The Paraphrasing Tool is a feature of Wikipedia that allows editors to create new articles based on existing ones.
The Paraphrasing Tool is a feature of Wikipedia that allows editors to create new articles based on existing ones. This can be used for a variety of reasons, from improving upon existing articles to creating an entirely new article from scratch. The tool was created in 2012 by software engineer and Wikipedian Steve Smith, who had been working on the site since 2005. The tool was initially met with some criticism, as many editors were concerned about plagiarism and copyright infringement. However, the tool has since become one of the most popular features on Wikipedia and continues to be used today.
How does the Paraphrasing Tool work?
Using the Paraphrasing Tool is very simple. All you have to do is copy an existing article into your clipboard, paste it into the box provided and click “Paraphrase”. The tool will then look at all of the sentences in your text and suggest ways you could rephrase them so that they match up with similar sentences in other articles. It will also provide suggestions for any terms or phrases that are not yet defined in Wikipedia.
What is its purpose?
“There are many reasons why someone might want to use this.”
- Improving an existing article: Many times people will come across an article they feel could be improved upon or expanded upon.
- Creating a stub: Sometimes people just want to get started writing about something but don’t know where to start.
- Creating a new article from scratch: Sometimes people want to write about something that doesn’t already exist on Wikipedia.
