Paraphrasing and summarizing

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this lesson, you will be better able to:

 construct appropriate paraphrases and summaries of a source text using different techniques.
 avoid plagiarism based on the above.
 evaluate the quality of a paraphrase

TASK 1 Defining paraphrase, summary, and direct quote

In academic writing, you must be able to understand information from a source text and use it to support
your view/argument.
• Paraphrasing is writing the ideas of another person in your own words.
• A summary is a shortened version of a text written by another person. It contains the main points in
the text. It is written in your own words (paraphrase).
• A quotation or quote is an exact copy of a short piece of text written by another person. It is used to
support your ideas/statements in your writing. Use sparingly: your writing should be mainly your own
words.
• All three require citation.
Adapted from Gillet, A. (2018) “Academic writing: reporting.” Using English for Academic Purposes for Students in Higher Education [online]

What are the differences/similarities between the examples below?

Paraphrasing example:
It has long been known that Cairo is the most populous city on earth, but no one knew exactly how
populous it was until last month. Source: Sarah Smith (2004)
Paraphrase
Although Cairo has been the world's most heavily populated city for many years, the precise population
was not known until four weeks ago (Smith, 2004).
Summarizing example:
The amphibia, which is the animal class to which our frogs and toads belong, were the first animals to crawl
from the sea and inhabit the earth. Source: Sarah Smith (2004)
Summary:
The first animals to leave the sea and live on dry land were the amphibia (Smith, 2004).
Quotation example:
It has long been known that Cairo is the most populous city on earth, but no one knew exactly how
populous it was until last month. Source: Sarah Smith (2004)
Quote:
Many studies have been done on the size of the population of Cairo, but some of these results have only
been confirmed relatively recently, as Smith (2004) states ‘no-one knew exactly how populous it was until
last month’ (pp 251).
Adapted from Gillet, A. (2018) “Academic writing: reporting.” Using English for Academic Purposes for Students in Higher Education [online]

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 Paraphrasing and summarizing
Task 2 (A) Understanding Paraphrasing and summarising
Original text
Language is the main means of communication between people. But so many different languages have
developed that language has often been a barrier rather than an aid to understanding among peoples. For
many years, people have dreamed of setting up an international universal language, which all people could
speak and understand. The arguments in favour of a universal language are simple and obvious. If all
peoples spoke the same tongue, cultural and economic ties might be much closer, and good will might
increase between countries (Kispert) 1.
Paraphrase
Humans communicate through language. Because there are so many different languages, however, people
around the world have a difficult time understanding one another. Some people have wished for a universal
international language that speakers all over the world could understand. Their reasons are straightforward
and clear. A universal language would build cultural and economic bonds. It would also create better
feelings among countries (Kispert) 1

1. How many sentences are there in the original passage? In the paraphrase?
2. Compare the original passage and the paraphrase sentence by sentence. Analyse how the
sentence structure and words differ by answering the following questions.
a. What is the first word in the first sentence in the original passage?
Where does this word appear in the first sentence in the paraphrase?
b. What is the first word of the second sentence in the original passage?
What word replaces it in the second sentence of the paraphrase?
c. What words replace have dreamed of in the third sentence?
d. What word replaces argument in favour of in the fourth sentence?
e. Which sentence in the original becomes two sentences in the paraphrase?
Task 2(B)
Compare the original text above with the paraphrase and the summary below:
Paraphrase (63 words, about the same length of the original)
Humans communicate through language. Because there are so many different languages, however, people
around the world have a difficult time understanding one another. Some people have wished for a universal
international language that speakers all over the world could understand. Their reasons are straightforward
and clear. A universal language would build cultural and economic bonds. It would also create better
feelings among countries (Kispert).
Summary (28 words, much shorter)
People communicate through language; however, different languages create communication barriers. A
universal language could bring countries together culturally and economically as well as increase good
feelings among them (Kispert) 1.
1. How many sentences are there in the original passage, the paraphrase, the summary?
2. Compare the paraphrase and the summary. What details were left out of the summary?
Adapted from (Oshima & Hogue (2006), Writing Academic English, fourth edition, Pearson Education Inc.

