attracted such record-high numbers of migrants that even sanctuary cities are screaming “uncle.”

There are three places to look for clues, Julia Gelatt, the associate director of the U.S. immigration policy program at the Migration Policy Institute, told me: the decisions Harris made as a prosecutor in California, her Senate record and her actions as vice president. In that last role, she was given the task of “ stemming the migration to our southern border ,” as President Biden put it, particularly from the so-called Northern Triangle (El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala).

Today Republicans are inflating her role — falsely describing her as a “border czar” — while Democrats are pushing back, saying that she was working only on abating root causes of unauthorized migration , like poverty, violence and corruption.

Addressing root causes takes years, and things can get better and worse because of many factors. For instance, gang violence plummeted in El Salvador because of the zero-tolerance policies of President Nayib Bukele, known as the world’s coolest dictator. But for what it’s worth, the Northern Triangle countries saw declines in border encounters. The number of people from Honduras fell to 213,690 in 2023 from 319,320 in 2021; numbers from El Salvador dropped to 61,520 from 98,690 and from Guatemala to 220,090 from 283,040, according to Office of Homeland Security Statistics data . So maybe she can claim some success.

Gelatt said Harris did a reasonable job. She helped steer $5.2 billion in private investments to the region; offered political support for President Bernardo Arévalo of Guatemala, who campaigned against corruption; and worked to establish safe mobility offices in Central America where people who qualify for political asylum can receive it without trekking through the jungle.

But the fact remains that the number of people trying to cross the border from outside the Northern Triangle kept growing, until even the Biden administration had to admit that it had become a crisis.

“She failed,” Brandon Judd, a former president of the National Border Patrol Council, told me.

But there are other litmus tests. In the Senate she was a big-hearted champion of immigrant rights who fought for DACA recipients. As a prosecutor, she was a law-and-order type who was willing to deport undocumented juveniles accused of crimes before they were convicted.

She was especially willing to take a tough line after an undocumented gang member killed three people in a horrific shooting years after he had been shielded from deportation by a sanctuary city law designed to protect minors. Harris issued a statement saying that the sanctuary law “was never intended to shield anyone from being held accountable for a crime.”

In the leftiest of lefty cities, she gained a reputation for being tough. Will the country be getting softhearted Harris — who is, by the way, the children of immigrants? Or Harris the cop? Nobody knows for sure.

Thomas L. Friedman

Just One Question for Trump and Vance: What Is Wrong With You People?

Ever since President Biden’s Sunday announcement that he would not seek re-election, clearly because of age, I keep thinking about Donald Trump’s and JD Vance’s contemptuous reactions to one of the most difficult personal decisions a president has ever made, and what it says about their character.

“The Democrats pick a candidate, Crooked Joe Biden, he loses the Debate badly, then panics, and makes mistake after mistake, is told he can’t win, and decide they will pick another candidate, probably Harris,” Trump wrote on social media on Monday. He later added: “It’s not over! Tomorrow Crooked Joe Biden’s going to wake up and forget that he dropped out of the race today!”

Not to be out-lowballed by his boss, Vance wrote on social media: “Joe Biden has been the worst President in my lifetime and Kamala Harris has been right there with him every step of the way.”

All they had to say was: “President Biden served his country for five decades and at this moment we thank him for that service. Tomorrow our campaign begins against his replacement. Bring her on.”

I can guarantee you that is what Biden would have said if the shoe were on the other foot. Because he is not a bully.

Biden’s good character shone through on Wednesday night in his dignified, country-before-self address at the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office. As I watched and listened, I remembered a lunch I had with him in May 2022 in the dining room next to the Oval Office. After we were done and he was walking me past the Resolute Desk, I mentioned to him a reading-literacy project that my wife, Ann, was working on that she thought might interest Dr. Jill Biden. The president got totally excited about the idea and said, “Let’s call your wife. What’s her number?”

He then took a cellphone out of his pocket, dialed it and handed it to me.

“Honey,” I said, “I’ve got someone here who wants to talk to you."

“I’m in a meeting,” Ann replied. “I can’t talk now.”

“No, no, you’re going to want to talk to him. It’s the president.”

Then I handed the phone back to Biden, who engaged her in a conversation about reading and how much his wife was passionate about that subject, too.

Look, I’ve been to the rodeo — this is what smart politicians do. But there is one difference with Joe Biden that I observed over the years: It’s how much he authentically enjoyed it, how much he enjoyed talking to people outside his bubble and giving them a chance to say, “I got to meet the president. He talked to me!”

That sort of kindness came naturally to him. It brought him joy. And I have no doubt that Trump’s and Vance’s venomous first reactions to Biden’s resignation came naturally to them too.

I’m sure it brought them joy. But it sure left me wondering: What is wrong with you people?

Bret Stephens

Given No Choice by His Party, Biden Says the Right Thing

The Israeli diplomat Abba Eban once remarked that “men and nations behave wisely when they have exhausted all other resources.” The line (a version of which is often misattributed to Winston Churchill) could hardly fit President Biden better.

In his Oval Office address Wednesday night, the president said that he had promised “to always level with you, to tell you the truth.” He said that “nothing can come in the way of saving our democracy,” including “personal ambition.” He spoke of the need for “new voices, fresh voices, yes, younger voices.”

