importance of summarizing and paraphrasing

Summarizing and Paraphrasing in Academic Writing

“It’s none of their business that you have to learn to write. Let them think you were born that way.” – Ernest Hemingway

Plato considers art (and therefore writing) as being mimetic in nature. Writing in all forms and for all kinds of audience involves thorough research. Often, there is a grim possibility that an idea you considered novel has already been adequately explored; however, this also means there are multiple perspectives to explore now and thereby to learn from.

Being inspired by another’s idea opens up a world of possibilities and thus several ways to incorporate and assimilate them in writing, namely, paraphrasing , summarizing, and quoting . However, mere incorporation does not bring writing alive and make it appealing to readers . The incorporation of various ideas must reflect the writer’s understanding and interpretation of them as well.

What is Quoting, Paraphrasing, and Summarizing in Academic Writing?

Purdue OWL defines these devices of representation quite succinctly:

Therefore, paraphrasing and summarizing consider broader segments of the main text, while quotations are brief segments of a source. Further, paraphrasing involves expressing the ideas presented from a particular part of a source (mostly a passage) in a condensed manner, while summarizing involves selecting a broader part of a source (for example, a chapter in a book or an entire play) and stating the key points. In spite of subtle variations in representation, all three devices when employed must be attributed to the source to avoid plagiarism .

Related: Finished drafting your manuscript? Check these resources to avoid plagiarism now!

Why is it Important to Quote, Paraphrase, and Summarize?

Quotations, paraphrases, and summaries serve the purpose of providing evidence to sources of your manuscript. It is important to quote, paraphrase, and summarize for the following reasons:

• It adds credibility to your writing
• It helps in tracking the original source of your research
• Delivers several perspectives on your research subject

Quotations/Quoting

Quotations are exact representations of a source, which can either be a written one or spoken words. Quotes imbue writing with an authoritative tone and can provide reliable and strong evidence. However, quoting should be employed sparingly to support and not replace one’s writing.

How Do You Quote?

• Ensure that direct quotes are provided within quotation marks and properly cited
• A Long quote of three or more lines can be set-off as a blockquote (this often has more impact)
• Short quotes usually flow better when integrated within a sentence

Paraphrasing

Paraphrasing is the manner of presenting a text by altering certain words and phrases of a source while ensuring that the paraphrase reflects proper understanding of the source. It can be useful for personal understanding of complex concepts and explaining information present in charts, figures , and tables .

How Do You Paraphrase?

• While aligning the representation with your own style (that is, using synonyms of certain words and phrases), ensure that the author’s intention is not changed as this may express an incorrect interpretation of the source ideas
• Use quotation marks if you intend to retain key concepts or phrases to effectively paraphrase
• Use paraphrasing as an alternative to the abundant usage of direct quotes in your writing

Summarizing

Summarizing involves presenting an overview of a source by omitting superfluous details and retaining only the key essence of the ideas conveyed.

How Do You Summarize?

• Note key points while going through a source text
• Provide a consolidated view without digressions for a concrete and comprehensive summary of a source
• Provide relevant examples from a source to substantiate the argument being presented

“Nature creates similarities. One need only think of mimicry. The highest capacity for producing similarities, however, is man’s. His gift of seeing resemblances is nothing other than a rudiment of the powerful compulsion in former times to become and behave like something else.” –Walter Benjamin

Quoting vs Paraphrasing vs Summarizing

Research thrives as a result of inspiration from and assimilation of novel concepts. However, do ensure that when developing and enriching your own research, proper credit is provided to the origin . This can be achieved by using plagiarism checker tool and giving due credit in case you have missed it earlier.

Source: https://student.unsw.edu.au/paraphrasing-summarising-and-quoting

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To help the flow of your writing, it is beneficial to not always quote but instead put the information in your own words. You can paraphrase or summarize the author’s words to better match your tone and desired length. Even if you write the ideas in your own words, it is important to cite them with in-text citations or footnotes (depending on your discipline’s citation style ). 

Definitions

• Paraphrasing allows you to use your own words to restate an author's ideas.
• Summarizing allows you to create a succinct, concise statement of an author’s main points without copying and pasting a lot of text from the original source.

What’s the difference: Paraphrasing v. Summarizing

Explore the rest of the page to see how the same material could be quoted, paraphrased, or summarized. Depending on the length, tone, and argument of your work, you might choose one over the other. 

• Bad Paraphrase
• Good Paraphrase
• Reread: Reread the original passage until you understand its full meaning.
• Write on your own: Set the original aside, and write your paraphrase on a note card.
• Connect: Jot down a few words below your paraphrase to remind you later how you envision using this material.
• Check: Check your rendition with the original to make sure that your version accurately expresses all the essential information in a new form.
• Quote: Use quotation marks to identify any unique term or phraseology you have borrowed exactly from the source.
• Cite: Record the source (including the page) on your note card or notes document so that you can credit it easily if you decide to incorporate the material into your paper.

Explore the tabs to see the difference between an acceptable and unacceptable paraphrase based on the original text in each example.

Original Text

“Business communication is increasingly taking place internationally – in all countries, among all peoples, and across all cultures. An awareness of other cultures – of their languages, customs, experiences and perceptions – as well as an awareness of the way in which other people conduct their business, are now essential ingredients of business communication” (Chase, O’Rourke & Wallace, 2003, p.59). 

More and more business communication is taking place internationally—across all countries, peoples, and cultures.  Awareness of other cultures and the way in which people do business are essential parts of business communication (Chase, O’Rourke & Wallace, 2003, p.59)

Compare the Original and Paraphrase

Too much of the original is quoted directly, with only a few words changed or omitted. The highlighted words are too similar to the original quote: 

More and more business communication is taking place internationally —across all countries, peoples, and cultures .  Awareness of other cultures and the way in which people do business are essential parts of business communication (Chase, O’Rourke & Wallace, 2003, p.59)

Original Text 

“Business communication is increasingly taking place internationally – in all countries, among all peoples, and across all cultures. An awareness of other cultures – of their languages, customs, experiences and perceptions – as well as an awareness of the way in which other people conduct their business, are now essential ingredients of business communication” (Chase, O’Rourke & Wallace, 2003, p.59).

The importance of understanding the traditions, language, perceptions, and the manner in which people of other cultures conduct their business should not be underestimated, and it is a crucial component of business communication (Chase, O’Rourke & Wallace, 2003, p. 59).

The original’s ideas are summarized and expressed in the writer’s own words with minimal overlap with the original text's language:

The importance of understanding the traditions, language, perceptions, and the manner in which people of other cultures conduct their business should not be underestimated, and it is a crucial component of business communication (Chase, O’Rourke & Wallace, 2003, p. 59).

• Bad Summary
• Good Summary
• Find the main idea: Ask yourself, “What is the main idea that the author is communicating?”
• Avoid copying: Set the original aside, and write one or two sentences with the main point of the original on a note card or in a notes document.
• Connect: Jot down a few words below your summary to remind you later how you envision using this material.

Business communication is worldwide, and it is essential to build awareness of other cultures and the way in which other people conduct their business. (Chase, O’Rourke & Wallace, 2003, p.59). 

Compare the Original and Summary

Too much of the original is quoted directly, with only a few words changed or omitted. The highlighted words are too similar to the original text:

Business communication is worldwide, and it is essential to build awareness of other cultures and the way in which other people conduct their business . (Chase, O’Rourke & Wallace, 2003, p.59). 

