Chapter 17: The Adverse Effects of Paraphrasing


Let us just say that there are two sorts of poetical minds—one kind apt at inventing fables, and the other disposed to believe them.

Galileo Galilei, Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems, Translated by Stillman Drake, New York: The Modern Library Science Series, 2001, p. 488.

17.1 The Two Classes of Paraphrasing

17.1.1 The Issue

We have set aside a full chapter to deal with paraphrasing because in our experience paraphrasing trivializes the Standard—although those who tend to paraphrase believe it to be a form of simplification (i.e., minimalism). We intend to show that it is much more a form of nihilism (i.e., repudiation). For example, it is interesting to note that in those organizations where the manual has been highly paraphrased, the tendency is not to audit the manual during internal quality audits. Auditors know when something isn't worth their time and effort. In those cases, of course, the manual falls behind in its currency and relationship to enterprise reality (e.g., out-of-date organizational charts, processes, and quality objectives).

17.1.2 Classes

There are typically two classes of paraphrasing that we define as follows:

  • Class I—a direct restatement of the Standard with minor modifications;

  • Class II—a table of contents list of where to find information in the lower level documents based on a direct restatement of the Standard.




ISO 9001(c) 2000 Quality Management System Design
ISO 9001: 2000 Quality Management System Design
ISBN: 1580535267
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2003
Pages: 155

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