Fine and good sentiments all — and it’s tempting to salute Biden for the political courage and selflessness he’s shown in choosing not to run for re-election. But it would also be more than a little misleading.

The truth is that for months, if not years, the president, his family, and his senior advisers deceived the country about the extent of his mental deterioration. Dean Phillips, the Minnesota congressman, first saw it back in 2021, when Biden went to Capitol Hill and “had trouble articulating his own agenda,” as The Times’s Peter Baker noted this week . Phillips’s Democratic colleagues saw it, too, but said nothing.

The falsehood was more than just an effort to protect the president’s privacy, as if his condition was merely a little embarrassing, like Jimmy Carter’s hemorrhoids . On the contrary, it misled the American public on the most vital aspect of the president’s health — literally, his executive function.

It enlisted senior officials in what amounted to a systematic and aggressive cover-up about the president’s mental health. It meant slandering government officials, notably Robert Hur, the special counsel, for telling the truth. And it would have saddled Democrats with an all-but unelectable nominee if that fateful debate had been scheduled for after the party’s convention.

Even after the debate, the president persisted for weeks in insisting he was going to stay in the race, until he was faced with virtually open revolt by senior congressional Democrats, along with threats by big-money donors to withhold funds. Had those representatives and donors stayed quiet, would Biden now be doing the right thing?

So, yes, the president has done the country and his party a favor after exhausting other resources. But before we reach for comparisons to George Washington, let’s remember that not even Martha could have convinced her husband to reach for an additional term — one that was his for the taking.

Pamela Paul

Opinion Columnists

For Too Many Kids, Books Are Uncool and Unread

Once upon a slow summertime, unburdened by homework and school reading assignments, kids could be found lounging in hammocks engrossed in reading purely for pleasure. Summer was a time for otherworldly fantasy, Judy Blume and high adventure.

Not anymore. According to new research from Circana, a consumer research firm, middle-grade readers are now the biggest underperforming segment in the American market. “Middle grade,” a term that gets confused with “middle school,” refers to children’s literature — the traditional novels of childhood (“ A Wrinkle in Time ,” “ Wonder ,” “ The Westing Game ”) that lodge in our hearts for a lifetime. These are the books that make us readers.

But kids are reading fewer of them. In the first half of 2024, print sales of middle reader books, intended for children ages 9 to 12, dropped by 5 percent from the same period the previous year, or 1.8 million fewer units sold, deepening a dip in the market for children’s books that’s held since 2022. Fiction accounted for 71 percent of the decline. Another worrying study by Scholastic found that reading for pleasure drops steadily as children age, most markedly by age 9, and never recovers .

There are plenty of reasons for the decline. American schools have done a fine job of stripping all the fun out of fiction, emphasizing textual excerpts, nonfiction, close reading, political messaging and the repetitive delineation of symbols, metaphors and other literary devices over the sheer beauty and joy of storytelling.

Discovery is also an issue. Many middle schools have cut back on library volume and hours in favor of technology. In 2022, Barnes & Noble, the nation’s largest brick-and-mortar book retailer, announced it would cut back on the number of middle-grade titles in its stores — a decision that was met with outrage and despair by children’s book authors and publishers. The decrease in shelves to roam looks to get only worse. Costco, which heavily discounts children’s books, recently announced that it would no longer sell books year round.

But the most obvious reason for the decline is the onslaught of onscreen alternatives, ever at nearly every child’s fingertips. One in four kids has a smartphone by age 10, and nine in 10 do by age 14. And as of 2021, 8-to-12-year-olds — the sweet spot for developing a reading habit — spent upwards of five and a half hours a day on screens . It’s hard to develop a reading habit when you have no time left to open a book.

Serge Schmemann

A Hit-Parade Speech by Netanyahu Was Largely for Show

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel demonstrated on Wednesday that he is master of the American way of doing politics, shaking hands right and left on his way into the House chamber to give a speech like a president about to deliver a State of the Union address. He introduced Israeli military heroes in the gallery and peppered his speech with closely spaced applause points. Republicans leaped up and cheered on cue, as did many Democrats, albeit sometimes glancing around at what others were doing.

Some of the loudest cheers, at least from the right, were predictably for attacks on the massed demonstrators outside (“You have officially become Iran’s useful idiots”); on the International Criminal Court (“blood libel”), and Iran (“axis of terror”), as well as Netanyahu’s repeated vows that he would not stop the war until Hamas was destroyed.

The speech — at one hour double the length of the one President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine delivered to Congress seven months ago — was targeted at two audiences. For Americans, the core message was that Israel and the United States confront a joint enemy in Iran, and that Washington should accelerate the delivery of arms.

For Israelis, the message was that their embattled and broadly disliked prime minister is still the master of massaging relations with Israel’s most critical ally, and can still muster a chamber-full of Republicans and Democrats to applaud him.

But — and quite possibly the “but” was the real theme of the day — the speech was hardly the triumph Netanyahu needed. For one thing, it was likely to be lost in the coverage of President Biden’s speech scheduled for later in the day, and in the broader chaos of current American politics.

For another, Netanyahu’s hit parade of talking points has been undermined by his precarious political standing at home. A lot of people in Israel and the United States — including some of those in the chamber — openly hope for his exit, that of the extreme nationalists in his coalition. The crowds demonstrating against him and for Palestinians in the heat outside pose a political problem many of the legislators inside would prefer to evade.