In a world that is increasingly connected, effective business communication requires us to learn about other cultures, languages, and business norms (Chase, O’Rourke & Wallace, 2003, p.59). 

The original’s ideas are summarized and expressed in the writer’s own words with minimal overlap:

In a world that is increasingly connected, effective business communication requires us to learn about other cultures , languages , and business norms (Chase, O’Rourke & Wallace, 2003, p.59). 

No matter what the source or style, you need to cite it both in-text and at the end of the paper with a full citation! Write down or record all the needed pieces of information when researching to ensure you avoid plagiarism. 

Cheat Sheet

• Paraphrasing and Summarizing Download this helpful cheat sheet covering "Paraphrasing and Summarizing."
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• Last Updated: Aug 7, 2023 2:00 PM
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• Peterborough

Paraphrasing and Summarizing

Putting it in your own words, summarizing and paraphrasing, step one: skim the source, step two: take point-form notes, step three: close or put away the source, step four: turn your point-form notes into sentences.

• Step Five: Test What You Have Written to Ensure You Have Avoided Plagiarism

Step Six: Make Any Necessary Corrections

When writing a research paper, you, the writer, must incorporate into the paper the information and ideas you have learned in the course of your research that come from primary and secondary sources. Occasionally, it is appropriate to quote, but, usually, it is better to either paraphrase or summarize what you have learned. This task may seem simple; how often have we heard a teacher or instructor tell us to put what we have read “into our own words”? Yet, while easy to say, it is not so easy to do. 

It is important to be able to summarize and paraphrase correctly in order to effectively integrate your research into your essay without relying on direct quotation or committing plagiarism.

Summarizing – means rewriting something in your own words but shortening it by stating only the main idea and the supporting points you need for your purposes. A summary can be just one sentence or it can be much longer, depending on whether you are presenting a broad overview or a more thorough outline.

Paraphrasing – means rewriting something in your own words, giving the same level of detail as the source and at roughly the same length as the original. You may choose to paraphrase details or particular evidence and/or examples.

The choice between summarizing and paraphrasing depends on how much detail from the source you need for your paper. When you need the source’s main argument and/or supporting points, summarize. Or, you may summarize a section or part of a source, by identifying the section’s main point or idea. When you want all the details from a particular passage or section of a source, paraphrase. (Don’t try to paraphrase an entire source.)

Whether you decide to summarize or paraphrase a source, the process is similar. You just can’t cut and paste a chunk of text   into your essay draft and then change a few words here and there. You will remain too close to the source’s organization, sentence structure and phrasing. Instead follow these six steps.

Skim a source to determine what you need from it: its argument, a specific supporting point, and/or particular evidence. Identify exactly what information you want to go into your paper. This decision will help you decide how detailed your notes about this source should be.

For a paraphrase, the notes will be more detailed and extensive. For a summary, the notes will focus on the main points of a reading. Either way, taking notes is an acquired skill and takes practice.

The first stage in the note-taking process is illustrated below. The note-taker has decided to paraphrase the passage as it has lots of detailed information relevant to the paper being written. The note-taker then reads the passage, bolding the important information and ideas he or she wishes to capture for the paper, and then pauses to jot down notes.

In America today, millions of people leave their homes in a protracted and often futile search for healthy food for their families. Many walk out their front doors and see nothing but fast-food outlets and convenience stores selling high-fat, high-sugar processed foods; others see no food vendors of any kind . Without affordable fresh food options, especially fruit and vegetables, adults and children face fundamental challenges to making the healthy food choices that are essential for nutritious, balanced diets. And without grocery stores and other viable fruit and vegetable  merchants, neighborhoods lack a critical ingredient of vibrant, livable communities: quality food retailers that create jobs, stimulate foot traffic, and bolster local commerce .

(From: Bell.J. & Standish, M. (2009). Building healthy communities through equitable food access. Community Development Investment Review, 5 (3), 75-87.)

• For millions in the US: looking for healthy food to buy difficult. Why?
• Many neighbourhoods have no grocery stores: only fast-food and convenience stores

Convenience Stores:

• Sell high-fat, high-sugar candy, junk and processed food (anything healthy is more expensive?)

No grocery stores = fund. challenges to healthy eating

Neighbourhoods lack grocery stores, any kind of fruit and vegetable vendors that create jobs

• stimulate foot traffic (how? Usually surrounded by parking lots?)
• bolster local commerce

Overall effect:

• Hard to eat in healthy manner (lack of health? obesity?)
• Breakdown of vibrancy and livability of communities

The note-taker first identifies the main point of the passage. The notes are in point-form: the reason for not writing out full sentences is to break the connection with the original’s sentence structure. The note-taker also occasionally inserts questions for further analysis or follow-up.  Doing all of these things filters the information and ideas of the source through the note-taker’s own understanding.

If, instead of paraphrasing, you make the decision to summarize the passage, the notes would include only the major points of the passage.

This is a fairly self-explanatory step, but the point is that when you try to write about the information you have learned from this source, you do so without the source in front of you.

How to do this? Keep in mind that both paraphrasing and summarizing are about showing that you have internalized what you have read to the point where you can say it yourself. So, read over your notes two or three times, put those out of sight too, and, perhaps pretending you are explaining what you have just read to a fellow student or your instructor, write either your paraphrase/summary. Remember that, for a summary all you have to do is convey the main point and key supporting points of the passage, not the details.  

You need to make clear where the information and arguments come from, so it can be a good idea to start off with the author’s or authors’ name(s).  Writing “Bell and Standish argue that...” or “Bell and Standish’s main point is that...” is often a good way to get the words to start to flow. Remember you can rearrange the information, group it differently, or change the sequence slightly to suit your purposes; all of these actions will help you to write the paraphrase or summary in “your own words.”

Step Five: Test What You Have Written To Ensure You Have Avoided Plagiarism

If you followed the first four steps rigorously, you should pass this test. The way to test your writing is to go through your passage and the original passage and underline, highlight or put in bold the words that appear in both passages. There is no way to write a paraphrase or a summary that does not have some of the same words as the original, but doing this test will show you any places where you have lifted whole phrases or sentences and put them in your text.

Words appearing in both passages are in bold:

Bell and Standish (2009) make the point that, for millions of Americans, buying healthy, fresh food such as fruits and vegetables , takes a major effort because many neighbourhoods do not have grocery stores close by but only fast-food outlets and convenience stores . Convenience stores do not sell much healthy food but, instead, sell junk food , candy, and processed food hi gh in fat and sugar . Some neighbourhoods do not have food vendors of any kind .  Bell and Standish argue that these kinds of neighbourhoods are not just places in which it is difficult to buy and eat healthy food , they are also less vigorous and energetic, and less comfortable to live in because grocery stores and other healthy food vendors may encourage walking, create jobs , and support the local economy in other ways as well.

The test shows that while the two passages share many common words, there are very few exact copies of phrases in the paraphrase. Phrases such as “grocery store,” “healthy food,” “convenience store,” or “food vendors” are not unique turns of phrase that belong to one writer; they are common terms, so changing these words is not necessary. For example, “convenience store” is the best and most commonly used phrase for that particular kind of retail outlet; changing it would be artificial and less clear. (The same rule applies to technical and scientific terminology. These terms don’t belong to anyone, and there is no reason to try to find synonyms for them.)

