Writing in your own words

Have you ever been given an assignment at school with instructions saying “write in your own words”? What does that mean and why do you have to do it?

Accessibility icon Writing in your own words

Writing in your own words

Have you ever been given a task at school with instructions saying “write in your own words”? What does that mean and why do you have to do this?

Ung jente sitter på senga med en notatblokk i fanget og tenker med en blyant i munnen.
Ung jente sitter på senga med en notatblokk i fanget og tenker med en blyant i munnen.

Show your understanding

When you are asked to write in your own words, your teacher wants you to show your comprehension (understanding) of the material that you have listened to or read. This means that you cannot just repeat the information word for word, but you also have to do more than just change the word order and the order of the sentences.

As well as playing around with the vocabulary and sentence structure when writing, you will also have to add your version of the information. This is writing in your own words.

When you write in your own words, you show that you have understood the material and demonstrate the skills you have learned. Also, putting information in your own words will help you make better sense of what you have read.

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Ung gutt sitter på en stabel med bøker og tegner på en vegg samtidig som han ser på sin laptop.
Ung gutt sitter på en stabel med bøker og tegner på en vegg samtidig som han ser på sin laptop.

What you understand is important

At school, you are assessed on what YOU know and can do, not on what others know and do. This is why it is important for anyone who reads your text to easily understand which thoughts and ideas are yours and which belong to someone else. Also, you need to show what and how much you have learned and use that information and those skills in your writing.

If you simply repeat information from others – without citing sources – it might mean one or more of the following:

  • you know the material but are unsure how to rephrase it,
  • you can’t be bothered to rewrite it since someone else has already said it so well, or
  • you are taking a shortcut because no one will notice anyway.

It is difficult for the person who assesses your text to know what is the case for you.

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En elev får tilbakemelding på en skriftlig oppgave av en lærer.
En elev får tilbakemelding på en skriftlig oppgave av en lærer.

What is plagiarism?

Plagiarism is when you use someone else’s work and pretend it is your own or try to take credit for it.

Some types of plagiarism are very easy to see, but others can be harder. In the next few pages you will see some examples of different types of plagiarism.

Plagiarism is:

… copying sentences and paragraphs that someone else has written without citing the source.

… copying anything word for word.

… changing the structure and rewriting a sentence or paragraph, but the text is still very similar to the original.

… copying information straight from the internet without citing the source.

Plagiarism is:

… using a classmate’s notes to write your text.

… copying pictures, diagrams, graphs, and similar images without saying where they came from.

… using data, statistics, and facts that someone else has gathered without providing the source.

… using quotes from texts, videos, and lessons without citing the source, even if the information is something that you wrote down in your own notes.

If for example your teacher gives you a really good quote, you can’t use that quote, even if you wrote it down yourself, unless you also cite the source.

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Mann som kopierer noe i en kopimaskin.
Mann som kopierer noe i en kopimaskin.

Why do people plagiarize?

There are many reasons why people plagiarize. Perhaps someone is just not very good at citing their sources and is not trying to cheat on purpose. But plagiarism can have serious consequences if you are a student or a researcher. That is why it is so important to learn how to work with material and cite your sources early on!

Potential consequences for students caught plagiarizing: 
  • no credit for any of the work they have done;
  • needing a lot more time to complete their studies;
  • temporary suspension or removal from their place of learning;
  • permanent removal from their place of learning.
Plagiarism often happens when:
  • you don’t have enough time to complete an assignment, so you “borrow” information from others;
  • you are afraid that you can’t write well enough and “borrow” information and phrases;
  • you find the right answer on the Internet and copy it word for word and submit it as your work;
  • you don’t completely understand what you need to do for the assignment and just copy information from class materials, often rewriting it slightly;
  • you want to sound like you know more than you actually do.
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Timeglass med turkis sand som står på et tastatur til en laptop.

It’s OK to work together!

It’s important to be able to work with others, and it is often very helpful to discuss what you are learning in a group. It is HOW you work together that makes the difference.

 Working together:
  • isn’t about giving each other the right answer, but rather helping each other understand terms and concepts better.
  • is about finding good strategies to solve problems together, not having one student do all the work. 
  • means having each student turn in their own answer to the assignment individually, even if they have worked on the assignment with others.
Luftfoto av fem studenter som sitter rundt et bord og samarbeider.
Luftfoto av fem studenter som sitter rundt et bord og samarbeider.

When do you need to cite your sources?

You don’t have to cite your source if the information you use is a generally known fact, but what does that mean?

Generally known facts include information like knowing that the Sydney Opera House is in Australia. You don’t have to give the source for this information if you write it in your text. Another example is knowing that the sum of the three angles in a triangle is 180 degrees.

