How to Paraphrase in APA Style | Explanation & Examples
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Paraphrasing is very important in APA Style writing, as it allows you to reference others’ research, which lends credibility to your argument.
When you paraphrase in APA Style, you should always include an in-text citation and a corresponding reference list entry.
How to paraphrase in APA format
Learning how to paraphrase in APA format is very similar to any other type of paraphrasing. You must reword the text, changing both the vocabulary and sentence structure while maintaining the original meaning.
APA Style paraphrases are generally introduced by a signal phrase that indicates to the reader that you are sharing someone else’s idea. Common signal phrases include:
According to Smith (2022), …
As Smith (2022) argued, …
Researchers have found that …
Smith (2022) claimed that …
APA paraphrase example
Original text | Paraphrase |
|---|---|
Youth sports participation can have terrible consequences for young people, ranging from head injuries to eating disorders to physical and sexual abuse by coaches. How can any benefits compensate for this? | Bergman (2024) argued that the benefits of youth sports participation do not outweigh the negative aspects such as injury, abuse by coaches, and eating disorders. |
How to cite a paraphrase in APA
Every paraphrase needs to be attributed to its source. To cite a paraphrase in APA Style, include an in-text citation with the author’s last name and the publication date. You can do this in one of two ways:
In a narrative citation, the author’s last name is used in the sentence itself, and the date is placed in parentheses immediately after the name.
In a parenthetical citation, both the author’s last name and the date appear in parentheses after the paraphrased material.
When you cite a quotation in APA, a page number is required, but no page number is needed for a paraphrase.
APA citation of a paraphrase examples
Narrative citation | Parenthetical citation |
|---|---|
Liu et al. (2023) argued that the benefits of developing teamwork skills in youth sports outweigh the harmful effects of stress. | Teamwork skills learned in youth sports can translate to future academic and job opportunities (Liu, 2023). |
Any source that is cited in the text should also have an entry with the full publication information on the References page at the end of the paper.
How to paraphrase a quote in APA
To paraphrase a quote in APA, you can follow these steps:
Read over the quotation in context and make sure you understand it.
Without looking at the quotation, write it in your own words.
Compare your paraphrase to the original quotation to make sure you have sufficiently changed the vocabulary and sentence structure while maintaining the meaning.
Be sure to include a citation.
A paraphrasing tool can help you with steps 2 and 3. You can input the quotation into the tool, generate a paraphrase, and then adjust it to fit your tone and style.
How to quote a paraphrase in APA
When you paraphrase a source in APA, it is important to give credit to the original source by adding an in-text citation and a reference list entry. This helps you avoid accidental plagiarism.
You should not put quotation marks around a paraphrase since you are not using the author’s exact words.
In this article
How to Paraphrase in APA Style
How to paraphrase in APA format
How to cite a paraphrase in APA
How to paraphrase a quote in APA
How to quote a paraphrase in APA
FAQs
Frequently asked questions about how to paraphrase in APA
How do you paraphrase a website in APA?
To paraphrase a website in APA Style, rephrase the content in your own words, changing the sentence structure and vocabulary while maintaining the meaning.
The in-text citation should include the author’s last name or organization name and the publication year in parentheses after the paraphrase. For example: (Mellon Foundation, 2024)
If there is no named author, you can use the page’s title instead. If there is no publication date, use the abbreviation “n.d.”
Use Paraphrasing Tool to help you paraphrase website content for free.
How do you paraphrase a sentence in APA?
To paraphrase a sentence in APA Style, rewrite the sentence in your own words. You should make sure to change both the vocabulary and the sentence structure while maintaining the original meaning. You can use Paraphrasing Tool to help you out.
Every paraphrase in APA needs an in-text citation that includes the author’s last name and publication year. For example: (O’Donnell, 2022)
How to paraphrase citations in APA?
If you are paraphrasing a sentence or paragraph that has a citation to another source, this is called a secondary citation. APA recommends that you find the original source and cite it when possible.
However, if you can’t access the original source, you can cite the original author and then add “as cited in” and give the author and date for the secondary source. For example: (Rangel, 1961, as cited in Sheburne, 2022)
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