Precisely how long can a phrase that is identical to one in the original source be before it becomes a problem? A phrase of three words is usually too long; it should be changed or included as a direct quotation. Based on this criteria, in the paraphrase, there are a couple of problematic phrases that should be changed:  “fast-food outlets and convenience stores,” and “food vendors of any kind.”

Words common to the original source and to the paraphrase are in bold:

Bell and Standish (2009) argue that for millions of Americans, healthy eating is a difficult task because many neighbourhoods do not have grocery stores close by, only fast-food restaurants or convenience stores . These neighbourhoods lack the jobs and economic support that grocery stores bring, thus making them less “vibrant” and “livable” (75).

The words in bold show that the summary passes the test. It’s usually a little easier to write a summary in your own words than to write a paraphrase in your own words because condensing and shortening will automatically ensure some change in organization, sentence structure and wording. In this case, the decision was made to quote the two final adjectives, “vibrant” and “livable”, as none of the synonyms were as descriptive in as few words.  

You may find a few exact phrases from your test; it is important to change them. In the paraphrase, “fast-food outlets and convenience stores” can be changed to “convenience stores or fast-food restaurants.” Similarly, “food vendors of any kind” can be changed to “any type of food vendor.”

Another technique to keep in mind is to occasionally quote a short phrase in the midst of your summary or paraphrase. For example, in the final sentence of the original passage, the authors used two adjectives, “vibrant” and “livable.” These appear in the paraphrase as “vigorous and energetic” and “comfortable for its residents to live in.” However, the authors are here using a distinctive turn of phrase to describe ideal communities as opposed to using common terms such as “convenience store” or “healthy food”. So, in this instance, another good choice would be to quote the authors:

...Bell and Standish argue that these kinds of neighbourhoods are not just places in which it is difficult to buy and eat healthy food, they are also less “vibrant” and less “livable” (75) because grocery stores and other healthy food vendors may encourage walking, create jobs, and support the local economy in other ways as well.

As you can see, learning how to paraphrase and to summarize your sources takes practice and patience. Following the six steps suggested here should ensure that you are successful in conveying information and ideas learned from your sources “in your own words”.

Paraphrasing vs. Summarizing (Differences, Examples, How To)

It can be confusing to know when to paraphrase and when to summarize. Many people use the terms interchangeably even though the two have different meanings and uses.

Today, let’s understand the basic differences between paraphrasing vs. summarizing and when to use which . We’ll also look at types and examples of paraphrasing and summarizing, as well as how to do both effectively.

Let’s look at paraphrasing first.

What is paraphrasing?

It refers to rewriting someone else’s ideas in your own words. 

It’s important to rewrite the whole idea in your words rather than just replacing a few words with their synonyms. That way, you present an idea in a way that your audience will understand easily and also avoid plagiarism. 

It’s also important to cite your sources when paraphrasing so that the original author of the work gets due credit.

When should you paraphrase?

The main purpose of paraphrasing is often to clarify an existing passage. You should use paraphrasing when you want to show that you understand the concept, like while writing an essay about a specific topic. 

You may also use it when you’re quoting someone but can’t remember their exact words. 

Finally, paraphrasing is a very effective way to rewrite outdated content in a way that’s relevant to your current audience.

How to paraphrase effectively

Follow these steps to paraphrase any piece of text effectively:

• Read the full text and ensure that you understand it completely. It helps to look up words you don’t fully understand in an online or offline dictionary.
• Once you understand the text, rewrite it in your own words. Remember to rewrite it instead of just substituting words with their synonyms.
• Edit the text to ensure it’s easy to understand for your audience.
• Mix in your own insights while rewriting the text to make it more relevant.
• Run the text through a plagiarism checker to ensure that it does not have any of the original content.

Example of paraphrasing

Here’s an example of paraphrasing:

• Original:  The national park is full of trees, water bodies, and various species of flora and fauna.
• Paraphrased:  Many animal species thrive in the verdant national park that is served by lakes and rivers flowing through it.

What is summarizing?

Summarizing is also based on someone else’s text but rather than presenting their ideas in your words, you only sum up their main ideas in a smaller piece of text.

It’s important to not use their exact words or phrases when summarizing to avoid plagiarism. It’s best to make your own notes while reading through the text and writing a summary based on your notes.

You must only summarize the most important ideas from a piece of text as summaries are essentially very short compared to the original work. And just like paraphrasing, you should cite the original text as a reference.

When should you summarize?

The main purpose of summarizing is to reduce a passage or other text to fewer words while ensuring that everything important is covered.

Summaries are useful when you want to cut to the chase and lay down the most important points from a piece of text or convey the entire message in fewer words. You should summarize when you have to write a short essay about a larger piece of text, such as writing a book review.

You can also summarize when you want to provide background information about something without taking up too much space.

How to summarize effectively

Follow these steps to summarize any prose effectively:

• Read the text to fully understand it. It helps to read it a few times instead of just going through it once.
• Pay attention to the larger theme of the text rather than trying to rewrite it sentence for sentence.
• Understand how all the main ideas are linked and piece them together to form an overview.
• Remove all the information that’s not crucial to the main ideas or theme. Remember, summaries must only include the most essential points and information.
• Edit your overview to ensure that the information is organized logically and follows the correct chronology where applicable.
• Review and edit the summary again to make it clearer, ensure that it’s accurate, and make it even more concise where you can.
• Ensure that you cite the original text.

Example of summarization

You can summarize any text into a shorter version. For example, this entire article can be summarized in just a few sentences as follows:

• Summary:  The article discusses paraphrasing vs. summarizing by explaining the two concepts. It specifies when you should use paraphrasing and when you should summarize a piece of text and describes the process of each. It ends with examples of both paraphrasing and summarizing to provide a better understanding to the reader.

Paraphrasing vs. summarizing has been a long-standing point of confusion for writers of all levels, whether you’re writing a college essay or reviewing a research paper or book. The above tips and examples can help you identify when to use paraphrasing or summarizing and how to go about them effectively.

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Fact checked: Content is rigorously reviewed by a team of qualified and experienced fact checkers. Fact checkers review articles for factual accuracy, relevance, and timeliness. Learn more.

About the author

Dalia Y.: Dalia is an English Major and linguistics expert with an additional degree in Psychology. Dalia has featured articles on Forbes, Inc, Fast Company, Grammarly, and many more. She covers English, ESL, and all things grammar on GrammarBrain.

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Unit 3: Summarizing and Responding to Writing

12 Summarizing

Preview Questions:

• What are the features of a good summary?
• What is the difference between a summary and a paraphrase?
• How do the skills of summary and paraphrase work together?
• Why are summaries and paraphrases useful?
• Why do I have to learn how to write a summary? Can’t I just use an AI-based tool to summarize text for me?

Summarizing, like paraphrasing, is your explanation of another person’s ideas. We often use summaries in both speaking and writing to tell listeners or readers our ideas quickly and clearly. For example, if a friend asks you to tell her about a movie you saw recently, you would not spend two hours telling her everything that happened in the movie. Instead, you would probably just briefly tell her about the movie’s main plot and characters.

In academic writing, summarizing is important when we use ideas from other sources to support our own arguments. This skill differs from paraphrasing. Instead of trying to reproduce an idea in its entirety as expressed by the author, we try to express the main idea(s) without including details from the original.

