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Summarizing and Paraphrasing AECC English Summarizing

The document discusses summarizing and paraphrasing texts. Summarizing involves creating a brief overview of the key points of a text in your own words, usually around one-third the length of the original. It leaves out details and simplifies complex arguments. Paraphrasing rewrites parts of a text using different words while maintaining the original meaning. Both techniques involve carefully reading the text, identifying important information, condensing or simplifying sentences, and ensuring logical connections between ideas. The main difference is that summarizing focuses on the overall content while paraphrasing is used to incorporate specific parts of others' works.

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Neeraj Sharma
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74 views4 pages

Summarizing and Paraphrasing AECC English Summarizing

The document discusses summarizing and paraphrasing texts. Summarizing involves creating a brief overview of the key points of a text in your own words, usually around one-third the length of the original. It leaves out details and simplifies complex arguments. Paraphrasing rewrites parts of a text using different words while maintaining the original meaning. Both techniques involve carefully reading the text, identifying important information, condensing or simplifying sentences, and ensuring logical connections between ideas. The main difference is that summarizing focuses on the overall content while paraphrasing is used to incorporate specific parts of others' works.

Uploaded by

Neeraj Sharma
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Summarizing and Paraphrasing

AECC English

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. short sections of text (e.g. phrases, sentences)
b. longer sections of text (e.g. a paragraph)
c. information that explains tables or figures.
● 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


Summarizing is used; Paraphrasing is used​;

● When only the main ideas of the ● When another writer’s work has to be

writer are to be identified. used.

● When only an overview of the whole ● When quotes are not used in the text.

work is required.

● When simplification is required. ● When the ideas have a greater

relevance than the style of writing.

● When only the main highlights of the ● When you want to simplify the work

work have to be mentioned. of another person.

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