What can constitute plagiarism when paraphrasing another author's work?

The correct answer is that failing to sufficiently modify the original material can constitute plagiarism when paraphrasing another author’s work. Paraphrasing does not simply involve changing a few words or rearranging sentences; it requires a significant transformation of the original text into a new expression that reflects the author's understanding and voice while retaining the original meaning.

If the paraphrase is too close to the original language or structure without enough modification, it is considered insufficiently original, and thus, could be viewed as plagiarism. This means the work is not genuinely reinterpreted, and it violates the ethical standards of giving appropriate credit and creating a new voice in the academic or creative landscape.

In contrast, using just a few synonyms in each sentence does not adequately transform the text; merely substituting words or phrases while retaining the same overall structure can easily lead to issues of plagiarism. Adding one's own insights without proper citation represents a different concern, which is the failure to give credit for ideas rather than how the original text was modified. Lastly, substituting one or two words and attributing them correctly does not pose a risk of plagiarism as long as it incorporates appropriate citations and a genuine reworking of the concepts being discussed.