There was a distinct sense as he spoke that many Democratic members, and probably some Republicans, were eager to cheer for Israel, but would have far preferred a different cheerleader. That was clearly the case for the Senate majority leader, Chuck Schumer, who has called on Netanyahu to step down and avoided shaking hands with him on Wednesday. Another New York Democrat, Representative Jerry Nadler, had referred to Netanyahu a day earlier as “the worst leader in Jewish history since the Maccabean king who invited the Romans into Jerusalem over 2,100 years ago,” yet he too arose and applauded on cue.

So while Netanyahu demonstrated that he could still do a rousing stump speech, it was far less clear whether it would do much to bolster his or Israel’s fortunes. Fiery one-liners were not likely to get cheers at his separate meetings with Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris on Thursday, or Donald Trump on Friday.

Brent Staples

Harris’s Huge Sorority Gets to Work on Her Behalf

Presidential candidates and their running mates do not customarily speak of lynching in campaign speeches. But Vice President Kamala Harris was obligated to do so this month, when she appeared at the Dallas convention of her powerhouse sorority, the 360,000-member Alpha Kappa Alpha.

As Harris said that day , A.K.A. was founded in 1908, when “women were not guaranteed the right to vote. There was not a single Black person in the United States Congress. And that year, 89 Black Americans were lynched, and that was just the number that was documented.”

A.K.A. and other Black sororities, most notably Delta Sigma Theta , have been in the trenches of the social justice struggle for a century. According to Prof. Deborah Elizabeth Whaley’s history of A.K.A., “Disciplining Women,” Norma Boyd, a prominent A.K.A. activist in the first half of the 20th century, lectured widely against lynching and wrote legislation for consideration by Congress. A.K.A. and its sister organizations kept this spirit of activism alive as they evolved into influential conclaves of Black professional women.

Those who rallied to Harris’s vice-presidential run in 2020 are exponentially more animated by her presidential candidacy, as is shown by recent fund-raising calls. As The 19th News reported Tuesday , at least 44,000 women joined a Zoom call on Sunday for a four-hour gathering that was “a mass meeting, prayer circle and pep rally — all with the goal of working to elect Harris the first woman president in 105 days.”

Harris’s immediate sorority sisters and those who represent other organizations are deeply connected through an online presence, as well as through face-to face gatherings like the Zeta Phi Beta convention in Indianapolis, where Harris spoke on Wednesday.

The influence of the sororities is magnified by the fact that their members often hold seats in other civic groups. Harris well understands that these women do not have to start from scratch in their fund-raising and get-out-the-vote efforts. Some of their organizations have been up and running for 100 years.

This Version of Kamala Harris Is Having More Fun Than You

Just a few hours after President Biden endorsed her presidential run, Vice President Kamala Harris received a second essential endorsement, from the electropop artist Charli XCX , 31, whose sixth album, “Brat,” has become the summer soundtrack for chronically online clubgoers.

For the uninitiated, the album’s memorable chartreuse aesthetic, awkward vulnerability and lingering sense of existential dread have entranced a vocal group of fans who have declared this summer to be “ brat summer ,” with feed-dominating memes to match. As a result, a relatively niche artist has become the living embodiment of 2024’s idea of “cool.”

So when Charli XCX declared on social media Sunday evening that “kamala IS brat,” she blessed the Harris campaign with the greatest asset possible: online relevance.

Fans quickly metabolized the pairing of Harris and “Brat” into a series of undeniably infectious memes that have taken over the internet. Those memes signal that Harris might just be a candidate who can muster the sort of energy to combat that of Donald Trump’s MAGA faithful .

The short videos take instances when Harris exhibits some sort of unconventional competence — her oddly effective anecdote about a coconut tree, her ability to crack an egg with one hand, her unabashed dancing — and set them to bitterly ironic tracks of “Brat.” These sorts of fan edits are normal for an internet fandom, but, in Harris’s case, they seem almost ready-made to combat the most predictable forms of criticism lobbed against her.

The right has already fixated on mocking Harris’s vexatious, ebullient laugh, but when the meme-ified version of Harris — let’s call her Bratala — laughs (with Charli’s song “ Von Dutch ” bumping in the background) it seems as if she’s laughing because she’s having more fun than you, and, crucially, that she doesn’t care what anyone thinks of her.

why did I stay up till 3am making a von dutch brat coconut tree edit featuring kamala harris and why can’t I stop watching it on repeat pic.twitter.com/hqcmerD1Pb — ryan (@ryanlong03) July 3, 2024

Such is the ethos of “Brat.” To be “so Kamala” — a play on Charli XCX’s declaration that she’s “so Julia,” a reference to the model Julia Fox — is, ultimately, to appear to live as you wish , even if you come off a little awkward sometimes. (Alas, in Harris’s case, this is a frequent occurrence.)

The idea of Bratala offers a perfect counter to the sexist double-binds that female presidential candidates inevitably fall into on the campaign trail. By allowing minor imperfections to shine, she dodges unattainable expectations of perfection and appears entertainingly, uncomfortably normal , an essential quality when looking to combat Donald Trump’s extremity.

For years, Trump’s competitive advantage against nearly every candidate who hoped to run against him was that his campaign had harnessed fandom and the internet , while his opponents had not. The success of the Bratala meme signals that Harris might be a candidate who can finally muster enough fan-generated energy to counter him.

