Paraphrasing is the process of rewording a sentence or phrase while still conveying the same meaning. It is often used to make a text easier to understand, to avoid repeating the same words, or to make a text more concise. Paraphrasing can also be used to give credit to the original author by changing the words but keeping the same meaning. Shortening a sentence, say, is a form of paraphrasing that involves reducing the length of a sentence while still conveying the same message.