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FWLD CAPSTONE: Fisheries and Environmental Science Research: Paraphrase

Paraphrase in the Sciences

Paraphrase is an important skill in science writing. In addition to basic paraphrase you've done for other classes, you may find that you're drawing the same conclusions from multiple sources and citing them together, as in the example below.

Example: "Exotic and invasive plants are increasingly recognized as responsible for worldwide habitat degradation (Gurevitch and Padilla 2004; Didham et al. 2007)."

 

To effectively paraphrase technical language, it is helpful to look at charts and graphs in your sources and interpret them yourself, rather than relying on the authors' interpretations. Similarly, read closely and interpret the results yourself, rather than relying on the discussion sections from your sources. This will help you blend the information you're taking from your sources into your own understanding and language. 

Help with Paraphrasing

These two excellent tutorials from other universities allow you to test your understanding of how to properly paraphrase sources.