Which action best demonstrates proper paraphrasing in business writing?

• A. Copy the original wording exactly and attribute.
• B. Paraphrase by replacing a few words without rewording.
• C. Restate in your own words with attribution and faithful to meaning.
• D. Summarize without attribution.

Answer: (C)

Paraphrasing in business writing means restating someone else’s idea in your own words while giving proper credit and staying faithful to the original meaning. This shows you understand the idea well enough to reexpress it without copying the wording, and it acknowledges the source.

Restating in your own words with attribution and faithful to meaning is the best demonstration because it combines genuine reexpression with clear credit to the original author, preserving the idea accurately. Copying the exact wording, even with attribution, isn’t paraphrasing—it’s quoting. Simply replacing a few words without changing the sentence structure isn’t true paraphrasing either, because the wording remains too close to the original. Summarizing without attribution misses essential credit and can alter the level of detail, which again isn’t paraphrasing.