How to Paraphrase a Sentence

By Society & Culture & Entertainment Last updated Tuesday, July/02/2024

Paraphrasing a Sentence

1). Read the sentence carefully to make sure you are interpreting it correctly and thoroughly (Purdue OWL). Explain what it is about either aloud to someone else or in your own head to double check.
2). Compose a sentence that states or argues the opposite thing from the original sentence. Use your own words. This will help ensure that you understand the sentence enough to rework it and identify its counterargument.
3). Pinpoint the main action of the sentence and the main "doer" of the action. Using a thesaurus, look up synonyms for both the character(s) and the action(s). Write these down.
4). Rewrite the sentence using your own understanding of its main points, employing the noun and verb synonyms you have looked up.
5). Cross check your sentence against the original. Make sure to put in quotes any language that you repeated from the original (Purdue OWL).