Step 1 Read the passage several times to fully understand the meaning.

Step 2 Note down important concepts

Step 3 Write your version without looking at the original

Step 4 Compare your paraphrased text with the original one. If you find it too similar, make changes.

Step 5 Cite the source

• Start the sentence at a different point from the original one.
• Use synonyms. Make use of a thesaurus if you can’t think of any.
• Change the sentence structure. Try to change the voice from active to passive and vice versa.
• Break up longer sentences or combine shorter ones

The need to understand patterns of mental health problems among college students is important. Around 1/3 of college freshmen endorses problems with mental health in the previous 12 months, and our data also suggest that mental health problems are directly associated with lower academic performance. Low academic performance, in turn, is associated with dropout in the short-term and loss of human capital for societies in the longer term (Freudenberg & Ruglis, 2007). This means that emotional problems among college students are not just a theoretical, clinical, or educational problem but also a societal problem (Bruffaerts et al., 2018, p. 102).

Bruffaerts, R., Mortier, P., Kiekens, G., Auerbach, R. P., Cuijpers, P., Demyttenaere, K., Green, J. G., Nock, M. K., & Kessler, R. C. (2018). Mental  health problems in college freshmen: Prevalence and academic functioning. Journal of Affective Disorders, 225, 97–103. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2017.07.044