Using an AI-based tool can help you summarize and understand a text. It is also important to be able to extract the most important points on your own to develop your reading and critical thinking skills. If you can “tell a friend” what a text is about, this will help you remember the information and develop your paraphrasing skills.

Five criteria for a good summary

• refers to the writer and/or the title of the work in a formal way.
• uses attributive language and reporting verbs throughout the summary to remind the reader that you are summarizing someone else’s ideas.
• the topic of the article,
• the author’s thesis or main point,
• and a few important main supporting points needed to explain the thesis/main point.
• maintains the exact same meaning of the source you are summarizing.
• conveys the tone of the original text.
• may follow the same organization of the original text, but it is also acceptable to reorganize the author’s ideas in your summary as long as you capture the same meaning.
• A good summary is shorter than the original source.
• It could be as short as one sentence (which contains the author’s thesis) or may be a paragraph or longer, in which case it will include the main supporting points.
• A good summary paraphrases any information taken from the original source
• Any language that comes directly from the original source must be put in quotation marks. Direct quotations should be used minimally .

Adapted from: Dollahite, N.E. & Huan, J. (2012). SourceWork: Academic Writing for Success.

Knowledge Check

From Excelsior Online Writing Lab, Summarizing and Plagiarism

Academic Writing I Copyright © by UW-Madison ESL Program is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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1.9: Summarizing and Paraphrasing

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• Page ID 218963
• Lumen Learning

Learning Objectives

• Summarize a passage of reading
• Paraphrase a passage of reading

Have you ever heard, “the best way to learn something is to teach it to someone else”?

Writing a summary of a source is a very similar process to teaching someone the content—but in this case, the student you’re teaching is yourself.

Summarizing , or condensing someone else’s ideas and putting it into your own shortened form, allows you to be sure that you’ve accurately captured the main idea of the text you’re reading. When reading, summarizing is helpful for checking your understanding of a longer text and remembering the author’s main ideas. When writing, summarizing is critical when reviewing, writing an abstract, preparing notes for a study guide, creating an annotated bibliography, answering essay questions, recording results of an experiment, describing the plot of a fictional work or film, or writing a research paper.

How to Write Summary Statements

Use these processes to help you write summary statements:

• Underline important information and write keywords in the margin.
• Record ideas using a two-column note-taking system. Record questions you have about the text concepts in the left column and answers you find in the reading in the right column.
• Identify how concepts relate to what you already know.
• Add examples and details

For retaining key ideas as you read, write a summary statement at the end of each paragraph or section. For capturing the major ideas of the entire work, write a summary paragraph (or more) that describes the entire text.

Tips for Summary

For longer, overall summary projects that capture an entire reading, consider these guidelines for writing a summary:

• A summary should contain the main thesis or standpoint of the text, restated in your own words. (To do this, first find the thesis statement in the original text.)
• A summary is written in your own words. It contains few or no quotes.
• A summary is always shorter than the original text, often about 1/3 as long as the original. It is the ultimate fat-free writing. An article or paper may be summarized in a few sentences or a couple of paragraphs. A book may be summarized in an article or a short paper. A very large book may be summarized in a smaller book.
• A summary should contain all the major points of the original text , and should ignore most of the fine details, examples, illustrations or explanations.
• The backbone of any summary is formed by crucial details (key names, dates, events, words and numbers). A summary must never rely on vague generalities.
• If you quote anything from the original text, even an unusual word or a catchy phrase, you need to put whatever you quote in quotation marks (” “).
• A summary must contain only the ideas of the original text. Do not insert any of your own opinions, interpretations, deductions or comments into a summary.

Watch this video to see a walk-through explanation on how to summarize.

You can view the transcript for “Summarizing” here (opens in new window).

https://assessments.lumenlearning.co...essments/20213

Paraphrasing

Paraphrasing is the act of putting an author’s ideas into your own words. When reading, paraphrasing is helpful for checking your understanding of what you read as well as remembering what you read. When writing, paraphrasing is an important skill to have when constructing a research paper and incorporating the ideas of others alongside your own.

Click to view the transcript for “Paraphrasing” here (opens in new window) .

https://assessments.lumenlearning.co...essments/20214

paraphrasing : rewriting a passage of text in your own words

summarizing : condensing someone else’s ideas and putting it into your own shortened form

Contributors and Attributions

• Modification, adaptation, and original content. Provided by : Lumen Learning. License : CC BY: Attribution
• PQRST Script. Provided by : Lethbridge College. Located at : www.lethbridgecollege.net/elearningcafe/index.php/pqrst-script. Project : eLearning Cafe. License : CC BY: Attribution
• Summarizing. Provided by : Excelsior College. Located at : https://owl.excelsior.edu/orc/what-to-do-after-reading/summarizing/ . License : CC BY: Attribution
• Why Use Quotes?. Authored by : The News Manual. Provided by : Media Helping Media. Located at : www.mediahelpingmedia.org/training-resources/journalism-basics/659-how-to-use-quotes-in-news-stories-and-features. License : CC BY-NC-SA: Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike
• How to Write an A-plus Summary of a Text. Authored by : Owen M. Williamson. Provided by : The University of Texas at El Paso. Located at : http://utminers.utep.edu/omwilliamson/engl0310/summaryhints.htm . License : Public Domain: No Known Copyright

Understanding the Importance of Summarizing: Key Benefits

Understanding the importance of summarizing is crucial in both academic and professional settings. It is the skill of distilling the most vital parts of text into a concise and accessible format, using one's own words. This ability not only demonstrates a deep understanding of the content but also plays a pivotal role in enhancing communication and learning outcomes. 

Summarizing is not just about reducing text length; it's a strategic tool that enhances comprehension, improves writing skills, and supports efficient information consumption and dissemination.

 This article will delve into why summarizing is important, exploring the benefits of summarizing and summarizing strategies that can be employed to achieve effective communication

Why use summarizing?

In effective writing, summarizing plays a vital role for several reasons. Firstly, it enables concise communication by distilling the main points of a text, making it easier for the audience to understand without getting lost in unnecessary details.

Secondly, summarizing enhances clarity and focus, ensuring that complex information is presented in a clear and easily understandable manner. Ultimately, summarizing is a fundamental skill for writers, allowing them to communicate efficiently and engage their audience effectively.

The Science Behind Summarization

Delving into the science behind summarization unveils its intricate relationship with both reading and writing abilities. Here's a closer look at the key components:

• Reading and Writing Dynamics:

Summarization tasks demand robust reading and writing skills. While word- and sentence-level strategies are vital for dissecting source texts, writing strategies eclipse reading in importance for summarization tasks.

Interestingly, general English proficiency does not significantly sway the use of these strategies. Reading and writing abilities contribute moderately to summarization performance, underscoring the complexity of the task beyond basic language skills.

• Summarizing Scientific Research:

Effective summarization of scientific articles entails a deep understanding of the article's structure—comprising Title, Abstract, Introduction, Method, Results, Discussion, and References—and the ability to distill this information succinctly.

Essential steps include thorough reading, initial scanning to grasp the research's core, and interactive questioning of the material. Notably, the abstract alone is insufficient for a comprehensive summary as it only offers a condensed overview. Paraphrasing and accurate note-taking are crucial to avoid plagiarism, ensuring summaries are concise, accurate, and tailored for an intelligent yet naive audience.

