 As you practice writing academic essays, your instructors have certain expectations. First in your writing, they want you to show that you have a clear understanding of the material you have read. Second, they want you to refer to your sources to support the ideas you have developed. Finally, they want you to distinguish between your analysis of what you've read from the analysis of other authors. In this video, we'll be working on the second expectation as we discover how to effectively paraphrase the information that we have obtained from outside sources and incorporate it into our writing. You can incorporate sources into your own writing by quoting directly or by paraphrasing. Most of the time when you cite a source, you wanna summarize or paraphrase. Direct quotations should be used sparingly and paraphrasing allows you to demonstrate that you understand what you have read and that you can apply this knowledge. It also allows you to maintain your own personal style and the smooth flow of your essay. So you may be asking what exactly is a paraphrase? A paraphrase is information that you have learned from an outside source that is not common knowledge put into your own words. At first, paraphrasing can seem challenging. Synthesizing others work within your own writing can be one of the most difficult parts of academic writing, but there are some basic tips to keep in mind. When paraphrasing, restate the original author's writing or ideas in your own different words. Maintain the author's original ideas and meaning as close as possible. Change the wording and sentence structure to your writing style, but don't add your own ideas and meaning and avoid replacing words in the original sentence with synonyms. Next, we will take a look at an example of a successful paraphrase. Here we have an excerpt from an original source that reads, despite the myth of mobility in America, the true rule, experts say, is rags to rags riches to riches. According to Bucknell University economist and author Charles Sacray, maybe 10% climb from the working to the professional class. My father has had a tough time accepting my decision to become a mere newspaper reporter, a field that pays just a little more than construction does. He wonders why I haven't taken a profitable job like a lawyer. After bricklaying for 30 years, my father promised himself I would take a better job and earn more money with an education. Now, here's an example of a paraphrase of that original source that followed the tips we discussed earlier. This paraphrase says, Luprano's father was upset that his son did not make significantly more money as a reporter than he did as a bricklayer, since he hoped his son getting an education would get him a better job. The author found a point they wanted to highlight and put it into their own words, saving space and keeping the flow of their own writing while maintaining the author's original ideas and meaning as closely as possible. Note the reference to the author at the beginning of the sentence and the specific page number at the end. Remember that anytime you are writing or creating a project for a class that refers to or uses ideas from somewhere else, you have to cite those original sources even when you are paraphrasing. Exactly what these citations look like will depend on what citation style is required by your professor. For the purposes of this video, we look at an example using MLA style, but there are several different citation styles that you may be asked to use. Keep in mind that IRSC librarians have created detailed lip guides for MLA, APA, CSE and Chicago that will help you format your writing projects and avoid accidental plagiarism. Should you need additional assistance with paraphrasing or incorporating sources into your academic writing, remember that IRSC librarians are always happy to help.