Paraphrasing a Sentence – The Basics

Paraphrasing is the process of recasting another author’s ideas and words in words of your own. In a paraphrasing service, authors can hire paraphrasers to rewrite passages of text without altering the meaning. In this way, paraphrasing services allow authors to avoid overusing direct quotations, which is when you copy and paste someone else’s text and place it inside quotation marks.

At university, as well as in academia more generally, paraphrasing sentences is preferable because it demonstrates to your lecturers and colleagues that your understanding is adequate. This also increases the originality of your work and ensures that you avoid plagiarism. Importantly, when you paraphrase a source or use a proofreading services, it is important to remember to cite it.

The steps involved in paraphrasing are simple, but rewriting a complex sentence is not straightforward. Even the best writers, editors, and paraphrasers find the task very time-consuming, which is why paraphrasing services are usually priced higher compared to editing services, proofreading services, and other writing-related services.

To paraphrase a sentence, follow these four steps:

·         Become familiar with the sentence and its meaning. Read it at least two times.

·         Without looking at the original sentence, write a new one with the same meaning based on your memory of the original.

·         Compare the original sentence and your paraphrased version and change any areas that are too similar or too different.

·         Leave an in-text citation to the original author.

It’s worth noting that you can also follow these four steps to paraphrase larger chunks of text, including paragraphs, pages of text, and entire chapters.

If you try to apply these four steps to a few sentences or paragraphs, you might find it difficult – as mentioned earlier. Despite the simplicity of the steps, following them and producing a new, engaging, and accessible rewritten version is not easy. This is one of the main reasons why paraphrasing services are currently highlypriced; because the process of paraphrasing is time-consuming and often complex.

To ease the paraphrasing process, there are a few tricks you can apply:

·         Restructure the sentence or paragraph. One way to do this is to change sentences from the passive to the active voice.

·         Increase or decrease the number of sentences. For example, you can divide information from the original sentence into two or three shorter sentences.

·         Make use of synonyms. If you use words that have the same meaning as words in the original sentence, you can ensure that the paraphrased version is dissimilar.

·         Begin the new sentence at a different point compared to the original.

·         Maximise the number of synonyms. If you’re having difficulty with this, consult a thesaurus or, if all else fails, call a paraphraser.

In light of the above, it’s always wise to think about when paraphrasing may be a good alternative to direct quotation. In academic writing, it is often preferable to paraphrase a piece of text rather than to quote it directly. Whenever you decide to paraphrase another source, don’t forget to leave a citation alongside it. 

How to Proofread – Ten Key Tips

One of the easiest and most direct ways to improve the quality of proofreading in your documents is to work with a professional proofreader. Professional proofreading services are complex to perform, and to undertake the task of a proofreader or editor effectively, years of training and experience are needed.

If you are not looking for professional proofreading but would still like to benefit from high-quality, consistent, and readable written documents, this article presents ten tips and tricks that will help. For example, if you want to proofread your own work to avoid the cost of professional proofreading services, you can strive to apply some of these tips when you next proofread your documents. 

The ten key tips are as follows:

1. Learn about your common mistakes and errors. If you know what errors you are likely to make, you can approach the process of proofreading your work much more effectively and efficiently.

2. Check over your work when you are most alert. This is a commonly overlooked tip, but it is a cornerstone of success in the detail-oriented task of proofreading.

3. Take a break before proofreading. If you have only just finished writing your manuscript, leave some time before you begin proofreading. The task takes time, and so if you approach it in a rush or without focus, you risk producing a low-quality outcome.

4. Ask someone for a critique of your writing. When you use a professional proofreading service, or when you ask a knowledgeable and trustworthy friend to review your writing, you can receive valuable feedback about your writing (e.g., errors, wordiness, or low clarity) to improve your proofreading.

5. Check your work at least twice. Many authors make the mistake of proofreading their work only once. This is often a fatal error because in the process of proofreading a text and making changes to it, there is a good chance that human error will introduce a new error.

6. Use a spellchecker. Spellcheckers like Grammarly and Microsoft Word’s built-in spellchecker are invaluable. The final check for any document should include an automated spellcheck.