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 Paraphrasing and summarizing
TASK 3 Understanding steps for summarizing/paraphrasing
One way to summarise is using the N.O.W. method, but we can break it down into guidelines that are more
detailed. Look at the steps below for summarizing and paraphrasing a text:
1. Read and understand the text carefully.
2. Think about the purpose of the text.
a. Ask what the author's purpose is in writing the text?
b. What is your purpose in writing your summary?
c. Are you summarising to support your points?
d. Or are you summarising so you can criticise the work before you introduce your main points?
3. Select the relevant information. This depends on your purpose.
4. Find the main ideas - what is important.
a. They may be found in topic sentences.
b. Distinguish between main and subsidiary information.
c. Delete most details and examples, unimportant information, anecdotes, examples,
illustrations, data, etc.
d. Find alternative words/synonyms for these words/phrases - do not change specialised
vocabulary and common words.
5. Change the structure of the text.
a. Identify the meaning relationships between the words/ideas - e.g. cause/effect,
generalisation, contrast. Express these relationships in a different way.
b. Change the grammar of the text: rearrange words and sentences. Change nouns to verbs,
adjectives to adverbs, etc., break up long sentences, combine short sentences.
c. Simplify the text. Reduce complex sentences to simple sentences, simple sentences to
phrases, phrases to single words.
6. Rewrite the main ideas in complete sentences. Combine your notes into a piece of continuous
writing. Use conjunctions and adverbs such as 'therefore', 'however', 'although', 'since', to show the
connections between the ideas.
7. Check your work.
a. Is the purpose clear?
b. Is the meaning the same?
c. Is the style/wording your own?
d. Have you acknowledged the source?
Adapted from Gillet, A. (2018) “Academic writing: reporting.” Using English for Academic Purposes for Students in Higher Education [online]

Now look at an example of a text that has been summarized by a student writer. The main ideas have been
highlighted.
Using the questions in step 7, check the final summary against the original.
o Has this student summarized effectively?
The birth of a volcanic island is an event marked by prolonged and violent travail: the forces of
the earth striving to create, and all the forces of the sea opposing. At the place where the formation of such
an island begins, the sea floor is probably nowhere more than about fifty miles thick. In it are deep cracks
and fissures, the results of unequal cooling and shrinkage in past ages. Along such lines of weakness, the
molten lava from the earth's interior presses up and finally bursts forth into the sea. But a submarine
volcano is different from a terrestrial eruption, where the lava, molten rocks, and gases are hurled into the
air from an open crater. Here on the bottom of the ocean the volcano has resisting it all the weight of the
ocean water above it. Despite the immense pressure of, it may be two or three miles of seawater, the
new volcanic cone builds upwards towards the surface, in flow after flow of lava. Once within reach of the
waves, its soft ash is violently attacked by the motion of the water, which continually washes away its upper
surface, so that for a long period the potential island may remain submerged. But eventually, in new
eruptions, the cone is pushed up into the air, where the lava hardens and forms a rampart against the
attacks of the waves. (Source = Arnold Smith, 2005)
Student’s notes:
o island formation: earth versus sea.
o where? sea bed, not more 50 miles thick, cracked and uneven.
o weak   lava bursts through.
o c.f. land volcano: no sea pressure
o how? lava cone pushes upwards
o surface - washed away by waves   submerged

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 Paraphrasing and summarizing
o lava hardens   island
Summary:
A volcanic island is born only after a long and violent struggle between the forces of the earth and the sea.
It begins to form when hot lava breaks through a cracked and uneven part of the seabed where the earth's
crust is weak. Unlike the land volcano, it has to build upwards despite the immense water-pressure until it
finally reaches the surface. Even then it is too soft to withstand the waves and remains underwater until the
cone is pushed into the air from below and the lava becomes solid (Smith, 2005).
Adapted from Gillet, A. (2018) “Academic writing: reporting.” Using English for Academic Purposes for Students in Higher Education [online]

TASK 4 Avoiding plagiarism

Plagiarism means taking ideas/words from a source without recognising the author. In academic situations,
it is important for all students to understand plagiarism and how to avoid it.
A. Read these situations:

o Discuss with a partner if they are plagiarism or not (Y/N)

o Is this the same in your country or different?

