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This is what I read:

"Neuroimaging of frequent internet users shows twice as much activity in the prefrontal cortex as sporadic Internet users during online tasks."

And this is how I paraphrased:

"Neuroimaging of frequent internet users shows activity in the prefrontal cortex twice as much as sporadic Internet users during online tasks."

And,

"Activity in the prefrontal cortex through neuroimaging of frequent internet users is twice as much as sporadic Internet users during online tasks."

Have I rephrased the sentence I read with the meaning unchanged? If so, which sounds easier to understand?

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  • Why are you trying to paraphrase this?
    – GArthurBrown
    Commented Jun 3, 2021 at 5:34
  • @GArthurBrown probably useful if you don't want to be accused of plagiarism. Useful if you want to reassure yourself that the concept has been fully grasped.
    – Mari-Lou A
    Commented Jun 3, 2021 at 5:52
  • 1
    Usually paraphrasing entails simplifying and changing words. Basically, what I see are the same words but placed in different orders.
    – Mari-Lou A
    Commented Jun 3, 2021 at 5:55
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    @Mari-LouA Actually, paraphrasing isn't a useful way of avoiding plagiarism. If you take a chapter of someone's book, you paraphrase each sentence and publish it as your own, you might avoid a copyright claim but you're still guilty of plagiarism.
    – KillingTime
    Commented Jun 3, 2021 at 7:23
  • @KillingTime Yes, it's still plagiarism if you are copying the whole idea/concept/plot etc. But paraphrasing a short or long paragraph and adding the proper attribution is more than acceptable.
    – Mari-Lou A
    Commented Jun 3, 2021 at 7:28

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"[Activity in the prefrontal cortex through neuroimaging of frequent internet users] is [twice as much as sporadic Internet users during online tasks."]

Now of course you didn't mean to compare Activity with sporadic internet users, did you?

"Neuroimaging of frequent internet users shows activity in the prefrontal cortex twice as much as sporadic Internet users during online tasks."

Normally, the reason why you paraphrase a sentence is to cut out the verbiage and trim it to make it more readable.

This version— which is worded at around twenty words (which is the exact same number of words in the original version)— doesn't do any such thing. In fact, it is somewhat clunky.

"Neuroimaging of frequent internet users shows twice as much activity in the prefrontal cortex as sporadic Internet users during online tasks."

This is the sentence you would want to write. It conveys the intended information neatly.

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