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Academic integrity Student writing guide

Ethical Paraphrasing and Plagiarism in Student Research

Paraphrasing is not synonym replacement. It is a faithful restatement in your own sentence structure, with a citation whenever the idea or evidence comes from a source. Citation styles differ, and similarity software cannot decide by itself whether a passage is ethical; use your institution’s integrity policy and style guide.

A practical guide from FINAL YEAR NG Check your department's current instructions before you submit.

Use a source-to-draft process

  1. Read the passage until you understand its claim and the evidence supporting it.
  2. Set the source aside and write the idea from your notes in a new sentence structure.
  3. Reopen the source and compare meaning, scope and qualifications; correct distortions.
  4. Add the required citation and page or location details where the style requires them.
  5. Use quotation marks for distinctive borrowed wording that you retain.
  6. Record the full reference while the source is open so it can be verified later.

A paraphrase still belongs to the source author’s intellectual contribution. Changing several words while retaining the original sentence pattern can remain too close to the source; Purdue OWL’s guidance recommends understanding the passage and substantially recasting it while giving credit.

What similarity checks can and cannot tell you

A similarity report identifies text overlaps against the tool’s comparison database. It may flag quotations, references, standard phrases or your own permitted template language, and it may miss uncatalogued sources. A percentage is not a universal pass/fail threshold and should not be treated as proof of plagiarism or proof of originality.

  • Review each match in context and compare it with the source.
  • Check whether borrowed wording is quoted and cited as required.
  • Check whether paraphrased ideas are attributed and accurately represented.
  • Verify that the reference list contains the sources cited in the text.
  • Follow your institution’s policy on similarity reports and permitted assistance.

Keep the research record honest

The U.S. Office of Research Integrity defines plagiarism in its federal research-misconduct context as taking another person’s ideas, processes, results or words without appropriate credit. That definition is a useful integrity reference, but institutional rules and jurisdiction differ. Fabricating a source, making up results or changing results to misrepresent the record raises separate integrity concerns.

Sources and further reading

These university writing resources inform the general advice here. They do not replace your department's handbook or supervisor's guidance.

  1. Purdue OWL: Quoting, Paraphrasing, and Summarizing
  2. Purdue OWL: Paraphrasing
  3. U.S. Office of Research Integrity: Definition of Research Misconduct
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