To succeed, Harris must not make dorky TikToks or give boomer-style speeches in which she acknowledges her brat-ification. The meme works only because Harris is so unbothered by it. As soon as she becomes bothered — that is, cares too much about seeming cool by acknowledging the meme — the meme will lose its irony, and therefore its inherent coolness. It will no longer work in her favor.

Michelle Goldberg

The Antisemite Coming to the Trump Fund-Raiser

Update: After this article was published, the Trump campaign dropped Candace Owens from the Nashville fundraiser.

The far-right media star Candace Owens thinks that Adolf Hitler is misunderstood.

“They’ve turned him almost into Lord Voldemort,” she said on her YouTube show this month. “We actually know nothing about the person other than that we must fear him.”

Owens argues that it was the Germans who were actually victims of ethnic cleansing in World War II, and that we should be skeptical of the “bizarre propaganda” about the sadistic experiments of Josef Mengele.

This kind of thing is pretty much par for the course for Owens, who parted ways with the conservative Daily Wire in March over her increasingly overt antisemitism .

So it’s striking to learn, via Jewish Insider , that Owens is listed as a featured guest at a fund-raising event for Donald Trump’s campaign on Friday in Nashville — a city, it’s worth noting, that has recently been invaded by gangs of neo-Nazis and white supremacists. Donald Trump Jr. is headlining and tickets start at $3,000.

Trump, of course, is no stranger to virulent Jew-haters; in 2022 he dined with the Hitler-loving rapper Ye (formerly Kanye West) and the white nationalist Nick Fuentes, both allies of Owens. It’s still surprising that Trump and his camp feel emboldened enough to openly associate with a Holocaust denier in the middle of a presidential campaign. Maybe they thought we’d all be so busy worrying about Joe Biden that we wouldn’t notice.

Biden Should Have Treated Harris as a Future President

In just three and a half weeks, Kamala Harris has moved from the shadows to the forefront of the Democratic Party.

At the time of the catastrophic debate that spelled the beginning of the end for President Biden, the vice president was still something of a maligned figure, standing in the president’s shadow. She redeemed herself with speeches like the one she delivered on July 10 at the Dallas convention of her sorority, Alpha Kappa Alpha, where she defended the administration’s record and laid out the approach she would take if she became the party’s nominee.

As Jonathan Chait of New York magazine wrote , her tour-de-force appearances since that debate changed Democratic hearts and minds: “A party that once had little confidence in her political abilities,” he wrote, “now regards them with optimism (if not quite confidence).”

These last-minute heroics would not have been necessary had Biden treated Harris as a viable successor from the beginning. He barely did a middling job of introducing her to the public and setting her up for success. Instead, his advisers diminished her by casting her as a placeholder.

In the words of my Times colleague Astead Herndon, the president’s people said that she had been chosen “as a running mate for 2020 and a governing partner for his first term — not necessarily as a future president.”

Contingent status may have undermined her confidence and opened her to criticisms from within government that might otherwise have been out of bounds. When she made tactical mistakes, the administration could not be looked upon as a concerned, trusted partner.

The Biden campaign’s fixation on suppressing questions about the president’s advanced age represented a formidable obstacle. As The Atlantic writer Elaina Plott Calabro told my Times colleague Ezra Klein this month : The West Wing “never really cared to think strategically about presenting her to the American public” because agreeing that Harris was presidential timber — and that she was ready to step in if needed — would have further legitimized reservations about the president’s age that finally drove him from the race.

The reassuring version of Kamala Harris that we have seen in recent weeks was always in there somewhere. We might not have gotten to see it at all had the president decided to stick it out until the bitter end.

Katherine Miller

Opinion Writer and Editor, reporting from Radford, Va.

JD Vance Is Still Figuring Out How to Attack Kamala Harris

Past the shock and emotion of the last few weeks, this is really one of the weirder times in pure electoral politics — who’s winning, who’s losing — that I can remember. Who are the candidates? How will they talk about one another? How will the things that have happened this month change people’s minds and votes?

On Monday night, at one of JD Vance’s first rallies as the Republican vice-presidential nominee, I watched him mention that his wife had told him the day before that President Biden had withdrawn from the race. The crowd let out the equivalent of a big whistle inside a small, bright arena.

“You’re excited,” he said. “I was looking forward to debating Kamala Harris.”

We were in Southwest Virginia, at Radford University, on a warm, breezy summer evening, with the mountains looking especially blue-green. I watched Donald Trump campaign in Virginia last month, too, near Norfolk and the beach, the day after his debate with Biden. Is Virginia competitive? Was it competitive before Biden dropped out, but now maybe not?

For months the Trump campaign has talked a bit about expanding its electoral map to include states like Virginia, New Hampshire, New Mexico and Minnesota. Some polling in Virginia in particular has pointed that way — but perhaps that was a function of Biden, or the changes in the race will change how people view it in different places.

In the audience, people wore T-shirts with “Fight, Fight, Fight” written on the back. In a subtly disquieting kind of announcement before the speeches, a man pointed out the emergency exits to the crowd.