Generally known facts are something that most people already know and can easily check. If you are in any doubt about whether or not something is a generally known fact, you should include the source.

Some information does not need to be cited, but it may need an explanation. For example, if you decide to use the term “overweight”, it can be open to a wide range of definitions. In this case, you should explain exactly what you mean in this context, or you can refer to the definitions you plan to use to write your answer.

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Citing and referring to sources

You must always show where your information came from and use both in-text citations and a reference list in your writing. The key thing to remember about source citation is that you have to make it clear which information is yours and which came from someone else – and that the original information can easily be found again.

Citing your sources shows that you have read different materials on the topic, which should make your arguments stronger. Also, by making it possible for others to go back to your original sources, it is easier for them to check the truth and validity of your work. If they also understand the original information in the same way that you have, this can raise their understanding of the truth and reliability of your findings.

As you get ready to write, you will need to decide which reference style to use if you haven’t already been told by your teacher. The most common format used in language classes is the APA style.

There are two techniques you can use to place information into your writing. The first is by using direct quotes (copying the information word for word). The other is by paraphrasing. This means using your own words to explain the original information.

Both quotes and paraphrases need in-text citations and a full source citation on your reference page. Your reference page is the final page of your task that lists all of the outside sources you have used to write your paper.

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Stor gammel bokhylle med mange gamle bøker.

Using direct quotes

A direct quote can be included directly into your paragraph and is shown by adding a comma (,) right before you start the quote and quotation marks around the text you have copied. The following is an example of a one-sentence quote:

In WWII, Churchill said, “Great Britain is strong.”

If you want to quote more than one sentence or use a full paragraph, you should separate the quote text from the rest of your document as a block quote. This means making a separate paragraph that is indented slightly more than the rest of your text. You can choose if you want to use quotation marks around the block or not.

The important thing is to make it very clear that this section is a quote, not something that you have written yourself.

If you choose to use parts of a longer quote, you can type/write (…) to show where you have removed something from the original text.

If you want to refer to someone’s work without directly quoting, you can use in-text citations. This is when you briefly mention the source as you write, either within the sentence or in brackets at the end of the section.

In the APA format, in-text citations will look similar to this:

Within a sentence:

In Smith’s 2019 article on ..(topic).., she states that…

Brackets at the end:

Xxxx xxxx xxxxxxx xxxxxx. X xx xxxxx xxxx xxxxx (Smith, 2019).

Another way you can do in-text citation is to use a footnote. A footnote is a way of including your source less visibly. To add a footnote, add a number at the end of your quoted text, referring to the source information you give at the bottom of the page (author and year of publication). The number cannot be repeated in the document and will either be raised1 or in parentheses (1) right after the quoted text. 

There is a footnote tool in Word to help you do this correctly. Simply go to the Reference tab in the Word toolbar and click on “Insert footnote.”

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Paraphrasing and referring to sources

When you paraphrase something, you refer to the information you found by rephrasing it and explaining it in your own words without changing the original meaning.

Although a paraphrase isn’t a direct quote, you still have to say where the information you have talked about came from. One way you can introduce a paraphrase and include an in-text citation is to mention the author(s) and the year of publication at the beginning of the sentence like this:

In his article on plate tectonics, A. S. Jones claimed that ….

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Reference list

When you write your reference list, you will need to include the author, year of publication, title, type of publication (book, magazine, web page, TV program etc), and publisher. You may also want to state which issue or edition you used.

If you use Internet sources, you must also provide the URL and the date that you retrieved the information. This is because online sources often change and are easily moved around.

Åpen laptop med halv åpen bok bak skjermen som et symbol for digitalisering.
Åpen laptop med halv åpen bok bak skjermen som et symbol for digitalisering.

Various reference styles

When you write a paper, the type of reference style you use will impact how you set up your citations and reference list. One of the most well-known and commonly used reference styles is APA.

In the links below, you can find information on the different styles and how to use them:

The Citation Compass
Purdue OWL (Online Writing Lab)
Hvit snakkeboble på blå bakgrunn.
Hvit snakkeboble på blå bakgrunn.

Now what?

If you put an extra effort into your writing, you will discover that writing in your own words and citing sources correctly have important gains.

Not only will it help improve your writing and comprehension, but your reader will probably give you better assessment, and also, better grades.

It doesn’t have to be difficult, and it will let you take ownership of your progress as a language learner. Just remember that copy and paste is not something you learn anything from!

Bena til tenåring går opp en trapp med fargerike trinn.
Bena til tenåring går opp en trapp med fargerike trinn.

Sources:

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