Technological Aids in Summarization:

• AI-powered tools like TldrThis and ChatGPT are revolutionizing how scientific articles are summarized, making complex information more accessible. These tools excel in extracting key information, demystifying technical language, and enhancing the readability and coherence of summaries.
• Despite these advances, summarizing scientific articles remains challenging due to their structured format and lengthy texts. Recent studies have explored the efficiency of large language models like GPT-3.5 in summarizing medical evidence, highlighting the ongoing need for improvements in automatic summarization to ensure accuracy and mitigate misinformation.

Summarization as a Learning Tool

Summarizing as a learning tool encompasses a broad spectrum of cognitive skills essential for students' academic growth. Here's a closer look at how summarizing benefits learning:

• Improves Memory and Comprehension: 

Summarizing encourages students to distill a large selection of text into the main points, significantly enhancing memory recall and understanding of the material. This process not only aids in grasping complex concepts by breaking them down into simpler ideas but also improves reading comprehension by requiring readers to slow down and think about the text's content.

• Enhances Learning Skills: 

By focusing on phrases and keywords from assigned texts, summarizing improves concentration and boosts retention by 20-25%, leading to a notable improvement in grades. It teaches students the technique of extracting important ideas, thereby improving memory capabilities and overall skillfulness in learning.

• Preparation for Future Success: 

Summarizing skills are critical in postsecondary education and professional settings. Writing summaries is a vital part of producing college papers, and summarizing as a strategy allows students to pause during reading to paraphrase the meaning of text segments, consolidating important details that support the main ideas. These skills are applicable in almost every content area, making summarizing a powerful literacy activity that captures both language skills and content knowledge.

Enhancing Writing Skills Through Summarization

Enhancing writing skills through summarization involves a structured approach that not only clarifies the content but also makes it more engaging and credible. Here’s how summarization contributes to better writing:

• Core Extraction:

 Identifies and focuses on the most important points, making arguments more straightforward.

Steps to follow:

• Determine the purpose of your writing.
• Skim and scan the text for key ideas and concepts.
• Annotate and make notes in your own words.
• Paraphrase the main ideas to enhance clarity and brevity.
• Communication Enhancement:
• Expands vocabulary, improving language fluency.
• Encourages the use of varied sentence structures, making writing more dynamic.

Techniques to follow:

• Engage in regular summarization practice.
• Focus on paraphrasing and condensing information without losing original meaning.
• Academic and Professional Application:
• Academic Writing: Supports main points in discussions or arguments, demonstrating comprehension and critical analysis.
• Professional Settings: Simplifies complex documents, catering to diverse audiences and preventing misinterpretation.

How to Implement:

• Always write summaries in your own words.
• Keep summaries concise, ensuring they are shorter than the original texts.

By adhering to these practices, writers can significantly enhance their writing skills, making their work more interesting, credible, and accessible to their intended audience.

Summarization in Professional Settings

In professional settings, summarization is not just a skill but a necessity for efficient communication and decision-making. Here's how it plays a crucial role:

• Time-Saving in Information Gathering:

Summarization systems significantly reduce the time professionals spend on gathering information. By providing relevant data succinctly, these systems allow for quicker assimilation of essential knowledge, crucial in fast-paced business environments.

• Enhancing Communication Efficiency:

The ability to express learning or findings in a brief, clear manner enhances communication among team members. Summarizing can transform lengthy reports or emails into concise, easily digestible pieces, ensuring key points are communicated without the need for extensive reading.

• Applications in Various Communication Forms:

Emails, reports, meeting minutes, and presentations benefit from summarization by making the content more accessible.

To enhance summarization skills in a professional context, consider practicing active reading, identifying the main idea, using summary templates, and regularly reviewing and revising your summaries.

Techniques for Effective Summarization

 A well-crafted summary should include source identification, paraphrasing in the summarizer's own words, and maintaining accuracy and neutrality, adopting a third-person point of view for a comprehensive outlook.

Here are techniques for effective summarization that cater to varying levels of experience:

For Beginners:

• Structured Routines: Start with simple structures like “Beginning, Middle, and End” or “First, Next, Then, Last” to help less-experienced learners grasp the basics of summarization.
• Visual Aids: Incorporate visuals and graphic organizers, prioritizing images over text to guide through the summarizing process.
• Sentence Frames: Provide structured sentence frames for both oral and written summarization activities, facilitating easier expression of thoughts.

For Intermediate Learners:

• Keyword Focus: Teach students to identify and focus on keywords and phrases, enhancing their ability to distill main points.
• Story Elements: Utilize story elements as a basis for retelling and summarizing
• Collaborative Summarization: Encourage group activities where students work together to identify key points and write summaries, fostering peer learning.

Advanced Techniques:

• Summarizing Strategies: Transition to more complex strategies like “Someone Wanted But So Then” or “Five-Finger (5Ws)” for those comfortable with identifying main ideas and details.
• Objective Tone and Concise Language: Maintain an objective tone and use concise language to capture the essence of the content accurately.
• Chronological Order and Structure: Follow the narrative or text's structure closely, omitting irrelevant details to keep the summary focused and meaningful.

By progressively advancing through these techniques, students can develop a robust ability to summarize effectively, enhancing their learning and comprehension across various subjects.

In our fast-paced world, where information overload is a common challenge, mastering summarization is more pertinent than ever. By implementing the practices and tools recommended, such as taking advantage of AI technologies for distilling lengthy texts, individuals can elevate their ability to process and convey information effectively. For those seeking to enhance their summarizing prowess further, check out TldrThis as a resource for making the journey towards better comprehension and communication more accessible and fruitful. Acknowledging summarization's role in our learning and professional lives opens doors to endless possibilities for growth and efficiency.

What does summarization entail and what is its significance?

Summarization involves condensing the main ideas of a piece of writing or theory into a concise form. This is crucial for supporting arguments, providing context for research papers, composing literature reviews, and creating annotated bibliographies.

How does summarizing serve a practical purpose in everyday life?

In daily life, summarizing is essential because it allows individuals to distill information to its most important points and details, much like searching for gold among the sand. It is a key skill for effective learning and understanding.

What advantages does one gain from reading summaries?

Reading summaries offers the advantage of validating one's understanding of the content and grasping it more effectively. It also helps in bypassing unnecessary material, which is particularly useful considering the vast number of books available.

What are the primary advantages of summarizing texts?

The five key benefits of text summarization are: simplifying complex information, providing an opportunity for a second review of the text, saving time for studying, clarifying ideas, and the ability to summarize quickly, often in seconds.

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• Directories

Summarising and paraphrasing

One of the main ways to incorporate evidence in your work is to explain it in your own words, by either summarising or paraphrasing.

Writing in your own words is strongly encouraged because it helps you to learn and demonstrate your understanding of the relevant information. Summarising and paraphrasing are used much more than quoting because they show your ability to articulate your understanding of the material. There are more strategies and examples of how to summarise and paraphrase on the Turnitin practice site . 

The following sections use examples from Woolworths' 2016 annual report to demonstrate how to summarise, paraphrase and quote. Note that we are using the Harvard referencing style for this case study, because it is an example from Business.

