Abstract
This study explores how paraphrasing transforms and integrates meaning from reading into writing. Findings are based on interviews with 27 professors who commented on 8 paraphrases written by graduate students. Both student writers and professors were selected from across cultural (Chinese and North American) and disciplinary (soft and hard) contexts. Results indicate that the participating professors tended to accept paraphrases that involved a selection or interpretation of the original source that accurately represented the source text, rather than those that contained a misunderstanding or additional ideas. The professors also suggested that students could add an explanation for the content transformation so the paraphrase would be transparent for readers. The study highlights how important it is for student paraphrasers to provide guidance for readers so they can follow student content transformations. It also suggests that paraphrasing should be taught explicitly at the graduate level by responding to students’ writing while it is in process. Acknowledgement: This study is part of a larger project funded by an Insight Grant of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (Grant number: 435-2013-0527). I thank the students and professors for their participation, and Yanning Dong and Ismaeil Fazel for their help with data analysis.
- Journal
- Journal of Response to Writing
- Published
- 2021-11-23
- CompPile
- Open Access
- OA PDF Gold
- Topics
-
- Export
- BibTeX RIS
Citation context
Citation data not yet available for this article.
Citation data is not available for Journal of Response to Writing. This journal's publisher does not deposit reference lists with CrossRef.
Related articles
-
Written Communication Jul 2026The Dynamics Between the Biographical Factors, Professional Identities, and Teaching Practices of Second Language Writing Instructors ↗Young Wha Lee
-
Assessing Writing Jan 2026Assessing the effects of explicit coherence instruction on EFL students’ integrated writing performance ↗Xi Li; Mo Chen
-
IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication Sep 2025Professionalizing Researchers: Mapping and Visualizing Doctoral Engineering Student Identity Development Through User-Experience (UX) Methods ↗Jason Tham; Diego A. Polanco-Lahoz; Madison Hanson; Jennifer Cross; Mario Beruvides
-
The Peer Review Sep 2025Ana Raquel Fialho Ferreira Campos; João Tiago Gaspar Cozechen; Elaine Pereira Lustosa; Marcos Angel De Carvalho Eing; Leonardo Schimiloski
-
College Composition and Communication Sep 2024Meridith Reed; Jon Ostenson