Patchwriting: What It Is and Why You Should Avoid It

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As a student or writer, you know that you don’t want to commit plagiarism. But did you know that when you change a few words here and there from a passage that somebody else wrote, it may still be a form of plagiarism? 

When a revised passage remains too close to the original writing, it’s called patchwriting. This happens when you paraphrase a passage, but it remains too close to the original text. For example, you may take out a line or two, change which words come first in a list, switch out some words for their synonyms, or even alter the sentence structure. But upon closer look, the two works still appear very similar. 

Patchwriting vs. Paraphrasing

In academic writing, you’re encouraged to paraphrase. The challenge is that paraphrasing involves more than changing a few words here and there. Here are some do’s and don’ts of good paraphrasing: 

Do: 

  • include the ideas of the original text, but make sure to state them differently;
  • understand the source material first;
  • write your own thoughts related to the topic.

Don’t: 

  • copy a statement word for word;
  • just rearrange phrases and change tenses while using the same ideas line per line; 
  • change words into synonyms while retaining the sentence structure; 
  • rely too much on the sentence structure and word arrangement of your source material.

From these do’s and don’ts, you can see that patchwriting misses the mark for correct paraphrasing. Think of patchwriting as a quilt: you can sew together all these separate pieces in different patterns, but it’s still made up of the same individual pieces. 

At its core, patchwriting is an inability to write well, which often stems from the absence of original or critical thinking on the writer’s part. 

Is Patchwriting Acceptable? 

Many people think that patchwriting is not as bad as blatant plagiarism, but Syracuse University professor of writing and rhetoric Rebecca Moore Howard calls it “academic dishonesty.” A study she directed in 2008 shows that a big chunk of college writing falls under this description. 

This causes a problem for college students, because the goal for any writing assignment in university is not to check their writing skills. Instead, the purpose of most writing tasks assigned to college students is for the students to gain mastery and understanding of intellectual concepts, and demonstrate that understanding in their writing. Rearranging words on a page does not offer students the same level of understanding.

For journalists, on the other hand, the criteria appear to be different. Most editors can easily describe patchwriting as a problematic practice, though not everyone is quick to call it plagiarism. 

Look at it this way: what happens when someone rearranges the contents of a piece, while still using them in the new piece and fails to cite the source? This is paramount to stealing the skill of the original writer when he picked and used the specific points the way he did in his piece. 

Patchwriting Is More Common Online

Then again, in this digital age, a big bulk of writing is done by bloggers, reporters, commentators, and just about anyone. Much of this writing tends to lack the originality that accompanies a first-person account, and instead builds upon the work of other people. 

Don’t get me wrong: it’s perfectly fine, and is in fact encouraged, to work on top of the ideas of other people. But the problem comes when we don’t add any of our own original thinking and instead take the easy way out by simply rearranging the same ideas contained in someone else’s work. 

How Do You Quote an Author Without Plagiarizing? 

If you realize at this point that you have committed patchwriting to some degree, don’t fret! Here we have some tips to help you avoid that pitfall again in the future. 

1. Think of the value you can bring to your readers. 

Writing facts that have already been repeated and recycled all over the internet may be an easy way to churn out lots of material. But before you start, ask yourself: how can I add value to my readers? What can I write that they haven’t read before? 

While it doesn’t have to be 100% original, being able to add your thoughts, opinions, or observations will make a world of difference.

2. When quoting another person word-for-word, use quotation marks or state it explicitly. 

If you like another person’s writing so much that you want to use it, go all the way and put their words inside quotation marks.

When you include a direct quote or state explicitly that so-and-so said this or that, you’ll be able to quickly see how much of the piece is your own original idea. 

3. Cite the source.

For academic writing, you’ll need to learn how to cite your sources properly. For online journalism, you can include a link to the original piece.

Patchwriting vs Paraphrasing

Patchwriting takes the existing ideas of an original writer and just shuffles it around. In contrast, paraphrasing requires you to use your own words to express what was in the original piece. For example, if we have the following passage:

There should have been plenty of work after that rebuilding the city, and for a time there was. The city fathers talked big about plans for the new San Francisco, one of which I remember well because it concerned Chinatown. In the new plan the site of Chinatown would become the heart of the city, and the Chinese, without a word to say about the condemnation proceedings, would be moved to some valueless land on the outskirts of town. I don’t know if Mr. Jones had anything to do with it or not, but the Chinese came up with a carefully worded counterproposal. If they were forced to vacate, they would, as law-abiding citizens, move out, all the way to Los Angeles, taking with them all their trade with the Orient and their enormous value as a tourist attraction. Very hastily plans for a new new city were drawn up, and Chinatown is still the heart of San Francisco.

(From R. G. LeTourneau: Mover of Men and Mountains)

A patchwritten work would look like this:

We expected there to be a lot of work after that to rebuild the city, and for a while, there was. The leaders of the city made big plans for a new San Francisco. I remember it well because one of those plans proposed making Chinatown the center of the city, while moving the Chinese out to some worthless location way out of town. But the Chinese submitted a letter, stating that if they were compelled to leave, they would abide by the law but take their business all the way to Los Angeles. Quickly, the city leaders drafted new plans to keep Chinatown as is.

Paraphrasing may look like this:

After all that happened, we clearly needed to do a lot to get the city rebuilt. One of the plans was to relocate all the Chinese out of their current home in Chinatown in order to convert that area into the heart of San Francisco. But they didn’t anticipate that doing so would force all the Chinese to bring all their business away, not just to their specified location, but to a whole different city, possibly Los Angeles. Clearly, they weren’t just letting the government relocate them to some out-of-the-way part of town. When faced with that possibility, the leaders decided to scrap the proposal and let the Chinese continue to have their beloved Chinatown–which, to this day, serves as a great tourist attraction and business center in San Francisco.

Steering Clear of Patchwriting 

Whether you’re a journalist or online writer, it’s important to be aware of the dangers of patchwriting. Whenever you feel the temptation to use other people’s writing as a crutch, force yourself to understand what the other person is trying to communicate. 

See yourself as an important contributor to the market of ideas and resources, and be confident that your ideas matter. From this perspective, you should be inspired to use your critical thinking skills before publishing your final output. 

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