Not everyone can write a stellar essay or article without some help. Researching information online can often lead to plagiarism, so many students and writers prefer to use a paraphrasing tool to help avoid this problem. But what are paraphrasing tools, and which are the best?
What is a paraphrasing tool?
Paraphrasing tools are websites or applications that use AI to rewrite bodies of text in such a way that the result is considered unique. In other words, it is used to ensure that content shared online (or otherwise) is not flagged for plagiarism.
It's worth noting that while paraphrasing tools are useful in some circumstances, there are some legal issues regarding their use. I will elaborate on that later in this article. However, paraphrasing tools are very handy when used correctly.
Legal concerns
You may need to consider the legality of using a paraphrasing tool. Of course, this depends upon where you submit the content that is being paraphrased.
For example: If you have signed a contract with an employer as a content writer, they most likely expect you to use your writing skills. In fact, many employers would include a clause in your contract that bans the use of AI-powered tools or paraphrasing tools.
I always advise that you are up front about using paraphrasing tools, even if it's for a small portion of the text you are submitting. This proves that there is no malicious intent, which usually makes it all right. It's best to check with each employer separately. When in doubt, I advise that you avoid it altogether.
The best paraphrasing tools
Now that we've got the legalities and definitions down, I'm sure you're waiting for the list of the best paraphrasing tools available nowadays. After trying out my fair share of tools, these are my top 9:
1. Paraphrasingtool.ai
Paraphrasingtool.ai is an AI-powered writing tool that goes above and beyond rephrasing sentences and paragraphs. It boasts 30+ AI tools to streamline your writing and editing process. Among these tools, the most renowned ones are the Essay Generator, AI Article Generator, and Story Generator. You can create well-structured essays, articles with keywords, meta descriptions, and headings, and stories across various genres respectively.
To cut to the chase, its innovative rewriting tool has gained massive popularity due to its impressive range of features. The eight different paraphrasing and tone flexibility is just the start, its multiple built-in features are what set it apart from other rewriting tools.
The built-in features of Paraphrasingtool.ai are:
- Web browser for searching articles from web
- Sentence rephraser for rewriting individual sentences
- AI Editor to fine-tune the content while adding more details
- An advanced integrated thesaurus for swapping words with synonyms
- On-click audio, image-to-text and speech-to-text paraphrasing
- Free text summarizer
- Built-in plagiarism checker
2. QuillBot
If you ask me, QuillBot is an all-in-one writing tool for anyone who needs to write content regularly. Both the free and premium versions of the software come jam-packed with features other than paraphrasing, such as:
- Grammar check
- Plagiarism check
- Summarizing tool
- Synonym finder
On top of all that, the interface is easy to use and there is no learning curve with this software. Quillbot also offers extensions to work with other word processing software such as Google Docs and Microsoft Word, making it even easier to access.
Whether you use QuillBot to change the tone of your articles or simply to choose synonyms for words you feel can be written better, you'll be happy with the result.
3. Wordtune
If you're looking for more than just a tool to check your writing and paraphrase parts of it, this is an ideal option. Wordtune also helps with idea generation for copywriting and content writing. While it may not be as sophisticated in answering prompts as ChatGPT, you can expect a lot from this tool.
The following are a few of the features that Wordtune offers:
- Plagiarism check
- Sentence format suggestions
- Rephrasing
- Tone and grammar check
- Content engagement metric
4. Grammarly
Anyone who has been writing any type of content on the web has probably seen an ad for Grammarly at some point. It's not only a paraphrasing tool, but the app also offers suggestions and corrections as you type. However, you cannot paraphrase an entire paragraph by clicking a button. The app is more focused on improving writing rather than paraphrasing to avoid plagiarism.
Grammarly offers both free and paid versions and comes with many useful features. Here are a few:
- Instant grammar checker
- Paraphrasing suggestions
- Tone detection
- Database of synonyms
- Integration with Google docs
- Grammarly keyboard for mobile users
- Plagiarism checker (paid version only)
- Editing services (paid version only)
5. ChatSonic
Interested in using ChatGPT to improve your writing? ChatSonic is almost like using GPT-3. Not only does it help by rewriting the content you provide, but it also answers prompts in a conversational style to help you brainstorm.
As a paraphrasing tool, I've found ChatSonic sufficiently changes provided texts without taking away from the original context. All of the content provided by ChatSonic is run through Google search to ensure that it is factually correct, and the software is very easy to use.
Here are some other features you can expect with ChatSonic:
- AI image creation
- Conversational style content generation
- Persona mode can be used to change tone according to the target audience
- Voice controls (using Siri or Google Assistant)
- Software Integration
6. Rephrase.info
This software is an AI writer that also rephrases content by using synonyms to replace words. Blogs and articles that are rewritten are transformed into unique and professional content that can be used without worrying about plagiarism.
Rephrase.info is feature-rich paid software that works well for web content writing. Here are the main features I found useful in this tool:
- Extensive database of synonyms
- SEO optimization
- Multiple languages available
7. Duplichecker
This is a website that provides four services in one place: plagiarism checking, grammar checking, spell checking, and rewriting. Users can access and use the website for free up to 1000 words at a time.
The process is relatively quick, and I found that most results do not include mistakes such as replacing words when it makes no sense. Bloggers all over the world use Duplichecker to ensure their content is unique and engaging. Here are a few reasons why:
- Completely free plagiarism checker
- Clean and unique copywriting results
- Extensive library of content
- Excellent results
8. Spinbot
This is a free paraphrasing tool that replaces words with synonyms without changing sentence structure. Content produced by Spinbot is plagiarism-free, human-readable, and highly engaging. The entire process is automated and the service is free of charge.
Here are some of Spinbot's features:
- Easy to use, automated process
- 100% plagiarism free
- High-quality results
- Extensive database of synonyms
- Compatible with any web browser
- Free to use
9. TLDRThis
To write targeted web content, you'd want to rewrite content so that it appeals to your target readers. TLDRThis is an excellent tool for the job. After running your content through this online software, you'll get plagiarism-free content written in a style that is best suited for your readers.
I believe changing the tone of a written piece of content is the strongest feature of TLDRThis, but you may be interested to find out what else this tool has to offer:
- Ease of use
- Affordable rates
- Improved readability
- Simplifying complex content
- Summarization
Problems with using paraphrasing tools
Now that I've given you my list of the best paraphrasing tools available, you're probably thinking that they're too good to be true. If you are serious about your writing, using this type of tool might feel unethical. Even if you have permission to use paraphrasing software, here are a few problems to look out for:
- Try not to rewrite entire articles at once. Rewriting an entire essay or large bodies of text can overwhelm AI-powered tools and you will get unsatisfactory results. Smaller paragraphs or a few sentences are much easier to rewrite successfully.
- Always proofread. Even the most powerful paraphrasing tool is bound to make mistakes only a human can detect. You're likely to find that the rephrasing tool replaces some words with synonyms that make no sense. Proofreading will allow you to check for errors and fix them.
- Avoid long sentences when possible. AI has proven more successful at rewriting smaller sentences. While it is possible to rephrase a long sentence, there is a higher margin of error.
Conclusion
Using the paraphrasing tools above, you can easily write informative articles. As long as you are not breaking any laws, there is no reason to avoid using these tools to improve your content or other writing. I always recommend that you proofread any paraphrased content to check if there is any part that either doesn't make sense or isn't what you had in mind. Otherwise, paraphrasing tools have helped many people write stellar content in minutes.
Header image by Lachlan Donald.
