Is Paraphrasing Considered Cheating? An Ethical Point of View

In our previous blog post, we answered some of the most popular questions around the topic of paraphrasing.

Is paraphrasing legal?

How much can you paraphrase until it’s considered plagiarism?

Do you still need to add citations and references when paraphrasing?

In this blog post, we’re going to dig a little deeper into a question that still sparks debates, conversations, and controversies.

Is paraphrasing considered cheating?

Almost every industry is plagued with the rising concern of plagiarism. Few people know how to paraphrase in a way that’s accurate and ethical. Paraphrasing requires attention to detail and careful execution. This applies whether it’s for educational purposes or journalism at its finest.

Paraphrasing definition

Merriam-Webster defines paraphrasing as “a restatement of a text, passage, or work giving the meaning in another form”.

Allow us to put it into other words. Paraphrasing is the act of rephrasing someone else’s ideas or words into your own words. The goal is to achieve this while retaining the original meaning. We know it seems harmless and even beneficial for understanding complex thoughts and theories. But, problems come up when we practice this without giving the source due credit. This is where intellectual property becomes a concern and ethics comes into question.

The advantages of paraphrasing

Understanding: Paraphrasing can help users gain a better understanding of the original text. This is especially useful for complex or technical content.
Avoiding plagiarism: By paraphrasing, you can avoid plagiarism and give credit to the original author while keeping the meaning intact.
Enhance writing skills: Paraphrasing requires understanding, interpretation, and rewriting in your own words.
Improve communication skills: It can help develop the ability to convey information in a way that’s simpler and easier to understand.
Personalization: Paraphrasing allows you to convey the same message in a way that suits your personal writing tone, style, and voice.

Challenges of paraphrasing

Losing the original meaning: You may unintentionally change the original meaning of the text when paraphrasing.
Time-consuming: It can be time-consuming to rewrite the text while trying to maintain the original meaning.
Plagiarism risk: If not done correctly, there’s still a risk of plagiarism. When the paraphrased text closely resembles the original content, the risk is higher.
Misinterpretation: The risk of misinterpreting the source material is higher when paraphrasing complex or technical text.

Is Paraphrasing Considered Cheating?

Academic paraphrasing

In recent months, there’s been an increasing popularity in AI platforms. A few well-known names include ChatGPT, QuillBot, and ContentBot. With this, we’ve noticed a sudden surge in students taking advantage of these readily available paraphrasing tools. With a simple “copy”, “paste”, and “paraphrase”, it’s become much easier to rewrite large pieces of text in seconds. But what does this mean for the future of our academia?

The topic of ethics from an academic perspective ties into academic integrity. Teachers, students, and researchers need to conduct themselves and complete their work according to certain expectations. These include honesty, trust, respect, responsibility, and fairness.

From an academic standpoint, paraphrasing is a valuable tool that can prove helpful to students. It encourages them to demonstrate an understanding of the material. By rephrasing existing work in their own words, they can break down difficult concepts and ideas.

An ethical point of view

Many people may argue that paraphrasing an author’s work without giving appropriate credit is no less than stealing someone else’s intellectual property. Others state that this act undermines the skills and efforts of the original author. One could consider it a shortcut to avoiding the time, effort, dedication, and creativity that it takes to generate original thoughts and ideas.

What value is there in learning and finding genuine solutions to problems if it isn’t hard-earned? A person’s morals and ethical integrity would without a doubt come into question. We would have to say, yes – uncited paraphrasing could be considered cheating.

But, this doesn’t mean that paraphrasing in its entirety is unethical. The ethics of paraphrasing lies in the execution, not the concept itself. When done correctly, it can hold huge benefits for understanding and researching. It allows us to learn from existing work, build on it, and use it to expand our current knowledge base.

Again, it all comes down to awarding credit where credit is due.

Critics may argue that information is open and anyone can use it as they wish. However, this viewpoint fails to consider the time, effort, and creativity that went into generating the original content. Not giving credit where it’s due denigrates the efforts of authors. It’s a disservice to the intellectual community as a whole and may also lead to copyright infringement.

When is paraphrasing considered plagiarism?

Citation issues: If you don’t know how to cite sources while paraphrasing, it can be considered plagiarism. Incorrect citations may also lead to plagiarism.
Close resemblance: It takes more than changing words and using synonyms to paraphrase text. If the sentence structure is very similar to the original text, it can still be seen as plagiarism.
Copying large portions: If you copy large portions of the original text and just replace a few words here and there, it will likely be seen as plagiarism.
Misrepresentation: If you present someone else’s ideas or concepts as your own, even if they are paraphrased, it’s considered plagiarism.
No original contribution: If your work heavily relies on paraphrased content and lacks original thought and contribution, it can be viewed as a form of plagiarism.
Inaccurate referencing: While the paraphrased text may be correct, the attribution is just as important. If the one you provide is incorrect, you distort the understanding of the source. This can be seen as a form of plagiarism.

What about paraphrasing tools?

Our answer remains the same. Paraphrasing tools are ethical as long as they are used responsibly and appropriately. They can be a useful and ethical tool for rewriting content to prevent plagiarism, as long as it’s not a direct copy of the original content. They help speed up the process while generating high-quality results.

However, it becomes unethical if these tools are used to simply copy the work of others and pass it off as your own without giving proper credit. So, while the tool itself is not unethical, its misuse can be. It’s very important to always acknowledge and cite sources when using information that’s not your own.

Take a look at this Ultimate Paraphrasing Guide (A Step-by-Step Workflow To Getting The Best Out of ContentBot’s Paraphrasing Tool).

In summary…

Whether paraphrasing is considered cheating or not depends on its execution. It should be used as a tool for understanding while respecting the original author’s intellectual property rights through proper citation. This way, it’s within the bounds of ethically acceptable practices. However, when paraphrasing morphs into an attempt to disguise plagiarism, it undeniably becomes a form of cheating. In these cases, one’s ethics is called into question.

Make sure that you put the necessary time and effort into comprehending and respecting the fine line that separates paraphrasing from plagiarism. As scholars, students, writers, or academics, we must ensure that we practice paraphrasing responsibly. Always give due credit to those whose work we lean on to build our own. In doing this, we can enrich our learning process and foster an environment of mutual respect and integrity. After all, these are the pillars of a thriving intellectual community.

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Lauren Meyer

Lauren is a Content Marketer who values research and providing value for her readers. When she's not working on a blog post or marketing campaign, you'll find her outside with her dogs or curled up with a good book.