ENHANCING PARAPHRASING SKILLS FOR THE FIRST-YEAR STUDENTS AT HANOI OPEN UNIVERSITY

Abstract

Paraphrasing is a core component of academic writing and a fundamental requirement for avoiding plagiarism and demonstrating academic literacy. However, first-year students at Hanoi Open University often struggle with paraphrasing because of limited lexical resources, overreliance on word-for-word translation, and insufficient awareness of source-integration conventions. This study investigates the effectiveness of a strategy-based instructional intervention designed to enhance students’ paraphrasing competence. Using a quasi-experimental design, 100 first-year English-major students were divided into control and experimental groups. The experimental group received explicit training in paraphrasing strategies, including lexical substitution, syntactic transformation, idea restructuring, and citation techniques over an eight-week instructional period. Data were collected through pre- and post-tests, analytic writing rubrics, and student perception questionnaires. Results indicate significant improvement in the experimental group in lexical variation, grammatical restructuring, and reduced dependence on the source text. Students also reported increased confidence and awareness of academic integrity. The findings suggest that systematic instruction grounded in academic literacy theory can substantially improve paraphrasing performance among EFL freshmen. Pedagogical implications for academic writing courses in Vietnamese higher education are discussed.