Situation Plagiarism
? Y/N

1 Copying a paragraph, but changing a few words and giving a citation.

2 Cutting and pasting a short article from a website, with no citation.
3 Taking two paragraphs from a classmate’s essay, without citation.
4 Taking a graph from a textbook, giving the source.
5 Taking a quotation from a source, giving a citation but not using quotation
marks.
6 Using something that you think of as general knowledge (e.g. the ownership
of mobile phones is increasing worldwide).
7 Using a paragraph from an essay you wrote and had marked the previous
semester, without citation.
8 Using the results of your own research (e.g. from a survey you did), without
citation.
9 Discussing an essay topic with a group of classmates and using some of
their ideas in your own work.
10 Giving a citation for some information but misspelling the author’s name.
Adapted from Bailey, S. (2015) Academic writing: a handbook for international students (4th ed.). Routledge: NY

TASK 5 Analysing quality of paraphrases

When reporting ideas from sources, it is important to keep in mind the criteria for an effective paraphrase.
Paraphrases should:
✓ Have a different structure from the original
✓ Have mainly different vocabulary
✓ Retain the same meaning
✓ Keep specialised vocabulary/jargon or phrases from the original where there is no synonym.

A. Read the text on the Industrial Revolution and the three paraphrases.
o Put them in order from best to worst, based on the criteria above
o Compare answers and discuss with a partner

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 Paraphrasing and summarizing

Original: The causes of the Industrial Revolution

Allen (2009) argues that the best explanation for the British location of the Industrial Revolution is found by
studying demand factors. By the early 18th century, high wages and cheap energy were both features of the
British economy. Consequently, the mechanisation of industry through such inventions as the steam engine
and mechanical spinning was profitable because employers were able to economise on labour by spending
on coal. At that time, no other country had this particular combination of expensive labour and abundant
fuel.

Paraphrases:

Paraphrase Order (1 best-3 worst)

a A focus on demand may help to explain the UK origin of the industrial
revolution. At that time, workers’ pay was high, but energy from coal
was inexpensive. This encouraged the development of mechanical
inventions based on steam power, which enabled bosses to save
money by mechanising production (Allen, 2009).
b The reason why Britain was the birthplace of the industrial revolution
can be understood by analysing demand in the early 1700s, according
to Allen (2009). He maintains that, uniquely, Britain had the critical
combination of cheap energy from coal and high labour costs. This
encouraged the adoption of steam power to mechanise production,
thus saving on wages and increasing profitability.
c Allen (2009) claims that the clearest explanation for the UK location of
the Industrial revolution is seen by examining demand factors. By the
eighteenth century, cheap mechanisation of industry through
inventions such as the steam engine and mechanical spinning was
profitable because employers were able to save money on employees
by spending on coal. At that time, Britain was the only country with
significant deposits of coal.

Adapted from Bailey, S. (2015) Academic writing: a handbook for international students (4th edn). Routledge: NY

Self-study/ the following links are suggested for extra reading:

- https://ori.hhs.gov/examples-paraphrasing-good-and-bad

- https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/lets/design/unfair/constitute

- UoS Library Plagiarism tutorial:

- http://www.librarydevelopment.group.shef.ac.uk/storyline/referencing/understanding_plagiarism/und
erstandingplagiarism%20-%20Storyline%20output/story_html5.html

Examples of various expressions

People do physical exercise everyday to lose weight and become fit. (Original)

Practising daily makes people fit and healthy.                         Nominalisation

If people practise daily, they become fit and healthy.            Conditional sentence

Physical exercise (practising) is done daily to gain health and fitness.    The passive 

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 Paraphrasing and summarizing
People who practise daily become fit and healthy.         Relative pronouns (clauses)