Paraphrasing Manually VS Using a Tool: Pros and Cons of Both
Paraphrasing is a useful technique that comes in handy. There are mainly two different ways in which you can paraphrase your content. You can either do it manually, i.e., by using your own words and sentences, etc., by using an online tool.
In this post, we will explore both of these methods in detail. We will also look at some of their main upsides and downsides.
So, let’s get started!
Paraphrasing Manually: Steps
Paraphrasing manually has its pros and cons– which we will discuss later on. However, before we get to that, let’s first look at the steps that you can follow to do it.
- You must read the content meticulously. It is important to apprehend what the text is saying. It would be impossible for someone who has not read the text properly to paraphrase it manually. Remember, paraphrasing is defined as the process in which words are changed with the same meaning. If the latter is altered, the process won’t be called paraphrasing anymore.
- Then, after understanding the text, you have to start making the actual changes. Here, you can do things like using synonyms, shuffling sentences, and changing the grammatical nature of the sentences. As far as synonyms are concerned, you can use any dictionary online to get replacements for the words you need to change. The latter two, you need to do by yourself by judging the situation at hand.
- Lastly, you must proofread your content and make a side-by-side comparison with the original content. Here, your focus should be on finding and removing the following types of imperfections:
- Grammatical or spelling errors
- Contextual irregularities
- Deviation or addition in the original meaning
Pros and Cons of Manual Paraphrasing:
| Pros | Cons |
| Less chances of plagiarism | Time consuming |
| Mitigates the chances of grammatical errors | Vocabulary restraint |
| Less chances of omission of important information | Requires a good understanding of the language |
| less chances of adding excessive information | Difficult to do |
Paraphrasing with a Tool: Steps
There are different tools available online through which you can paraphrase your content. These tools usually use algorithms to replace words, rephrase sentences, and more.
If you want to use this method to paraphrase content instead of the manual technique, here are the steps that you can follow:
1. Choose a reliable tool:
It is rather confusing when it comes to choosing the best tool online. There are several available, but you must choose the right one.
Paraphrasing using a tool has a lot of benefits, sure, but you can only get them if you are careful about the tool you pick. There are a lot of online tools available for this purpose, and all of them are not exactly…worth using, to put it politely.
Here are a couple of pointers you can stick to in order to pick a good tool:
– It should be published by a reliable company
– It should ideally be free to use
– It should have multiple modes to allow you to paraphrase according to your requirements
And so on.
There are many tools that check all those boxes, but we personally recommend using Paraphraser.
2. Copy and paste the text:
After you are done choosing the online tool, the next step is to provide it with the content. Most online tools have a simple gimmick in this regard. They allow you to enter your content in the provided field by either typing it out or pasting it from somewhere else.
Depending on the tool that you pick, you may have a couple of different options available for this. Some tools can be a bit generous and provide a file-uploading feature. Some tools can take it further and also let you import files from cloud storage.
Whatever the case may be, you just have to use the features available and get your content inside the tool.
3. Click on the generate button:
Once you’re done, you just have to start the process by clicking on the start button. This would be presented with a different name in different tools, but there’s really nothing for us to walk you through here. It will just be a big button.
Of course, there are some tools, like Wordtune, that have “real-time” working. They just paraphrase the text as soon as you put it inside the editor. For tools like these, you don’t need to look for any buttons to press.
4. Proofread the generated content:
This is a must! Even these tools are not perfect. Therefore, one must give it a thorough read and check if it requires any corrections. Here, you should look for the same type of imperfections as you would during manual paraphrasing, i.e., for things like contextual discrepancies and grammar errors, etc.
It’s a different matter altogether that such imperfections are hard to come by in the outputs provided by an online tool.
Pros and Cons of Paraphrasing with AI Tools:
| Pros | Cons |
| Consistent style and tone | – |
| No vocabulary restraint | Can generate senseless/vague sentences |
| Time efficient | Chances of omission of important information |
Conclusion:
While both of these methods are good and viable, they both have their downsides.
In the end, we can just say that if you have the time and effort at hand, you should take the trouble to paraphrase your content manually. There are fewer chances of errors and imperfections finding their way into the final results.
On the other hand, if you don’t have the time to do it all manually, you can take the help of an online tool instead – while taking the necessary precautions.