Onstage, Vance tried out different lines of attack against Harris, including that she’d helped cover up problems with Biden’s age; that she was too extreme (with various lines of attack coming more from her 2020 presidential primary campaign than her role in the Biden administration); that she owned the problems at the border. Trump is a threat to democracy? Actually, he said, it’s the Democrats pushing Biden off the ballot that’s the real threat.

Presumably, he and the campaign will figure out how they want to talk about Harris as time goes on — Monday was day one — in the same way that people don’t yet have a good sense of what messages and policies Harris will emphasize most, or who her running mate will be, or what line of criticism they’ll lead with against Trump and Vance.

The picture of what this year’s election will eventually look like remains very fluid and unformed at the moment.

The Secret Service Is Becoming a Symbol of Incompetence

Update: Kimberly Cheatle resigned as Secret Service director on Tuesday morning.

After Kimberly Cheatle’s insultingly evasive congressional testimony on Monday — though even she acknowledged the colossal failure of the agency she leads, the United States Secret Service, to deter the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump — it seems likely that we’re seeing the final hours of her tenure as director.

One would have to dig meticulously through hours of testimony to find a straight answer she offered to any question. Nine days after the shooting, she could not explain why no officer or agent had been on the roof from which the gunman fired. She could not say why that building was not in the agency’s security perimeter. She could not explain why her spokesman, as well as her boss, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, denied that Trump aides had urgently requested more protection.

The frustration with her was bipartisan. She couldn’t even answer repeated attempts by Representative Gerry Connolly, a Virginia Democrat, to say whether the prevalence of guns had made her job more difficult — something most police chiefs would agree with.

In the end, even the ranking Democrat on the House oversight committee, Jamie Raskin of Maryland, who prosecuted Trump’s second impeachment trial, called for her resignation.

With the probable demise of Cheatle’s career, the Secret Service may become a potent symbol of general incompetence in Washington.

The value Democrats and Republicans tend to place on the federal bureaucracy has been an essential dividing line between the two camps, even before Ronald Reagan’s inaugural incantation that “ government is the problem .”

Despite the devotion millions of Americans feel toward Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, Head Start and Obamacare, and despite the benefits of President Biden’s infrastructure deal, the Inflation Reduction Act and the CHIPS Act, the federal ogre has been a potent motivator for Republican campaigns.

Biden supposedly doesn’t like to fire people. (Perhaps as counterprogramming to the guy who got famous for saying “You’re fired!”) But after the fiasco of the withdrawal from Kabul, Afghanistan, led to few repercussions, after months of a seemingly uncontrolled flow of migrants over the border, after concerns about inflation were pooh-poohed — and with promised investments in infrastructure only recently starting to be realized — questions were already being asked about overall government competence and accountability.

Almost a decade ago, a bipartisan report described the Secret Service as an agency in crisis. That so little seems to have been done to improve it — that a bureaucrat like Cheatle is still in office — will give many Americans even less reason to have faith in the government.

Kamala Harris and the Political Power of Joy

After months of alternating between despair and terror, a lot of Democrats are feeling positively unburdened. In the day since President Biden stepped aside and the party coalesced behind Vice President Kamala Harris, a euphoric giddiness has fallen over the party.

You can see it in the donations: The Democratic small-dollar donor platform ActBlue has raised about $100 million in the last 24 hours, and the super PAC Future Forward has received $150 million in new commitments. And you can see it in the proliferation of silly TikTok memes, in the homemade merch and in the celebrities like Charli XCX and Ariana Grande getting on board. Suddenly, a campaign that felt like a bleak death march has become fun, even exuberant.

Intuitively, it seems like the newly effervescent vibes should help in the very serious project of defeating Donald Trump, but I’ve been curious if the political science literature backs that up. There doesn’t seem to be a ton of academic research about the role of excitement in presidential politics, perhaps because it’s hard to quantify.

“I don’t know of any political science or economic forecasting models that explicitly include a measure of voter enthusiasm,” the political scientist Alan Abramowitz told me. But the scholar Samuel Popkin, whose books include “The Candidate: What It Takes to Win — and Hold — the White House,” said that intangibles like joy and passion can matter a lot.

When people really like their candidate, he said, politics are “less of a chore, and you’re going to do things like wear the T-shirt.” Signals like T-shirts and yard signs , in turn, send a message that being part of a campaign is socially desirable.

In politics as in life, zeal is contagious.

Lydia Polgreen

Every Running Mate Is a Diversity Pick

Over the weekend I wrote about the way diversity, equity and inclusion have redounded to the benefit of JD Vance, saying he as much as anyone could be called a D.E.I. candidate, even though the term, intended as a negative, has only been applied to Kamala Harris, who is Black.

Several readers wrote in to quibble with my argument by saying that Harris, unlike Vance, was explicitly chosen as vice president because of her race and gender, and therefore she was quite literally a D.E.I. candidate.

I did not include this in my column because to me it seemed too obvious, but given how many people have made this point it is worth saying: On a two-person presidential ticket, the running mate is always a diversity pick. Modern running mates are chosen to balance a ticket, and identity is a huge part of that balance.

John F. Kennedy (reluctantly) chose Lyndon B. Johnson as a way to shore up his weaknesses in the South. Ronald Reagan chose a patrician scion of the Northeastern elite to balance out his Western image. Barack Obama chose Joe Biden at least in part for his age and experience. Donald Trump chose Mike Pence for his appeal to religious conservatives. Each brought needed diversity to the ticket, and each had strengths and weaknesses.