Source: Woolworths Limited 2016, Annual Report 2016, viewed 22 June 2017, < https://www.woolworthsgroup.com.au/icms_docs/185865_annual-report-2016.pdf >

How do I summarise?

A summary should capture the 'essence' of a source. It is high-level and broad. There is no need to capture all of the detail in a summary. This is a common skill used when you are writing about important topics and debates in your field. The fewer words used to summarise, the better. Sometimes you may reduce the ideas an author expresses in a paragraph down to one or two sentences, or even a phrase. Other times you may reduce an author's line of reasoning in a journal article down to a couple of sentences. 

On pages 8 and 9 of the Woolworths annual report, they present a visual overview of the company's performance in 2016. This sort of high-level information is ideal for a summary. For example, you could write:

In 2016, Woolworths Limited (2016) reported a sharp drop in ordinary earnings and dividend payout, compared to the previous year. Earnings also dropped sharply in the face of a dip in sales, alongside a slight increase in operating capital expenditure.

The summary covers large parts of the report without going into too much detail about the actual dollar figures and percentages.

How do I paraphrase?

Paraphrasing requires a detailed understanding of the source. Paraphrasing is a skill that takes time and practice to develop.

A paraphrase is always in your own words. This means describing an idea without referring to the original non-technical vocabulary or sentence structure. You may use the same or similar technical terms, but it is best to reword as much of the idea as possible. It is not a simple description of the source; it is a description of your understanding of the source.

Follow the steps below to help you paraphrase:

• Read the passage in the original source you have chosen to paraphrase. It may be necessary to read the text several times in order to comprehend it properly.
• Take notes and make sure you fully understand its ideas. You cannot skip this part. If you do not understand, read it again, break the information down into smaller parts, and ask yourself how it fits into the source's main idea.  
• Put the source text away, or cover it so you cannot see the original words.
• Imagine describing the main idea to a friend or colleague, and write down what you imagined saying.
• Think about your description. Does it fully capture the main idea? You may need to edit it for clarity.

You can then use your paraphrase in your assignment, followed by a citation, including the page number.

The following text comes from the Director's Statutory Report in Woolworths' annual report (Woolworths Limited 2016, p. 33):

A paraphrase aims to capture more detail than a simple summary. A paraphrase of this section may look like the following:

Note how the paraphrase captures the ideas expressed in the original text, but uses different wording and sentence structure. Note also that the second sentence does not require a citation because it is clear that the information is from the same source.

A word of warning

You may have seen online paraphrasing generators that take an excerpt of text and replace some of the words. These do not work because they do not produce genuine paraphrases. If you use them, it could be seen as misconduct or plagiarism. There really is no shortcut to actually understanding the source and paraphrasing it accurately.

Woolworths Limited 2016, Annual Report 2016, viewed 22 June 2017, < https://www.woolworthsgroup.com.au/icms_docs/185865_annual-report-2016.pdf >

Using sources

Using sources appropriately

Common knowledge

Writing from notes

Synthesising

Style and authorial voice

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Paraphrasing and summarizing

Part 3: Chapter 9

Questions to consider

A. What are the qualities of a strong summary?

B. What, when, and why do scholars summarize?

A summary is a condensed version of a longer text. Summaries of different lengths are useful in research writing because they provide readers with an explanation of supporting material. The first step in writing a good summary is to do a thorough reading of the text. Even the strongest readers sometimes find very new, very complex, or very dense work difficult to process.

Read for comprehension by remaining engaged. Continuously ask and answer a few basic questions.

A. What is the unique point here?

B. Which ideas come from the author; which material is support cited from other sources?

C. How are the ideas connected (e.g. cause and effect? chronologically?)?

D. What is the likely conclusion?

Three steps to producing a strong summary

• Read for main ideas;
• articulate the primary message without relying too heavily on the original language (including vocabulary and sentence structure); then,
• draft a paraphrase that includes a citation giving credit to the source in the appropriate format.

Other summarizing guidelines

A quote is a direct restatement of the exact words from the original source. Using three or more words exactly as they appear in the original source is a quote. In contrast, a paraphrase is a restatement of the information or point of the original source. Paraphrases and quotes must always accompanied by a proper citation of the source.

Long and direct quotations are discouraged in research writing, especially in the STEM fields. Material incorporated from an outside source should be paraphrased in almost all situations. The use of direct quotes should be limited to when

• the exact words of the source are important, particularly with technical language, terms, or very specific word choices; or
• the author or speaker of the original language is uniquely powerful.

In higher level summaries, source information is generally restricted to the citation; it is not necessary to mention the author or their credentials, the article title, or the publication name in the summary. This is contrary to what many students learn in earlier writing instruction.

Following the order of the original source information is often tempting, as it seems well organized and effective (indeed, it has been published). However, summary writers may omit what they do not need and reorganize material to suit their purposes. These efforts can contribute to the freshness of the paraphrase when they are implemented well.

Finally, research writers must only summarize from an original source (the primary source ) and NOT the reference material (the secondary sources ) included for support.

Exercise #1 – Practice Summary

Read this discussion section from Does international work experience pay off? The relationship between international work experience, employability and career success: A 30-country, multi-industry study and then respond to the questions below.

1 Adopting a HCT perspective (Becker, 1993, 2008; Tan, 2014), we proposed and found that IWE, as an investment in human capital, is associated with higher perceived external employability, which in turn is positively related to promotions and subjective financial success. 2 Although this mediated relationship was not moderated by economic freedom as hypothesised, supplementary analyses that differentiated between short-term and long-term IWE however showed that, in countries with low economic freedom, the indirect relationships between short-term IWE and career success indicators through perceived external employability were more pronounced. 3 The present study thus highlights the role of perceived external employability as a core mediator underlying the IWE–career success link. 4 Including promotions and subjective financial success as indicators of both OCS and SCS provides a more nuanced picture of how IWE relates to career success. 5 Although the study focuses on specific indicators of OCS and SCS, the empirical findings have greater generalisability compared to much of research that precedes our study given that our results hold across a large-scale sample of employees in four broad occupational groups from 30 countries and more than 20 industries. 6 While empirical evidence overrepresents countries from the Anglo, Latin European and/or Germanic European clusters, our study incorporates a sample that includes countries from all GLOBE clusters (House et al., 2004) and thus many countries that have never been researched with respect to international assignments and career outcomes. [1]

HCT: human capital theory suggests education and training contribute to a person’s earning power IWE: international work experience OCS: objective career success SCS: subjective career success

• What is the main idea here? Is there only one?
• What language (words or phrases) cannot be paraphrased without compromising meaning?
• What material should not be included in the summary? Why?
• Draft two versions of a complete summary of this material including a citation in an appropriate format. Strive to make them grammatically distinct from each other and from the original.

The opinions or interpretation of the summary writer do not belong in a summary. When the assignment is an evaluative review, the author may inject information beyond the main idea of the summarized material.

Writers quote and paraphrase from research in order to support their points and to persuade their readers. A quote or a paraphrase from a piece of evidence in support of a point answers the reader’s question, “Says who?” This is especially true in academic writing since scholarly readers are most persuaded by effective research and documented evidence. For example, readers of an article about a new cancer medication published in a medical journal will be most interested in the research and statistics that demonstrate the effectiveness of the treatment. Conversely, they will not be as persuaded by emotional stories from individual patients about how a new cancer medication improved the quality of their lives. The real art to research writing is using evidence effectively to support the point. Certain rules of style are applied as prescribed by academic departments and publication editors, including which citation system to use.

