Molly McCullough, MSN, BA, RN, NE-BC, CNDLTC
Guest Counselor
Abstract
Molly McCullough discusses her journey from relying on highlighters to recognizing effective paraphrasing’s role in writing and retaining information. She highlights the importance of understanding plagiarism and provides strategies for better paraphrasing. This approach enhances clarity, integrity, and academic success, emphasizing the need for proper citation practices.
Paraphrasing with purpose helps enhance writing and outcomes.
I will confess that I used to be a highlighter addict. For years, I used highlighters as I read my textbooks and articles—I had them in a rainbow of colors and I would mark up entire pages. This was my system, and I thought my “notes” were organized. I believed I was on top of everything, but I was wrong. In my doctoral studies, I became more aware of the fact that I was not being proactive with my reading and writing. Instead of highlighting, I learned another way to keep track of information to increase my retention as I read, as well as to avoid plagiarism when I wrote my own work. This adjustment has made all the difference. But first, I had to accept that I had a problem.
Accepting I Had a Problem
I got through my bachelor’s and master’s degrees with my rainbow array of highlighters—but then I started my doctoral studies. During the orientation to the program, we discussed avoiding plagiarism in our written work, and how it goes hand and hand with paraphrasing and citing appropriately. When I was only looking at direct quotes via highlighted passages, it was hard to understand content and rephrase it when writing my own work. I had a problem and I had to accept it.
Instead of highlighting, I started to take my own notes while I was reading. In addition to where I found information (like page numbers), I added thoughts in my own words about what I was reading. Now I was seeing my own thoughts, and my retention increased while my plagiarism scores—courtesy of Turnitin software—went down. Once I accepted my highlighter problem was really a paraphrasing problem, it was time for a solution. You guessed it, I needed to paraphrase better (and give up my highlighters). First, let’s discuss why you should paraphrase and then let’s cover how to you can better paraphrase to enhance your writing.
Why Paraphrase?
The benefits of paraphrasing aren’t just related to academic dishonesty. Paraphrasing helps the author read, interpret, and understand the content of an article. This requires the author to make connections between concepts and facilitates retention of information, and then authors can write more clearly. So paraphrasing benefits the reader too—clearer, more integrated writing will help others use presented content.
Let me point out—despite restating ideas using your own words, paraphrased and summarized sentences need to be cited. Authors have noted that professionals may not fully understand this necessity or that a lack of citations represents plagiarism. For example:
- Fadlalmola et al.1 reported 39% of plagiarism instances were due to paraphrasing that was not cited appropriately.
- Goodwin et al.2 described minimalist paraphrasing, where just a few words are changed and there is no citation of source material.
- Olivia-Dumitrina et al.3 found that 69% of students agreed that paraphrasing without citing source material is not plagiarism.
- Marusic et al.4 noted that students needed paraphrasing and citation content specifically under a plagiarism umbrella to help them understand how the concepts are related.
So, some may not fully understand the relationship between paraphrasing, citing, and plagiarizing, and it can be hard to learn to paraphrase and cite appropriately.
Okay. We know that paraphrasing is a tricky skill. We know we don’t want to plagiarize and we want to write with clarity and integrity. But in case you are on the fence about the seriousness of this issue, I want to point out a few examples of national organizations highlighting—as in drawing attention to, not the writing utensil discussed earlier—the essential nature of integrity. First, the American Nurses Association (ANA) Code of Ethics calls for nurses to work with honesty and integrity.5,6 According to the International Center for Academic Integrity, there are six values that must be upheld—including honesty, trust, fairness, respect, responsibility, and courage.6,7 And the International Council of Nurses outlines these values in their document too.8 The list could go on and on! Point is, it’s important to paraphrase properly to write with clarity and integrity. So how can you do it better?
Paraphrasing Better to Enhance Your Writing
To help me understand how to paraphrase better, I did my scholarly due diligence and got some tips. You may find these helpful for you too9-11:
- First, write down the author and page number of the source material. Then, cover up the text so you aren’t tempted to use the original words.
- Take your own notes. Your notes should explain what you are reading in simple terms (no, not just using synonyms). Pretend a family member or friend is reading your notes—could they understand them? It may be helpful to read your notes out loud (for written notes) or use screen reading software (for electronic notes). See where there may be gaps in explanations.
- Compare your notes with the source material to check that you have accurately represented it.
Example
I found those tips enhanced my paraphrasing, but let’s see them in action. For this example, I asked for help from our artificial intelligence (AI) colleague—or as we like to say at Writer’s Camp: Counselor Byte. For those who are curious, my prompt was: Create a paragraph from a fictitious article about nursing education. Include the citation information in APA format for the paragraph. I adjusted the formatting for the reference just a bit, but otherwise Counselor Byte helped develop the text, citation, and paraphrased text (except the revised paraphrased text, that was me).
Original Text
Nursing education plays a critical role in preparing practitioners to meet the growing complexity of modern healthcare systems. Recent innovations in nursing curricula emphasize evidence-based practice, interprofessional collaboration, and the integration of simulation technologies to enhance clinical reasoning skills. These educational strategies have been shown to improve student confidence, patient safety awareness, and readiness for real-world clinical environments. As healthcare demands continue to evolve, nursing programs must remain adaptive, ensuring graduates are equipped with both technical competence and compassionate, patient-centered care.
Hernandez, M. A., & Liu, S. R. (2024). Innovations in nursing education: Preparing nurses for complex healthcare environments. Journal of Advanced Nursing Education, 18(2), 45–58. https://doi.org/10.1234/jane.2024.01802
Commentary: The author wants to paraphrase the text. Let’s look at an initial stab at paraphrasing.