7. Don’t be hesitant to ask for help. If you are unsure about anything in your manuscript – such as whether to use a comma in one sentence or an apostrophe in another – remember to do a Google search, look it up in a style guide or book, or consult with a professional proofreader.

8. Start from the end. If you proofread your work back to front – that is, by starting from the last sentence and reading backward, one sentence at a time – you will be able to focus much better on the language rather than the content of your paper or the stream of the argument.

9. Address all errors of one type in a single pass. Consider proofreading in multiple passes. In one pass, look for spelling errors; in another, look for incorrect double spaces in a manuscript; and in yet another, look for a different type of error. This will increase your speed and accuracy.

10. Proofread on paper. You may find that printing out your document and reviewing it on a piece of paper is less straining for your eyes, allowing you to proofread more effectively.

How and When to Use Rewriting Services

Paraphrasing (or “rewriting”) a sentence involves expressing something written by another author in your own words. Professional paraphrasers offer rewriting services, which enable you to benefit from their expertise to avoid plagiarism and rewrite lots of text to meet your deadline. However, if you are interested in using a rewriting service, it is important to know a few key things to get the greatest return on your investment.

 

Image: Paraphrasing a piece of text is all about change and transformation

When to hire a rewriter

The first key question to think about is when to use a rewriting service.

Things to consider when reflecting on this question include whether you can complete the paraphrasing task yourself, whether you can use direct quotation to avoid having to paraphrase, and whether you can achieve a better result by collaborating with a professional rewriter.

For example, if you have a tight deadline, you may wish to focus on finding a professional rewriter to work with.This can ensure that you complete your work on time and enable you to focus on other tasks, speeding up the delivery of your manuscript.

Likewise, if you have overused direct quotations in your document, hiring a paraphraser to reduce the number of direct quotations may be a worthwhile idea. Quotes can limit the accessibility and readability of your text, and if you paraphrase instead of quoting, you indicate that you have a clear understanding of the meaning of the text.

Another ideal use case for professional rewriting services is to avoid plagiarism. For example, if there are passages in your paper that are too similar to those in other documents, collaborating with a professional may be a good idea. This is especially true if you have a tight deadline.

 

Image: Avoid plagiarism by rewriting your problematic sentences

How to use rewriting services

First of all, you should prioritise finding a professional rewriter who:

·         Can meet your deadline

·         Has a communication style that is suitable for your audience

·         Is experienced in your subject area (for academic papers) or genre (for book authors)

·         Can meet your budget

To contact high-quality rewriters, the best place to go is a company – not a freelancer – that can draw on a large network of paraphrasers. If you do a quick online search and check a few online reviews, you are likely to find an effective and affordable paraphraser fairly conveniently.

Word of mouth is also one of the best ways to ensure that the way you use a rewriting service is optimal, enabling you to maximise your return on investment. If you know someone who has used these services before, have a chat with them to see if their rewriter might work with you.

 

The role of rewriting

Rewriting is a valuable tool that can help you articulate your ideas and demonstrate your understanding in academic papers, business documents, and other pieces of writing. If you use it to avoid plagiarism, always remember to cite the original author. Also, try to aim for a balance between your use of direct quotation and paraphrasing; it’s sometimes appropriate to use a quote, such as when you need to give a precise definition or make a point about another author’s style, but you should usually be seeking to paraphrase. 

Different Editing Styles and When to Use Them

A commonly overlooked piece of information when people order editing and proofreading services is the question of the editing style that should be used. It is always crucial to tell your editor which editing style you need them to prepare your document with.

In book proofreading services UK, it is also common for authors to need to prepare their manuscripts according to the publisher’s style, and this is similarly a frequent requirement in academic writing. In particular, journals often require authors to submit articles in a certain style in terms of the following criteria:

·         Layout

·         Font and text size

·         Presentation

·         Formatting

·         Table, figure, and image formatting

·         Use of language

As of 2021, there are over 20 reputed and widely-used English editing style guides – ranging from the Chicago Manual of Style (CMoS)to The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA). For this reason, it is sometimes a confusing question as to which one you should choose.

This article provides an overview of some of the more common editing styles and editing style guides that you are likely to encounter as a student or academic. Afterward, the article briefly discusses how best to choose and apply a style guide to your written work.

