Paraphrasing and summarising
Writing information in your own words is a highly acceptable way to include the ideas of
other people in your writing. There are two ways you can do this: paraphrasing and
summarising. It is very important, however, to paraphrase and summarise correctly because
there is a fine balance between acceptable and unacceptable paraphrasing and summarising
(plagiarism). You need to learn the rules so you are able:
1. To paraphrase information
2. To summarise information
1. To paraphrase information
To paraphrase is to rewrite something using different words without changing the original
meaning. This is what is usually meant by the phrase ‘in your own words’. The paraphrase
should be clearer and more easily understood than the original and is often about the same
length. Paraphrases are a good alternative to using direct quotations.
In your writing, you may make a paraphrase of:
short sections of text (e.g. phrases, sentences)
longer sections of text (e.g. a paragraph)
information that explains tables or figures.
STEPS FOR PARAPHRASING
1. Read the text carefully. Underline, or note, any important subject-specific words.
2. Look up any difficult words, and try to find synonyms for them.
3. Try to find different ways of expressing the information in the groups of words
(phrases).
4. Rewrite each sentence. Try to simplify the sentence structure and the vocabulary
without changing
the meaning.
5. Put your text out of sight and write your paraphrase from memory.
6. Revise what you have written, comparing it to the original. Your paraphrase should
clarify the
original, but be written clearly in your own words.
7. Do not forget to use an in-text reference at the start or end of your paraphrase.
EXAMPLE OF CORRECTLY PARAPHRASED INFORMATION
Traditionally, in oral and written discourses, If the gender of a person was not known or
the masculine pronoun 'he' was used as a was unimportant to the meaning of oral or
pronoun to refer to a person whose gender was written texts, it was customary to use the
unknown or irrelevant to the context. masculine form of 'he' when a pronoun was
Recently, this usage has come under criticism required; however, there has been growing
for supporting gender-based stereotypes and is concern about this practice in modern usage
increasingly considered inappropriate (Smith, because it appears to privilege stereotypes
2010, p. 24). based on gender (Smith, 2010, p. 24).
2. To summarise information
Many assignments are accompanied by a compulsory and/or suggested reading list. No doubt
you have often wondered how your 2 000 or so word assignment could possibly incorporate
all those resources that are meant to inform your writing. Summaries of material may be used
to give an overview of the work of one or more authors, so they are much shorter than the
original text. Because they are very brief outlines of arguments made, they are very useful
when you want to indicate the support given for and/or against some position you are taking
in your argument.
In your writing you may make a summary from:
one or more paragraphs
an entire article, chapter or complete work
a combination of readings with similar ideas.
STEPS FOR SUMMARISING
1. If you are reading longer texts (e.g. a chapter, a journal article), skim read the
information. Note sub-headings, the first and last paragraphs and topic sentences.
2. Read the text carefully using a dictionary.
3. Reread a difficult text several times.
4. Write notes in point form using key words and ideas.
5. Put your text away and write your summary from your notes.
6. Refer back to the original to make sure that your summary truly reflects the writer's
ideas and
strength of opinion (degree of certainty on this topic).
7. Do not forget to use an in-text reference at the start or end of your summary.
EXAMPLE OF CORRECTLY SUMMARISED INFORMATION
ORIGINAL TEXT ACCEPTABLE SUMMARISED TEXT
“For most people, writing is an extremely difficult Inexperienced and even skilled writers
task if they are trying to grapple in their language can feel a great deal of anguish when
with new ideas and new ways of looking at them. faced with writing tasks; however, this
Sitting down to write can be an agonising response can be managed by
experience, which doesn't necessarily get easier with recognising and coping with personal
the passage of time and the accumulation of avoidance strategies (Taylor, 1989, p.
experience. For this reason you need to reflect upon
and analyse your own reactions to the task of
writing. That is to say, the task will become more
manageable if you learn how to cope with your own 3).
particular ways avoiding putting off the moment
when you must put pen to paper” (Taylor 1989, p.