Paraphrased Text
Nursing education plays an essential role in preparing professionals to address the increasing complexity of today’s healthcare systems. Current advancements in nursing curricula highlight evidence-based practice, interprofessional teamwork, and the use of simulation technologies to strengthen clinical judgment skills. These instructional approaches have been shown to enhance student confidence, awareness of patient safety, and preparedness for real-world clinical settings. As healthcare needs continue to change, nursing programs must stay flexible, ensuring graduates possess both technical proficiency and compassionate, patient-focused care.
Commentary: This text is similar to the original. It represents minimalist paraphrasing where synonyms are used and there is no citation provided. Instead, the author should first jot down the author and page number, then they should cover up the text to rephrase it in their own words.
Revised Paraphrased Text
Hernandez & Liu, 2024, page 50.
To prepare graduates for the complexities of healthcare, nursing education must use flexible and evidence-based pedagogical approaches (Hernandez & Liu, 2024).
Commentary: First, the author wrote down the citation information for the source material. Then, the author covered up the source material and rephrased the paragraph simply and in their own words—like they were explaining it to someone else. The citation is also listed. Finally, the author compared to the source material to check accuracy.
Do you see the tips in practice? I do. I will say that until you are skilled at paraphrasing, it could also be beneficial to practice paraphrasing the same information in multiple ways. For example, force yourself to write a passage in three different ways. You could even ask AI platforms to critique your paraphrased texts. I did just that for the above example, and Counselor Byte told me I had a clear, accurate, and appropriate paraphrase. Hooray! Of course, being Counselor Byte, there was also a suggestion (if you wanted a very slight alternative with the same intent, you could also say):
Revised-revised Paraphrased Text
To equip graduates for the complexities of modern healthcare, nursing education should adopt adaptable, evidence-based teaching strategies.
You can see how AI can help you in your quest to better your paraphrasing skills, too.
I would like to leave you with one more thought before you go. Try to reframe your mind to consider paraphrasing concerns as risks for plagiarism so you take these issues more seriously. Remember that paraphrasing better helps enhance reading and writing processes.
Conclusion
Paraphrasing is an important tool to give authors a unique voice and to clearly represent information. Besides these benefits, effective paraphrasing can reduce plagiarism and enhance integrity to improve nursing.
References
1. Fadlalmola HA, Elhusein AM, Swamy DSV, Hussein MK, Mamanao DM, Mohamedsalih WE. Plagiarism among nursing students: A systematic review and meta-analysis. International Nursing Review. 2022;69(4):492–502. doi:10.1111/inr.12755
2. Goodwin J, McCarthy J. Explaining plagiarism for nursing students: An educational tool. Teaching and Learning in Nursing. 2020;15(3):198–203. doi:10.1016/j.teln.2020.03.004
3. Olivia-Dumitrina N, Casanovas M, Capdevila Y. Academic writing and the internet: Cyber-plagiarism amongst university students. Journal of New Approaches in Educational Research. 2019;8(2):112–125. doi:10.7821/naer.2019.7.407
4. Marusic A, Wager E, Utrobicic A, Rothstein HR, Sambunjak D. Interventions to prevent misconduct and promote integrity in research and publication. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. 2016(4):MR000038. doi:10.1002/14651858.MR000038.pub2
5. American Nurses Association. Code of ethics for nurses. 2025. Accessed January 20, 2026. https://codeofethics.ana.org/home
6. Hampton MD, Chafetz L. Evaluating scientific writing skill in DNP program students. Nurse Educator. 2021;46(3):164–168. doi:10.1097/NNE.0000000000000883
7. International Center for Academic Integrity. The fundamental values of academic integrity. 2021. Accessed January 20, 2026. https://academicintegrity.org/aws/ICAI/asset_manager/get_file/911282?ver=1
8. International Council of Nurses (ICN). The ICN code of ethics for nurses. 2021. Accessed January 20, 2026. https://www.icn.ch/sites/default/files/2023-06/ICN_Code-of-Ethics_EN_Web.pdf
9. Purdue University Online Writing Lab. Paraphrase: Write it in your own words. Published 2025. Accessed January 20, 2026. https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/using_research/quoting_paraphrasing_and_summarizing/paraphrasing.html
10. The Writing Center-University of Wisconsin, Madison. Quoting and paraphrasing. 2003. Accessed January 20, 2026. https://writing.wisc.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/535/2018/07/Acknowledging_Sources.pdf
11. University of Virginia. Understanding citations, plagiarism, and paraphrasing. 2015. Accessed January 20, 2026. https://honor.virginia.edu/plagiarism-supplement
Author: Molly McCullough
Guest Counselor Bio: Molly McCullough has expertise in evidence-based practice, policy, leadership, and powering the new generation of nurses to lead with heart and vision. She is a member of the Spring 2026 Doctor of Nursing Practice Executive Leadership cohort at Johns Hopkins University, a Pennsylvania State Nurses Association executive board member, and a Nursing Foundation of Pennsylvania trustee.
Reviewed by: Roger Watson and Maya Zumstein-Shaha
Reviewed and Edited by: Jenny Chicca
Copyright © 2026 Writer’s Camp and Molly McCullough. CC-BY-ND 4.0
Citation: McCullough M. Confessions of a highlighter addict. The Writer’s Camp Journal. 2026; 2(2):7. doi:10.5281/zenodo.18363717
Disclosure
Artificial intelligence (AI) was used to create the paraphrasing example.