PARAPHRASING AND

SUMMARISING
INTRODUCTION

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)
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
ORIGINAL TEXT (45 words)
Traditionally, in oral and written
communication, the masculine pronoun 'he'
was used as a pronoun to refer to a
person whose gender was unknown or
irrelevant to the context. Recently, this
usage has come under criticism for
supporting gender-based stereotypes
and is increasingly considered
inappropriate (Smith, 2010, p. 24).
ACCEPTABLE PARAPHRASED TEXT
(54 words)
If the gender of a person was not known
or was unimportant to the meaning of
oral or written texts, it was customary to
use the masculine form of 'he' when a
pronoun was required; however, there has
been growing concern about this practice
in modern usage because it appears to
be gender-biased(Smith, 2010, p. 24).
ASSESS YOUR PARAPHRASE

The MEANING is the same.

Most of the words have been changed.
The sentences have been significantly restructured.
This is about the same length as the original writing
The information is correctly referenced.
LET’S PRACTICE!
 PARAPHRASE THE
FOLLOWİNG:
• Today, people are worried about internet security.
• Advocates of internet tracking believe that it helps marketers to
understand what people want.
• People who oppose internet tracking believe that it is an
invasion of privacy.
• This information age will cause more and more people to
become concerned with the level of personal detail that can be
found from the Internet.
 VARİATİONS:
• Today, people are worried about internet security.
- How secure the Internet is a topic of concern for users,
nowadays.
- It bothers people to think about internet security these
days.
- It’s bothering to think about internet security nowadays.
VARİATİONS:

 Advocates of internet tracking believe that it

helps marketers to understand what people want.
- Those who support internet tracking maintain that it
makes it easier for marketers to have an idea about
people’s demands.
VARİATİONS:
People who oppose internet tracking believe that it is an
invasion of privacy.
- Opponents of internet tracking think that it disrecpects
privacy.
- Opposers to internet tracking claim that this is intervening
with people’s private lives.
VARİATİONS:

This information age will cause more and more

people to become concerned about the level of
personal detail that can be found from the Internet.
- Even more people will be worried about how
much of their personal information can be tracked
on the Internet in this information age.
TO SUMMARISE INFORMATION
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.

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 (99 words) ACCEPTABLE SUMMARISED TEXT (30 words)

“For most people, writing is an extremely difficult Inexperienced and even skilled writers
task as they have to think of new ideas and new can feel a great deal of torture when
ways of looking at them. Sitting down to write can
be an agonising experience, which doesn't
faced with writing tasks; however, this
necessarily get easier with the passing of time response can be managed by having
and the accumulation of experience. For this coping strategies and stop
reason you need to reflect upon and analyse your procrastinating. (Taylor, 1989, p. 3).
own reactions to the task of writing. That is to say,
the task will become more manageable if you
learn how to cope using your own particular ways,
avoiding putting off the moment when you must
put pen to paper” (Taylor 1989, p. 3).
ASSESS YOUR SUMMARY

The MEANING is the same.

The summary keeps the degree of certainty of the writer.
This is a much shorter version of the original writing.
The source(s) of information is/are clearly referenced.
LET’S PRACTICE!
PRACTICE
Summarizing nursery rhymes.

Directions
1. We will read each nursery rhyme.
2. Summarize the nursery rhyme in as few words as possible.
3. Include key information.
4. We will discuss our answers.
1
The itsy bitsy spider
Climbed up the water spout
Down came the rain and
Washed the spider out
Up came the sun and
Dried up all the rain
And the itsy bitsy spider
Climbed up the spout again.
2
Humpty Dumpty
Sat on a wall.
Humpty Dumpty
Had a great fall.

All the King's horses

And all the King's men
Couldn't put Humpty
Together again.
 3
Little Miss Muffet
Sat on a tuffet,
Eating some curds and whey.

Along came a spider

Who sat down beside her
And frightened Miss Muffet away.
EXAMPLE ANSWERS
1. A spider fell but got up again.
2. Humpty Dumpty fell and was irreparably broke.
3. A spider scared away a girl.
 TRY SUMMARIZING THIS!
A penny for your thoughts? If it’s a 1943
copper penny, it could be worth as much as fifty
thousand dollars. In 1943, most pennies were
made out of steel since copper was needed for
World War II, so, the 1943 copper penny is ultra
rare. Another rarity is the 1955 double-die
penny. These pennies were mistakenly double
stamped, so they have overlapping dates and
letters. If it’s uncirculated, it’d easily fetch
$25,000 at an auction. Now, that’s a pretty
penny!
Incorrect Example Response 1

This text is about pennies.

 This response is too short.

 It does not include key ideas.

INCORRECT EXAMPLE RESPONSE 2

The 1943 copper penny is worth a lot of money. Copper was hard
to get during the war so there aren’t many of them. The 1955
double die penny is worth a lot too. These pennies were
stamped twice on accident.

 Too much unnecessary stuff.

 Main idea is not clear.
CORRECT EXAMPLE RESPONSE
This text is about two very rare and valuable
pennies: the 1943 copper penny and the 1955
double die penny.

Includes key information.

Doesn’t include unnecessary information
Is a complete sentence.
THANK YOU