 

Editing styles

In the disciplines of history and arts, and also commonly for books, the Chicago Manual of Style (CMoS) is currently the standard. CMoS was one of the earliest style guides created for American English, and it was first published by the University of Chicago Press in 1906.

The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA) was one of the publications of the American Psychological Association issued in 1929. The purpose of the style guide was to ensure that scholarly papers published in the field of psychology were consistent in terms of their layout and presentation. A core feature of APA style is its emphasis on simplicity in terms of tables, citations, abbreviations, and writing structure.

Industry-specific style guides also exist, including the following:

·         Chemical fields:The American Chemical Society (ACS) Style Guide

·         Medical fields: The American Medical Association (AMA) Manual of Style

·         Technical fields: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers(IEEE) Style Guide

·         English editing manual: New Oxford Style Manual

As a final example of an editing style guide, consider The Associated Press Stylebook and Briefing on Media Law (also known as the AP Stylebook or AP). This style is frequently used in the context of journalism but it is similarly popular in public relations, corporate communications, marketing, and broadcasting. While the style was first introduced in the 1920s, the AP Stylebook was not published until 1953.

 

How to choose an editing style

One of the simplest ways to ensure that you choose a suitable editing style is to purchase an editing and proofreading service and, after doing so, consult with a professional. When you speak with this professional editor, they will be able to check your requirements – for example, by communicating with your publisher or targeted journal – and give you suitable guidance.

It is also worth noting that because many editing styles are industry-specific, your choice of editing style may also be informed by the nature of the topic you are writing about. For example, if you are writing a newspaper article, using the AP Stylebook as a model to prepare your manuscript is preferred. Also, if you have a publisher in mind, stay close to their requirements.

An Introduction to Preparing your Journal Article for Publication

 All academics, especially scholars who are at the start of their career, need to publish articles on a regular basis. For this reason, editing and proofreading services are in high demand in academia, and they are widely used to speed up the manuscript preparation process.

Both among students and full-time researchers, university professors, and other faculty members in higher education, editing and proofreading services, and even book proofreading services UK, can be helpful if used wisely. However, it is especially true that the work of professional editors and manuscript formatters plays a vital role in preparing journal articles for publication.

In this article, then, we provide an introduction to preparing your journal article for publication. By the time you’ve finished these steps, you will be well on your way to submitting your freshly prepared journal article to your publisher.

 

1. Choose a journal

Before writing your journal article, you need to have a clear idea of where you will publish it. This is because each scholarly journal has a different area of specialism.

Most journals have a narrow scope, and to increase your chances of publication, it is best to choose a journal with as narrow a scope as possible.

For example, if you’ve written an article on a topic such as how a clownfish gets its stripes, you could submit your article to a world-leading scientific publication such as Nature. However, if you’re a new author, it might be best to aim for a narrower publication such as the Journal of Fish Biology.

 

Image: The Journal of Fish Biology covers all aspects of fish biology and marine ecology

2. Follow submission procedures

Every journal has a series of guidelines that you must follow when you submit your manuscript. These publication guidelines will be readily available online (search for something like “Submission Procedures” or “Author Guidelines”).

 

3. Editing and proofreading

As you will learn by reading your journal’s Author Guidelines, editing and proofreading are carefully considered by the publication’s team when evaluating your manuscript in the peer-review process.

If your article is accepted for publication, it is still very likely that you will need to edit it further in order to respond to your reviewers’ comments. However, perfecting your manuscript to the best possible level before submitting it for the first time is still critical.

For this reason, considering working with a professional editor or proofreader at this point can be worthwhile. Editors and proofreaders can help you in different ways, and they may yield a reasonable return on investment – especially if you have a tight deadline.

 

Image: Editors and proofreaders can rapidly improve your written work

4. Submission

The final step in your journey to becoming a published academic is to submit your application.

In your initial application, it is important to contextualise your research using a cover letter. Rather than telling the reviewer about your journal article (which they can read about in your abstract), briefly describe your academic history, the significance of your research, and your contributions.

It is uncommon in academia for a journal article to be published after only one attempt. Usually, even if your article is not rejected, you will receive a set of recommended revisions, which you can use to prepare a new manuscript for another attempt.