The terms paraphrasing and rephrasing are frequently used by all types of writers. Are they really different? If yes, how do they differ from each other?
Paraphrasing and rephrasing are two of the most well-known features in the world of writing. They can serve more than one purpose for the writers. It has become vital for writers to use these techniques to produce the content, as more than half of the content marketing professionals demand no less than one piece of writing each day. Therefore, it is necessary for a writer to know the difference between paraphrasing and rephrasing so that they might not confuse the terms.
But first, let’s look at the definitions of paraphrasing and rephrasing and how the paraphraser and rephraser tool work.
What is Paraphrasing?
Paraphrasing is a technique in which the original content is rewritten using different words and synonyms, but the meaning and the context of the original material remain the same. The paraphrasing tool understands the text, picks the key terms and meanings, and rewrites it in its own words.
Paraphrasing is generally characterized by the tone of the content. Hence, changing text from active to passive voice can be an example of paraphrasing, as the words are being changed but their meaning remains the same. Paraphrasing also improves the readability of hard-to-read content.
A paraphrased text has the following characteristics:
- Alternate vocabulary
- Alternate language
- Alternate words
- Different tone
It is for this reason that paraphrasing is usually used to prevent plagiarism in a text. It simply changes the wording of the original text.
What Does a Paraphrasing Tool Do?
A paraphrasing tool comprehends the text and applies the following techniques in such a way that the content produced has the same meaning as the original text but is improved and different from the original text. A paraphraser performs the following functions:
- It swaps the words with suitable synonyms.
- It alters the phrases ;
- It improves the structure of the sentence
- It changes the voice of the text both ways.
You can use all these methods at once to modify the content so that it appears completely different from its original form.
What is Rephrasing?
Rephrasing is the technique of rewriting a sentence or a paragraph so that it is much clearer and easier to understand. It can be done by using alternate words and synonyms and making it simpler for the end user.
Different strategies are used in rephrasing words and sentences. You can either use synonyms or different parts of speech or change the structure of the sentence. Rephrasing can be useful when you need to change a sentence in writing so that plagiarism can be avoided. It is usually done on a smaller scale.
A rephrased text has the following characteristics:
- Better clarity
- Simplification of complicated terms
- Easy to understand
What Does a Rephrasing Tool Do?
A word rephraser or a sentence rephraser tool is not very different from a paraphrasing tool. To rephrase a sentence or a passage, it performs the following functions:
- It replaces the words with their synonyms.
- It changes the positions of the subject and object of the sentences, hence changing the sentence structure.
- It changes the tense of the verbs.
Paraphrasing vs Rephrasing
Paraphrasing and rephrasing have a lot of similarities in terms of replacing the words with suitable synonyms or changing the structure of a sentence. Both change the terms, phrases, and tone of the content. However, they also have very technical differences, which we shall see below.
Paraphrasing is usually used for content that is long. On the other hand, rephrasing is generally done for sentences and short passages.
In paraphrasing, the meaning and context of the original context can never be changed. In rephrasing, however, there is a little margin for changing the context of the original text.
Paraphrasing is usually done on other people’s content in order to prevent plagiarism. Rephrasing is performed on our own content to make it simpler and easier to understand.
In paraphrasing, the content is not simplified; it is only rewritten in other words in order to improve its quality and readability. In rephrasing, the content is simplified using easy words and phrases.
