paraphasing & summarizing

• Paraphrasing


  Using your own words to express somebody else's ideas, while keeping the ideas and meaning of the original source
• Paraphrasing vs Quoting


  Paraphrasing is an alternative to quoting, where you copy someone's exact words and put them in quotation marks
• Paraphrasing


  • Requires a detailed understanding of the source
  • Aims to capture more details than a simple summary
  • Every time you paraphrase, it's important that you cite the source
• Summarizing


  • Reduces a text to its main idea and necessary information
  • Reduces text to 1/4 or 1/3 of its original size
  • Involves stating a work or thesis and main ideas simply, briefly, and accurately
  • Talks about key ideas only
  • Gives a concise overview of a text's main points in your own words
• Basic rules for summarizing

  1. Erase things that don't matter

  2. Write down only important points

  3. Erase items that repeat

  4. Change general terms into specific terms

  5. Use your own words to write your summary
• What you need in a summary

  • Accuracy - Did you report the author's ideas accurately?
  • Emphasis - Did you include all the main ideas or key points?
  • Readability - Did you write it in an easy-to-understand paragraph form?
  • Your own words - Did you mostly used your words and put all of the author's words in quotation marks?
• What to avoid when writing a summary

  • Repetition of similar ideas
  • Minor details - examples, anecdotes, descriptions, statistics, dialogue
  • Direct quotes (unless there is no other way to give the information)
  • Digression from the main points
  • Your own personal opinion
• Paraphrasing vs Summarizing


  Paraphrasing can be shorter or longer than the original sentence, describes the original text in different words, and shares a specific portion of a source

  Summarizing is shorter than the original text, does not include details/examples/supporting points, and shares an entire source at once
• Summarizing and paraphrasing are often used in tandem
• Common types of paraphrasing

  • Changing parts of speech - nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs interchange

  Changing the sentence structure - change the sentence structure from passive voice to active voice

  Replace words with synonyms - simplest form
• Techniques in summarizing

  Outlining - an outline is a map of an essay, showing what information each section or paragraph will contain and in what order

  Somebody, Wanted, But, So, Then - each word represents a key question related to a text's essential elements

  SAAC method - State the name of the article/book/movie, Assign the name of the author, Action - what is the author doing?, Complete the sentences or summary with keywords and important details

  5Ws, 1H - Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How - these questions make it easy to identify the main character, important details, and main idea

  First, Then, Finally - this technique helps summarize events or steps in chronological order or in sequence