Word Switcher Tool for Students

🔀 Word Switcher Tool: When to Use?

Paraphrasing (or word switching) means retelling the essential ideas previously expressed by someone else. It is the only legitimate way to borrow from another source without quoting it directly.

Word Switcher tool automates the process, saving you much time for preparing a literature review and formulating your thesis statement. You’ll need it when you want to:

• Condense the entire meaning of the original and transmit it to your reader;
• Credit a source demonstrating your own understanding of the author’s ideas;
• Restate the original in more detail than in the case of a summary;
• Combine several sources and analyze them in the same sentence or paragraph;
• Accompany another author’s text with your commentaries, but direct quotes would break the textual harmony;
• Rephrase your text (in an essay’s conclusion);
• Change some direct quotes in your writing to indirect ones.

🆚 Quoting Vs. Paraphrasing

Some students use quotes to make their writing look more grounded. They create a patchwork of other people’s words intermingled with their thoughts. The difference between quoting and paraphrasing is the same as between sweets and drugs. The latter cannot be taken as much as you please.

💬 Use direct quotes to:	🔤 Use paraphrasing to:
Show that the author supports your opinion; Transmit the author’s emotional language; Include an aptly worded passage, the meaning of which would be lost if rephrased.	Add the ideas from the source without adding the specific language; Rewrite the same thing in fewer words without losing the meaning.

📝 Paraphrasing a Source for an Assignment

General advice

Create an integral picture	At the first reading, approach the source as a whole. Don’t break it down into specific phrases or ideas.
Stay concise	Unless the task requires you to prepare a word-for-word paraphrase, you won’t need to switch the words of the entire passage. Select the material that supports your opinion without further detail.
Use direct quotes	Selecting a paraphrase doesn’t mean there’s no way to include a direct quote here and there, especially if the author’s wording is too precise to reword.

Paraphrasing difficult texts

Be straightforward	Regardless of how complicated the original language is, write in your own words. Even if your future readers are as familiar with the subject matter as you are, try to make the paraphrase reader-friendly.
Transform the structure	Start the passage from a different point of view, depending on the focus of your essay. Thus, the changes in wording will come more naturally.
Use simpler language	After point 2, you’ll get a restructured paragraph with the exact words as in the original. To avoid plagiarism, you have to use synonyms. Meanwhile, replace overly specialized terms with more common ones.

An adequate paraphrase is a stylistic change, improvement, summary, or interpretation of the original message. The best variant would clarify obscure points, condense what is too wordy, and links the seemingly disconnected ideas. Below you will find examples of various paraphrases with explanations of why they are successful or not.

👀 Word Switching: Bad & Better Examples

We have selected a hard-to-read passage from Psychology of the Unconscious by C. G. Jung to make the examples more illustrative. But before proceeding, mind that it is essential:

1. Not to fall into plagiarism;
2. Make the original clearer and more coherent;
3. Explain or comment on the author’s thoughts wherever necessary;
4. Avoid adding your ideas;
5. Not to sink to oversimplifying;
6. Preserve the author’s style (especially in philosophical and literary works).

Original Passage

It would certainly be unjust to make a comparison of the two objects as concrete things since they are so heterogeneous. One loves a Beethoven sonata but one loves caviar also. It would not occur to any one to liken the sonata to caviar. It is a common error for one to judge the longing according to the quality of the object. The appetite of the gourmand which is only satisfied with goose liver and quail is no more distinguished than the appetite of the laboring man for corned beef and cabbage. The longing is the same; the object changes. Nature is beautiful only by virtue of the longing and love given her by man. The æsthetic attributes emanating from that has influence primarily on the libido, which alone constitutes the beauty of nature. The dream recognizes this well when it depicts a strong and beautiful feeling by means of a representation of a beautiful landscape.

Word-for-Word Paraphrasing

As Jung mentions in Psychology of the Unconscious, It would be unjust to compare the two objects since they are heterogeneous. One prefers a Beethoven sonata but loves caviar also. Nobody would liken the sonata to caviar. It is a common mistake to judge the longing according to the quality of the object. The appetite of the gourmand for goose liver and quail is the same as the appetite of a worker for corned beef and cabbage. Only the object alters. Nature becomes beautiful only thanks to the longing and love given her by human eyes. Its esthetic attributes primarily influence the libido, constituting the beauty of nature. Our dream manages to recognize this while depicting a powerful and beautiful feeling by means of a representation of a landscape.

The author mentioned Jung as the source, but the language is still plagiarized. Multiple passages (underlined) have been left unchanged, with no quotation marks showing that they come from Jung. Still, if we insert quotation marks around all these phrases, the passage would become too cluttered. The author also forgot to credit the source according to the selected citation style.

Patchwork Paraphrasing

Jung (1960) considers it unjust to compare heterogeneous things, like a Beethoven sonata and caviar. It is incorrect to judge the desire according to the quality of the desired object. For example, a gourmand’s appetite would only be satisfied with goose liver and quail. A worker’s appetite is only for corned beef and cabbage. Still, their longing is the same. Only the object is different. Humans consider nature beautiful , and only by virtue of longing does it become so. Our perception influences the libido, which alone constitutes the beauty of nature. Likewise, our dreams use the same strategy while depicting a strong and beautiful feeling.

This paraphrasing is a patchwork of the original phrases (underlined) and the writer’s words. The sentences have been rearranged. None of the borrowed parts are in quotation marks. Despite the material’s acknowledged authorship, the underlined pieces are presented as the writer’s own.

Legitimate Paraphrasing

Jung (1960) says it is impossible to compare “heterogeneous things” (like Beethoven’s sonata and caviar), although they are equally sophisticated. He suggests another example: a gourmand longing “for goose liver and quail” and a laboring man with an appetite “for corned beef and cabbage.” Their desire is the same, but the object quality is different. Nature becomes beautiful while reflected in human eyes thanks to the libido it influences. Thus, we can experience intense feelings of beauty in our dreams.

Here, the specific language and style of C.J. Jung have been documented via direct quotes. The writer merged some sentences or divided them to facilitate the reading. The word choice is also more straightforward for an easier understanding.

Thank you for reading this article! We hope that this word switcher is useful for you. You are welcome to try other free tools we offer: thesis statement helper, summarizer, title maker, and conclusion generator.

❓ Word Switcher Tool: FAQ

🔗 References

• Paraphrasing vs. Plagiarism – iFixit EDU
• Quoting, Paraphrasing, and Summarizing // Purdue Writing Lab
• Understand Citations — Quoting, Paraphrasing, Summarizing
• When to Quote, Paraphrase or Summarize
• To Paraphrase or to Quote? – The University of Adelaide