This is the continuation of Intro to Research.

We have already established why researchers need the skill of summarizing and paraphrasing.

Summarizing
A summary should be a short version of a longer original source. Its main goal is to present a large
amount of information in a short and concise text that includes only the most important ideas of the
original text.

Example

1) Original sentence:
“The movement toward education by computer is developing fast. Massive Open Online
Courses, called MOOCs, are changing how people learn in many places. For years, people
could receive study materials from colleges or universities and take part in online classes. But
such classes were not designed for many thousands of students at one time, as MOOCs are.”
(MOOCS Are Moving Forward, Voice of America, learningenglish.voanews.com)

Now, which of the two versions is better?

a) Voice of America website: Computer education is growing fast. MOOCs are influencing how we
study. People received materials from universities for a long time to be able to take classes
online. MOOCs are the only ones thousands can take at a time.

b) According to a Voice of America article, a fast-growing MOOCs movement allows thousands to

take online classes at once, changing how we learn.

(Correct answer: b)
Why? It’s a lot shorter – about 50 percent shorter - but contains the most important information.

2) Original Sentence:
User feedback of a pilot installation comparing commercial luminaires with the newly
developed streetlight revealed that on average the users preferred the developed streetlight
over the commercial luminaires. (Juntunen et al, 2013)

Answer:
Users showed preference for the developed streetlights over the commercial ones (Juntunen et
al, 2013).

3) One important issue with concrete is its durability and long-term performance in non-ideal service
environment. Concrete often suffers from physical, chemical and biological attack, resulting in a severe
degradation and deterioration of mechanical and structural properties and hence a reduced service
life. (Sigfried et al., 2001)

a) The effect of degradation and deterioration through chemical and physical reaction, concrete
reduces its service life. (Sigfried et al., 2001)

b) Durability and long-term performance is one of the issues on concrete that causes a severe
degradation and deterioration of mechanical and structural properties resulting to a reduced
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service life. (Sigfried et al., 2001)

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c) Unfavorable environment conditions reduce the service life of concrete (Sigfried et al., 2001).

Answer: c
 Paraphrasing
Steps in Paraphrasing
1. Understand first the text as a whole. Read, read, and read until you understood it 100 percent.
2. Think of what "your own words" would be if you were telling someone who's unfamiliar with your subject.
3. Change the structure of the original sentence. (Do not just replace few words with synonyms. This is called
substitution not paraphrasing. Structure refers to the pattern or arrangement of the words/ideas.)
Begin by starting at a different place in the passage or sentence.

Examples:

1) Some argue that the approximately 11 million undocumented immigrants in the United States ought
to receive a path to US citizenship, while others claim that these immigrants need to be deported
back to their home countries. (Swane, 2009)

Which of these is the best paraphrase?

a. Some say that the 11 million undocumented immigrants in the United States ought to receive a
way for citizenship, while other people say that the immigrants should go back to their countries.
(Swane, 2009)

b. Although some individuals maintain that undocumented immigrants should go back to their
countries, others defend these immigrants’ right for a path to citizenship (Swane, 2009).

Answer: b

The appropriate paraphrase (b) uses a different structure for the sentence, and most words are different
from the original.

The inappropriate paraphrase (a) is too close to the original sentence. Several words are the same and
the complex structure of the sentence is the same. Deleting some words from the original sentence is
not enough to write an appropriate paraphrase.

2) Of the more than 1000 bicycling deaths each year, three-fourths are caused by head injuries.
Wearing a bike helmet can reduce the risk of head injury by 85 percent. In an accident, a bike
helmet absorbs the shock and cushions the head. (Shepherd, 2010)

a) Head injuries which lead to 75 percent of the 1000 bicycling deaths annually can be prevented
by wearing a helmet. (Shepherd, 2010) .

b) Deaths resulting from head injuries can be reduced by 85 percent by wearing a helmet
(Shepherd, 2010).

Ans: b

Important Note: In most cases, a researcher has to do both summarizing and paraphrasing at the same
time.
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Other Examples:

1) Concrete has become the most widely used construction material in the world since the nineteenth
century with the development of industrially produced Portland cement. Distinct advantages such as
easy casting, high compressive strength and good fire resistance make it the first choice for buildings,
especially large-scale constructions and infrastructures. (McKing, 2015)

Answer: Since the nineteenth century, people preferred to use concrete due to its strengths such as
high compressive strength, easy casting, and good fire resistance (McKing, 2015).

2) The service life of concrete is shortened by unfavorable environmental factors such as physical,
chemical, and biological, attacks (Sigfried et al., 2001).

Answer: Concrete is vulnerable to unfavorable environmental factors that cause mechanical and
structural deterioration (Sigfried et al., 2001).

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 ENGLISH 7 QUIZ
A. Paraphrase the sentence below using author-focused and idea-focused approach.

Reinforced concrete (RC) structures usually undergo deteriorations and the damages due to
deteriorations eventually cause the structural safety problems although they have been used showing
good structural and durability performance. (Sang-Soon Park, Yun Kim, Byung Jae Lee, published in
2014)

Answer

Author-focused citation
According to Park, Kim, and Lee (2014), even reinforced buildings with sound structure and strength
are threatened by natural decline.

Idea focused citation

Even reinforced buildings with sound structure and strength are threatened by natural decline (Park,
Kim, & Lee,2014).

Chronology focused citation

In 2014, _____________

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Summarize the conclusion below.

So far, bacterially induced CaCO3 precipitation is mainly applied for concrete surface protection and
crack remediation. Biogenic CaCO3 functions as a surface coating or crack sealing material, which
greatly decreases concrete permeability and the penetration of corrosive substances, and hence an
improved concrete durability can be obtained. Furthermore, bacterial cells can also be added directly
inside the concrete matrix to improve the fresh properties and mechanical properties of concrete.
Compared to conventional materials for concrete maintenance, biogenic CaCO3 has the distinct
advantages of environment friendliness and excellent compatibility with the concrete matrix. Promising
results obtained at this stage are attracting more and more attention of researchers and civil engineers
for further optimization and upscaling. (Meyers, 2016)

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