What is paraphrasing, and why is it important when citing informational text?

• A. Paraphrasing restates information in your own words; it shows understanding and avoids plagiarism.
• B. Paraphrasing is copying exactly.
• C. Paraphrasing has no impact on citations.
• D. Paraphrasing always changes the meaning.

Answer: (A)

Paraphrasing means restating information in your own words while keeping the original meaning. It shows you understand the source and helps you weave ideas into your writing. Because you’re using someone else’s ideas, you still need to cite the source, but paraphrasing lets you present the information more clearly and concisely and often combine ideas from several places. It also helps you demonstrate comprehension and avoid overusing long quotes.

Copying exactly isn’t paraphrasing—it’s a direct quotation, which has its own way of citing. Paraphrasing does have an impact on citations—you still must credit the source. And paraphrasing doesn’t inherently change the meaning; it should preserve the idea while using different words.