Summary of "The Art of Paraphrasing: Avoiding Plagiarism"

Key wellness/self-care/productivity strategies (from the video)

This video is primarily about academic writing and integrity (not wellness). The “productivity” angle comes through a repeatable, step-by-step workflow for paraphrasing.

Core productivity method: 7-step process for successful paraphrasing

Read the original a few times
- Get fully familiar with the content.
Put the original away
- Don’t look at it while you draft.
Write main ideas from memory
- Jot down notes based on recall.
Write your paraphrase
- Rearrange the order of ideas (e.g., start with what the original ends with) to create a different flow.
Compare with the original
- Check for overlap or phrases that are too close.
Fix identical phrasing
- If you notice phrases that match the original, either:
  - Rephrase them, or
  - Use direct quotations
- If quoting, use quotation marks for the original wording (not just a citation).
Cite properly in the required style
- Typically APA (example mentioned: APA 6th edition).
- If using a direct quote, include required details such as a page number.

Advice highlighted in the example (how to avoid plagiarism)

Don’t paraphrase by changing only a word or two—that may still be too close to the original.
If a sentence is close to verbatim, choose one:
- Rephrase further, or
- Quote directly and integrate the quote into your own sentence structure.
When quoting, ensure:
- Quotation marks are used.
- The citation is placed correctly (the example emphasizes putting the source citation at the end of the sentence).
- Square brackets can be used to show added words/phrasing that weren’t in the original.
Most plagiarism issues come from:
- Not paraphrasing sufficiently, and/or
- Not citing sources.

Presenters / sources

Presenter: Isabelle May (The UnB Writing Center)
Source mentioned in the example: Consumer Reports (bike helmet article; year given as 1990, page 348 in the example)