Language in Action

A. How common are direct quotations in scholarly publications found in academic journals? Are they more or less common in publications meant for general consumption, like newspapers or internet blogs?

B. What is the strongest incentive for including and citing material from other sources?

Plagiarism awareness

Plagiarism is the unauthorized or uncredited use of the writings or ideas of another. While it might not be as tangible as stealing a car or robbing a bank, plagiarism is still a form of theft. The use of artificial intelligence programs (like Chat GPT ) does not produce original writing a researcher can call their own. As these resources become increasingly available, it is important for writers to focus on producing their own sentences, paragraphs, theses and ideas that they can explain and defend.

In the academic world, plagiarism is a serious matter because ideas in the forms of research, creative work, and original thought are highly valued. As it is a form of academic dishonesty, most schools have strict rules about what happens when someone is caught plagiarizing.

Like theft, plagiarism can take several different forms. The most well-known, purposeful plagiarism is submitting work written by someone else or material copied word for word from a source.

Both purposeful and accidental plagiarism are wrong, violate established rules, and often result in harsh punishments. Ignoring or not knowing the rules of how to properly cite evidence might be explanations, but they are not acceptable excuses.

Here are examples that use quotations and paraphrases from this original text from Cyberculture as translated by Robert Bononno:

1 Those who denounce cyberculture today strangely resemble those who criticized rock music during the fifties and sixties. 2 Rock started out as an Anglo-American phenomenon and has become an industry. 3 Nonetheless, it was able to capture the hopes of young people around the world and provided enjoyment to those of us who listened to or played rock. 4 Sixties pop was the conscience of one or two generations that helped bring the war in Vietnam to a close. 5 Obviously, neither rock nor pop has solved global poverty or hunger. 6 But is this a reason to be “against” them? (ix).

Source: Lévy, P. (2001). Cyberculture. Minneapolis, Minn.: University of Minnesota Press.

Examples of plagiarized work

First, an obvious example of plagiarism from that article.

1 Those who denounce cyberculture today strangely resemble those who criticized rock music during the fifties and sixties.

The writer has literally taken one of Lévy’s sentences and represented it as her own.

Another example:

1 The people who criticize cyberculture are the same kind of people who criticized rock and roll music back in the fifties and sixties. But both cyberculture and rock music inspire and entertain young people.

While these aren’t Lévy’s exact words, they are certainly close enough to constitute a form of plagiarism.

Examples of acceptable paraphrasing

These are stronger paraphrases, although the use of a direct quotation is not ideal.

1 Pierre Lévy suggests that people who criticize cyberculture are the same kind of people who criticized rock and roll music back in the fifties and sixties. But both cyberculture and rock music inspire and entertain young people (ix).

1 In the introduction of his book Cyberculture, Pierre Lévy observes that “Those who denounce cyberculture today strangely resemble those who criticized rock music during the fifties and sixties” (ix).

Note that changing these passages from examples of plagiarism to acceptable examples of a quotation and a paraphrase is only achieved by properly citing the source.

Often, students are unclear as to whether they need to cite a piece of evidence because they believe it to be common knowledge or because they are not sure about the source of information. What is common knowledge in a field is typically seen without a citation in a range of publications (from journal articles to dissertations and textbooks). [2]

Review and Reinforce

A. How does the research of others influence readers?

B. How much material from outside sources is required to support a message or thesis statement?

Exercise #2

1 In Taiwan, the delayed graduation of graduate students has become an important educational issue of social concern (Ho et al., 2020). 2  Gardner (2009) found that the reasons for the low graduation rate of doctoral students include being unable to complete their degree theses, among others. 3 The completion of the degree thesis is an important milestone and the biggest obstacle for graduate students (Blum, 2010).  4 Muszynski (1990) found that graduate students who fail to graduate in time may be uninterested in the research topic, have low academic confidence, or have too many research papers to complete.  5 Spaulding and Rockinson-Szapkiw (2012) interviewed 76 doctoral graduates and found that motivation, persistence factors, and completion strategies were necessary to complete their dissertations. [3]

1. Consider the above opening paragraph from A Study of Graduate Students’ Achievement Motivation, Active Learning, and Active Confidence Based on Relevant Research .

2. Then look at a paragraph from one of its primary sources (sentence #4 above), Hearing their Voices: Factors Doctoral Candidates Attribute to their Persistence .

1 When participants were interviewed, they worked in different states and professional settings across the United States and earned their degrees from varying institutions across the span of five decades (Participant 3 – 1976; Participant 36 – 2011); however, each participant shared one common experience—doctoral persistence, evidenced by the completion of an educational doctorate. 2 Though the contexts differed and motivations for pursuing the degree varied, participants all cited various personal sacrifices along the way, often found their completion expectations to be unrealistic due to a myriad of intervening factors, and largely found the dissertation to be the most challenging aspect of the degree completion process. 3 However, because they were both personally and professionally motivated to begin the degree, had compelling reasons to persist, developed an array of resilience mechanisms, and generated strategies for dissertation completion, these participants evaded becoming an attrition statistic, unlike presumably half of their peers (Ivankova & Stick, 2007; Nettles & Millet, 2006), and currently hold a terminal degree in their discipline. [4]

3. Evaluate how and why the supporting material was incorporated.

Media Attributions

• masks © Edmonton Economic Development Corporation is licensed under a CC BY-NC-SA (Attribution NonCommercial ShareAlike) license
• Andresen, M., Lazarova, M., Apospori, E., Cotton, R., Bosak, J., Dickmann, M., Kaše, R., & Smale, A. (2022). Does international work experience pay off? The relationship between international work experience, employability and career success: A 30-country, multi-industry study. Human Resource Management Journal , 32(3), 698–721. https://doi.org/10.1111/1748-8583.12423 ↵
• Adapted from Krause, S. (2021, March 23). The Process of Research Writing Retrieved June 2, 2021, from https://human.libretexts.org/@go/page/6460 ↵
• Chang, J.-C., Wu, Y.-T., & Ye, J.-N. (2022). A Study of Graduate Students’ Achievement Motivation, Active Learning, and Active Confidence Based on Relevant Research . Frontiers in Psychology,  13, 915770–915770. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.915770 ↵
• Spaulding, L. S., & Rockinson-Szapkiw, A. (2012). Hearing their Voices: Factors Doctoral Candidates Attribute to their Persistence.  International Journal of Doctoral Studies , 7, 199-219. https://doi.org/10.28945/1589 ↵

a condensed version of a longer text

a direct restatement of the exact words from the original source

a restatement of the information or point of the original source in entirely new wording

a reference presenting their own data and information

reference material used and cited by a primary source

to act of presenting another source of information or ideas as one's own work; literary theft

Sourcing, summarizing, and synthesizing:  Skills for effective research writing  Copyright © 2023 by Wendy L. McBride is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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Module 2: Reading Strategies

Summarizing and paraphrasing, learning objectives.

• Summarize a passage of reading
• Paraphrase a passage of reading

Have you ever heard, “the best way to learn something is to teach it to someone else”?

Writing a summary of a source is a very similar process to teaching someone the content—but in this case, the student you’re teaching is yourself.