Even Vance is a diversity pick — a youthful counter to a 78-year-old presidential candidate. He may be ideologically similar to Trump, but he comes from a very different background — Midwestern and working class, quite a contrast to Trump, the born-rich son of a New York City real estate magnate.

One could quibble about how qualified each of these men was for the job, but the fact that their identities were part of why they got the nod does not diminish their legitimacy as running mates. It is telling that only in the case of a Black woman running mate does this effort to diversify the ticket get such outsize attention. Which, in the end, was the point I was trying to make in my column: There are many kinds of diversity and lots of forms of affirmative action, some of them baked right into our Constitution . Maybe we should be a little more vocal and honest with ourselves about that.

Jonathan Alter

The Weak Republican Response to Kamala Harris

Michael Whatley, a co-chair of the Republican National Committee, said Sunday night on Fox News that “the Democrats are in free fall.” They were falling, all right, into $50 million overnight from small donors that left any of Donald Trump’s one-day cash hauls in the dust.

This was just one sign of the Republican Party’s ham-handed response to President Biden’s decision to stand down, making Vice President Kamala Harris the presumptive Democratic nominee.

The House speaker, Mike Johnson, called on President Biden to resign. Set aside the fact that this was a tad self-serving: Under the Constitution, the speaker would then be next in line to the presidency. It’s also a weak gambit and reflects the Republicans’ insecurity about how to take on Harris. That’s all they got?

To bolster their demand, Johnson and other Republicans are using identical talking points that allege a White House “cover-up” of the president’s true medical condition.

It’s true that Biden’s aides did not want anyone to know just how weak a candidate he would have been against Trump. But Biden as candidate is a different matter from Biden as president.

Any Republican alleging a cover-up should be asked how he or she would have done in the hourlong news conference last week following the Group of 7 summit. The only honest answer: Not as well as Biden. Yes, Biden wasn’t good enough to resurrect his campaign and prove that he was up to being president in 2027 or 2028. But his knowledgeable geo-strategic tour of the foreign policy horizon proved beyond any doubt that he has the mental acuity to be president now.

Republicans apparently don’t have the good sense to stop talking about age. Fellas, the orthopedic shoe is now on the other foot, and now it’s Trump who looks decrepit compared with Harris. Having obsessed over Biden’s age for the past month, the press will now jump on every Trump flub, and they will have lots of them to choose from.

Trump plans to hide behind a sycophantic doctor, Representative Ronny Jackson, but it won’t work. Four years ago this month, he took a cognition test (“Person, woman, man, camera, TV”). As any gerontologist will confirm, it’s time for another one. Let the drumbeat begin.

Of course it won’t be long before Trump tries to deflect the age issue with his usual ugliness, which will include playing the race card against Harris. But don’t assume that will work to Trump’s advantage. More likely, it will hurt him among suburban women swing voters. They may not be vegetarians, but they don’t much care for rancid red meat.

Republicans plan to go after Harris hard on immigration. That’s a good issue for them, but it also opens Trump up to a potent counterattack. Expect to see Harris and her surrogates name-check Senator James Lankford of Oklahoma a hundred times between now and the election. He’s the very conservative Republican who worked with Democrats to fashion a tough immigration bill. Unlike Biden, Harris has the prosecutorial chops to make Trump pay a price for blowing up that solution for crass political reasons.

Prosecutor versus felon. I like that matchup.

Patrick Healy

Deputy Opinion Editor

The Most Urgent Question Facing Harris Isn’t About Trump

Every Monday morning on The Point, we kick off the week with a tipsheet on the latest in the presidential campaign. Here’s what we’re looking at this week:

President Biden’s historic exit from the 2024 race demands that Democrats get this critical and urgent opportunity right. The party has to find the strongest possible candidate to defeat Donald Trump, and it has to do so with gutsy, go-get-em, anything-is-possible thinking.

Trump is beatable in November: beatable by a bold candidate with the smarts and political talent to excite people with a vision of America and to persuade more voters that Trump is unfit for the presidency because of his failed leadership , habitual lying, cognitive and temperamental deficiencies and hostility to the American way of life (the rule of law, democracy, liberty, fair play, you name it).

This week will reveal much about “anything is possible” confidence in Democratic politics. Just because Kamala Harris is the vice president doesn’t mean, automatically, she is the strongest possible candidate against Trump. She may be — but she needs to prove that, because many Americans remember only her middling presidential campaign in 2019 and her low-profile, mixed-at-best record as vice president. To her great credit, Harris says she wants to “earn” the nomination before the Democratic National Convention begins just four weeks from today. A big question hanging over this week: What does Harris mean by “earn”?

Harris spent Sunday making calls to party leaders and donors — sensible Day 1 moves. And she starts with a foundation: She spent the past year building ties with officials and power brokers in key states and having off-the-record meals with journalists. And she acquitted herself well over the past three weeks under scrutiny as Biden was on the ropes. To win the nomination, Harris has to win over only Democratic convention delegates — but if she can’t start persuading voters to rally to her side, or if she proves wobbly, we may see the Obama-Pelosi-Schumer-congressional wing of the party start getting nervous again.