3).
Summarizing
● It is very difficult to remember the complete contents of long
texts. For that reason it is often advisable to make notes of
essential information in the text. A summary is a brief overview
of an entire discussion or argument. You might summarize a
whole research paper or conversation in a single paragraph, for
example, or with a series of bullet points, using your own words
and style.
● People often summarize when the original material is long,
or to emphasize key facts or points. Summaries leave out detail
or examples that may distract the reader from the most
important information, and they simplify complex arguments,
grammar and vocabulary.
● The result is a short outline of the text containing all its
important aspects. The length of the summary largely depends
on the density of the text. The average length of a good
summary is about one-third of the original text, but summaries
of detailed texts may be longer.
● The following steps can be taken when summarizing a text:
Step 1:
Familiarize yourself with the material: After you have read
the text or a section of it, you can start summarizing. The
length of the section you can easily read through at a
time, in an attempt to summarize the text in parts,
depends on the structure and the complexity of the text.
With reports, it is often a good idea to read one section
and then summarize. Newspaper articles are often best
read as a whole before starting with the summary.
Step 2:
Select important information: You should go through each
paragraph,
sentence by sentence, asking yourself which information
is absolutely essential to the argument. You should write
down complete sentences as much as possible. Jot
down your points clearly or you will have to read the original
text all over again. An alternative is to underline or highlight
important sentences or phrases.
Step 3:
You should try to condense long and complex sentences
into much shorter ones. Use active sentences as much as
possible and avoid adjuncts. Practise economy with words.
Avoid descriptions if they can be summarized in one word. For
example, do not write ‘The state exclusively controls and
possesses the trade in stamps’, but write ‘The state
monopolizes the trade in stamps.’
Step 4:
Insert links between sentences and paragraphs: Make sure
that the connection between sentences is clear and logical and
that each group of sentences smoothly fits in one paragraph.
This can be done by inserting link words such as therefore,
nevertheless, but, however, because, on the other hand, etc.
Sentences can also be linked by relative pronouns, for example,
who, which, whose, and that. Using the correct links means that
your summary becomes more logical and coherent.
Step 5:
Adjust the length of the summary: If you have to write a
summary as part of an assignment and you are assigned a
maximum number of words, count the words after writing it
out. Depending on whether your word count exceeds or falls
below the given number, you can leave out unessential
information or add important information.
Paraphrasing
● To paraphrase, or paraphrasing, is to rewrite something
using different words without changing the original meaning.
This is what is usually meant by the phrase ‘in your own words’.
● The paraphrase should be clearer and more easily
understood than the original and is often about the same
length. Paraphrases are a good alternative to using direct
quotations.
● In your writing, you may make a paraphrase of:
a. shortsectionsoftext(e.g.phrases,sentences) b. longer sections
of text (e.g. a paragraph)
c. informationthatexplainstablesorfigures.
● The following steps can be taken when summarizing a text:
Step 1- Read the text carefully. Underline, or note, any
important subject-specific words.
Step 2 - Look up any difficult words, and try to find synonyms
for them.
Step 3 - Try to find different ways of expressing the information
in the groups of words (phrases).
Step 4 - Rewrite each sentence. Try to simplify the sentence
structure and the vocabulary without changing the meaning.
Step 5 - Put your text out of sight and write your paraphrase
from memory.
Step 6 - Revise what you have written, comparing it to the
original. Your paraphrase should clarify the original, but be
written clearly in your own words.
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SUMMARIZING AND
PARAPHRASING
Paraphrasing is used;
Summarizing is used;
● When another writer’s work has
● When only the main ideas of the
to be used.
writer are to be identified.
● When quotes are not used in the
● When only an overview of the
text.
whole work is required.
● When the ideas have a greater
● When simplification is required.
relevance than the style of writing.
● When only the main highlights of
● When you want to simplify the
the work have to be mentioned.
work of another person.