The best thing for Harris and for Democrats, history suggests, is competition — a mini-primary to get voters engaged and excited, and to get the nominee in fighting form. I saw up close how Hillary Clinton’s formidable candidacy made Barack Obama a stronger candidate in 2008 and how Bernie Sanders did much the same for Clinton in 2016 and for Biden in 2020. Better to excite and inspire voters by welcoming all comers for debates of ideas first, and then focus on Trump at the convention and afterward. Voters have to want you, at some point.

A lot of signs suggest the appetite for a competition isn’t there. Instead of confidence, there is fear of chaos if there is a contested convention. Maybe there’s too much anxiety about damaging Harris over “Bidenomics” or the war in Gaza or the southern border, or disrespecting her by challenging her. I get it.

But better for Harris if the nomination is hers to win instead of hers to lose. And to become that bold candidate, to lead a confident party, Harris is best off appealing to voters by competing against rivals and proving her mettle. That’s the gutsy, American way — something Harris and Democrats know, and Donald Trump fears.

Kamala Harris or Bust

President Biden’s decision to withdraw was probably a foregone conclusion a week ago.

Major donors and trusted advisers had made their preference known. So had many members of the House and the Senate. These are people whose political identity was formed in the same political context as Biden’s. They believe that the system works. They believe that dedicated public servants supersede mercurial electoral politics. Whether you agree with their assessment of politics, this nation needed an institutionalist in 2020. Biden was the most institutional candidate.

This election is a referendum on the kind of politics that made Biden: Can the system still be trusted to work?

That is a question about the future, not the past. Ultimately, neither Donald Trump nor Biden represents the future. In Trump’s case, he is a stopgap for a clearly articulated Republican strategy to rework American institutions — in some ways, by destroying those institutions. In Biden’s case, he does not look like a candidate who could counter the threats Trump and the Republicans pose to this country.

Vice President Kamala Harris is the only choice to replace him. That now makes her the leader of the Democrats’ future. The Democratic National Convention is not the time to litigate her ability to take over for Biden. The time to do that was in 2020.

This election is not a competition between two equally matched candidates with merely competing visions for America. It is a race between a man who intends to be king and the party that stands in his way. The only conversation Democrats should be having with voters at this point is that a second Trump presidency would remake this country as we know it.

Nicholas Kristof

What Biden’s Decision Not to Run Means for America

In an instant, President Biden has reshaped America.

By bowing out of the presidential race, he appears to have increased the odds that Democrats can hold onto the White House and compete strongly for control of Congress. He may have set in motion a historic process that could result in a woman becoming the most important person in the world, a step that would reshape gender norms worldwide.

Biden’s act of political self-sacrifice caps an extraordinary career of public service, including a presidency more productive than others, even some that lasted twice as long. Biden’s announcement also offers a stark contrast between his devotion to the national interest and Donald Trump’s long focus on his own personal interest.

I suspect that Biden’s withdrawal may also nurture another norm: one against aging leaders, following the preference of many voters in polls. Perhaps Biden is fostering a principle that aging presidents should not seek a second term.

Biden’s decision also marks a generational transition in American politics. In his 1961 inaugural address, President John F. Kennedy celebrated the torch being passed to the greatest generation. Then, in 1993, President Bill Clinton claimed power for baby boomers, who have since held it for more than three decades. Once more the torch will be passed to a new generation of Americans.

Presidents are most important for the way they influence vast and distant stretches of America and the world, places that denizens of Washington, D.C., may never have heard of. The most momentous presidencies — such as those in the last century of Franklin Roosevelt, Ronald Reagan or Lyndon Johnson — were significant primarily for what unfolded on foreign battlefields and on main streets around America. The history that they unspooled was written in places like the Dust Bowl or in the Jim Crow South.

Biden’s presidency already has reshaped towns across America with everything from broadband to insulin price caps to a (unfortunately temporary) refundable child tax credit that helped reduce child poverty by half . All that is an immense legacy.

With the announcement that he is withdrawing from the race, Biden builds on that legacy — and once more it is less about Washington than about the difference his choice not to run again will make around the country and the world. My guess is that because a Democrat is now more likely to win the White House, Russia is less likely to defeat Ukraine and China is less likely to go to war with Taiwan. Women are more likely to be able to get a legal abortion. The Education Department is more likely to survive and so, for that matter, is a healthy American democracy.

Biden endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris to succeed him. I would prefer to see a competition to choose as nominee the person most likely to beat Trump, but Democrats will have to sort that out.

What is clear is that Joe Biden had a productive term in office and should be proud of his accomplishments. But without diminishing those achievements, historians may look back in their assessments of Biden’s presidency and paraphrase what Shakespeare wrote in “Macbeth”: Nothing became his presidency like the leaving of it.

The Scale and Scope of Biden’s Sacrifice

Joe Biden just put country first.

There’s nothing truer to say about the president’s historic announcement on Sunday that he is ending his bid for a second term. He put the stakes in this election, and the threat posed by Donald Trump to America, ahead of himself. Giving up a re-election bid voluntarily has rarely happened in the history of the United States. And it is something Biden was clearly reluctant to do.

But we are at a dangerous moment in the history of our country. Trump fails tests of leadership, character, moral fitness and more, and he embodies the worst strains of narcissism, grievance and selfishness in humanity. It is a measure of America’s misbegotten politics that Trump leveraged the support of a small and noisy faction of conservative voters to take control of the Republican Party and become its nominee for a third time, as presidents for life do in authoritarian dictatorships.

What Biden just did was incredibly hard. He is a successful president and a victor over Trump in their last head-to-head election, not to mention someone who has been underestimated repeatedly throughout his life. He also believes deeply in himself, when many others did not. It can be very difficult for someone who has lived so long and fought so hard to accept the pleas of others who have never walked in his shoes.

He has given up a chance to continue making the lives of people better, which has always mattered to Biden. That’s sacrifice. Sacrifice to help the Democratic Party stop Trump at the ballot box. Sacrifice to help Democratic Senate and House candidates have a better chance to win election in November. And sacrifice to ensure that the presidency is held by someone with the cognitive and physical abilities to do the job at the level that Americans demand.

There will be those who say that he is getting out while the getting’s good — that he had no choice as his party abandoned him. Maybe that’s true. But none of us know if Biden would have lost or won in November. Biden himself doesn’t know. And yet he knew that the stakes for the country were too high to go ahead and gamble the election on his age and cognitive abilities. America thinks of itself as a young country; even those of us who are older think of ourselves as young. But we all face a ticking clock, our minds and bodies changing for the worse. Biden looked that in the face, in ways that many of us are afraid to, and before millions of people he bowed to mortality. That in itself is historic.

Joe Biden just put country first. What an extraordinary moment in American history.

Binyamin Appelbaum

The Lesson of the Trump Coronation

The Republican convention that concluded early Friday was a four-day celebration of the cult of Donald Trump. Night after night, disciples and flatterers portrayed America as a nation in decline and Trump as its savior. But the real focus wasn’t on making America great again. It was on making Trump president again.

To prevent that outcome, Democrats must stage a different kind of convention. They need to focus on the needs of the American people. They have to present a plan for getting to a better place. And most important, they cannot spend four days in Chicago celebrating President Biden. To win, they must nominate a better candidate.

Biden has spent the weeks since his revelatory disaster on the debate stage denying the reality of his limitations. But his attempts at redemption have only served to confirm his decline. The substance of his speeches no longer matters. Everyone is watching to see if he stumbles — or rather, how frequently.

Many Americans have deeply personal experience of watching relatives fade. They know what they are seeing. They know what comes next. And while it is sad to watch a man no longer able to do the things he did so ably for so long, it would be tragic to let him persist in the attempt.

The votes cast in favor of Biden in the party’s state primaries are not an irreversible judgment. As the facts have changed, so have the views of voters. In an A.P. poll released last week, 65 percent of Democrats said they wanted Biden to withdraw from the race — a devastating vote of no confidence.

The president has said he’d leave the race “if the Lord Almighty came down” and told him to go. He said he’d leave if he was convinced that he had no chance of winning. He said he’d leave the race if a “medical condition” emerged.

He ought to leave because the voters he purports to represent do not want him to run.

There can be no certainty that a different Democratic candidate would win more votes in November. But that candidate would be able to fight harder and do the things Biden no longer can: spend long days on the trail, engage the public and the press, debate Trump.

And the choice of a different candidate would demonstrate that the Democratic Party is listening to voters. That is what a party is supposed to do.

If, on the other hand, Biden and his party persist on their present course, they risk more than the loss of the White House and Congress in November. They risk a lasting loss of trust in the party’s commitment to serving the public interest.

Biden’s Successful Border Policy Is a Mixed Blessing

Democrats who have been curled up in a fetal position this month may finally have a glimmer of good news: Migrant crossings at the southern border have declined sharply since President Biden curbed asylum in June.

You wouldn’t be able to tell from the speeches at the Republican National Convention, which hammered away at Biden’s “open border” policies, but illegal crossings fell from 117,000 in May to 83,000 in June, the lowest monthly total since Biden took office, according to my colleagues in the newsroom . The number of new immigration court cases also dropped dramatically since December — a high point — from 264,049 to 100,909 in June, according to TRAC, a nonpartisan, nonprofit data research center affiliated with Syracuse University.

In other words, the policy is finally working. But even that is a mixed blessing for Democrats. It stands as proof that Biden could have done more at the border a long time ago, had his White House agreed that the migrant crisis was indeed a crisis sooner. (Some Biden people clearly did not .)

It turns out that making it easy to file an asylum claim — and waiting for years to rule on those claims — turns the asylum system into a work-permit magnet that drags people from all over the world through the Darién Gap .

But nobody can really be surprised by this.

In 2021, I interviewed Brandon Judd, who was then the president of the National Border Patrol Council, a labor union, about whether he had any practical recommendations for bringing down the superhigh numbers at the border. He told me that he had recommended to the Biden administration that would-be asylum seekers be held in “least restrictive” state-run facilities until their cases were reviewed. If the administration did that, he said, the numbers of asylum seekers would plummet, since many are crossing in order to make money in the United States, not to escape from persecution.

“History clearly shows when we release large numbers of people pending court hearings, more people cross our borders illegally,” he said.

I have thought about that interview quite a bit since, especially on the day that Biden essentially curbed asylum at the border.

“The simple truth is there is a worldwide migrant crisis, and if the United States doesn’t secure our border, there is no limit to the number of people who may try to come here,” Biden said at the time. That might have been awkward to admit in 2021. But it was still obvious to those who were paying attention.