Summarizing , or condensing someone else’s ideas and putting it into your own shortened form, allows you to be sure that you’ve accurately captured the main idea of the text you’re reading. When reading, summarizing is helpful for checking your understanding of a longer text and remembering the author’s main ideas. When writing, summarizing is critical when reviewing, writing an abstract, preparing notes for a study guide, creating an annotated bibliography, answering essay questions, recording results of an experiment, describing the plot of a fictional work or film, or writing a research paper.

How to Write Summary Statements

Use these processes to help you write summary statements:

• Underline important information and write keywords in the margin.
• Record ideas using a two-column note-taking system. Record questions you have about the text concepts in the left column and answers you find in the reading in the right column.
• Identify how concepts relate to what you already know.
• Add examples and details

For retaining key ideas as you read, write a summary statement at the end of each paragraph or section. For capturing the major ideas of the entire work, write a summary paragraph (or more) that describes the entire text.

Tips for Summary

For longer, overall summary projects that capture an entire reading, consider these guidelines for writing a summary:

• A summary should contain the main thesis or standpoint of the text, restated in your own words. (To do this, first find the thesis statement in the original text.)
• A summary is written in your own words. It contains few or no quotes.
• A summary is always shorter than the original text, often about 1/3 as long as the original.  It is the ultimate fat-free writing. An article or paper may be summarized in a few sentences or a couple of paragraphs. A book may be summarized in an article or a short paper. A very large book may be summarized in a smaller book.
• A summary should contain all the major points of the original text , and should ignore most of the fine details, examples, illustrations or explanations.
• The backbone of any summary is formed by crucial details (key names, dates, events, words and numbers). A summary must never rely on vague generalities.
• If you quote anything from the original text, even an unusual word or a catchy phrase, you need to put whatever you quote in quotation marks (” “).
• A summary must contain only the ideas of the original text. Do not insert any of your own opinions, interpretations, deductions or comments into a summary.

You can view the transcript for “Summarizing” here (opens in new window) .

Paraphrasing

Paraphrasing is the act of putting an author’s ideas into your own words. When reading, paraphrasing is helpful for checking your understanding of what you read as well as remembering what you read. When writing, paraphrasing is an important skill to have when constructing a research paper and incorporating the ideas of others alongside your own.

Click to view the transcript for “Paraphrasing” here (opens in new window) .

paraphrasing : rewriting a passage of text in your own words

summarizing : condensing someone else’s ideas and putting it into your own shortened form

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Article • 12 min read

How to Paraphrase and Summarize Work

Summing up key ideas in your own words.

By the Mind Tools Content Team

Imagine you're preparing a presentation for your CEO. You asked everyone in your team to contribute, and they all had plenty to say!

But now you have a dozen reports, all in different styles, and your CEO says that she can spare only 10 minutes to read the final version. What do you do?

The solution is to paraphrase and summarize the reports, so your boss gets only the key information that she needs, in a form that she can process quickly.

In this article, we explain how to paraphrase and how to summarize, and how to apply these techniques to text and the spoken word. We also explore the differences between the two skills, and point out the pitfalls to avoid.

What Is Paraphrasing?

When you paraphrase, you use your own words to express something that was written or said by another person.

Putting it into your own words can clarify the message, make it more relevant to your audience , or give it greater impact.

You might use paraphrased material to support your own argument or viewpoint. Or, if you're putting together a report , presentation or speech , you can use paraphrasing to maintain a consistent style, and to avoid lengthy quotations from the original text or conversation.

Paraphrased material should keep its original meaning and (approximate) length, but you can use it to pick out a single point from a longer discussion.

What Is Summarizing?

In contrast, 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.

Used correctly, summarizing and paraphrasing can save time, increase understanding, and give authority and credibility to your work. Both tools are useful when the precise wording of the original communication is less important than its overall meaning.

How to Paraphrase Text

To paraphrase text, follow these four steps:

1. Read and Make Notes

Carefully read the text that you want to paraphrase. Highlight, underline or note down important terms and phrases that you need to remember.

2. Find Different Terms

Find equivalent words or phrases (synonyms) to use in place of the ones that you've picked out. A dictionary, thesaurus or online search can be useful here, but take care to preserve the meaning of the original text, particularly if you're dealing with technical or scientific terms.

3. Put the Text into Your Own Words

Rewrite the original text, line by line. Simplify the grammar and vocabulary, adjust the order of the words and sentences, and replace "passive" expressions with "active" ones (for example, you could change "The new supplier was contacted by Nusrat" to "Nusrat contacted the new supplier").

Remove complex clauses, and break longer sentences into shorter ones. All of this will make your new version easier to understand .

4. Check Your Work

Check your work by comparing it to the original. Your paraphrase should be clear and simple, and written in your own words. It may be shorter, but it should include all of the necessary detail.

Paraphrasing: an Example

Despite the undoubted fact that everyone's vision of what constitutes success is different, one should spend one's time establishing and finalizing one's personal vision of it. Otherwise, how can you possibly understand what your final destination might be, or whether or not your decisions are assisting you in moving in the direction of the goals which you've set yourself?

The two kinds of statement – mission and vision – can be invaluable to your approach, aiding you, as they do, in focusing on your primary goal, and quickly identifying possibilities that you might wish to exploit and explore.

We all have different ideas about success. What's important is that you spend time defining your version of success. That way, you'll understand what you should be working toward. You'll also know if your decisions are helping you to move toward your goals.

Used as part of your personal approach to goal-setting, mission and vision statements are useful for bringing sharp focus to your most important goal, and for helping you to quickly identify which opportunities you should pursue.

How to Paraphrase Speech

In a conversation – a meeting or coaching session, for example – paraphrasing is a good way to make sure that you have correctly understood what the other person has said.

This requires two additional skills: active listening and asking the right questions .

Useful questions include:

• If I hear you correctly, you're saying that…?
• So you mean that…? Is that right?
• Did I understand you when you said that…?

You can use questions like these to repeat the speaker's words back to them. For instance, if the person says, "We just don't have the funds available for these projects," you could reply: "If I understand you correctly, you're saying that our organization can't afford to pay for my team's projects?"

This may seem repetitive, but it gives the speaker the opportunity to highlight any misunderstandings, or to clarify their position.

When you're paraphrasing conversations in this way, take care not to introduce new ideas or information, and not to make judgments on what the other person has said, or to "spin" their words toward what you want to hear. Instead, simply restate their position as you understand it.

Sometimes, you may need to paraphrase a speech or a presentation. Perhaps you want to report back to your team, or write about it in a company blog, for example.

In these cases it's a good idea to make summary notes as you listen, and to work them up into a paraphrase later. (See How to Summarize Text or Speech, below.)

How to Summarize Text or Speech

Follow steps 1-5 below to summarize text. To summarize spoken material – a speech, a meeting, or a presentation, for example – start at step three.

1. Get a General Idea of the Original

First, speed read the text that you're summarizing to get a general impression of its content. Pay particular attention to the title, introduction, conclusion, and the headings and subheadings.

2. Check Your Understanding

Build your comprehension of the text by reading it again more carefully. Check that your initial interpretation of the content was correct.

3. Make Notes

Take notes on what you're reading or listening to. Use bullet points, and introduce each bullet with a key word or idea. Write down only one point or idea for each bullet.

If you're summarizing spoken material, you may not have much time on each point before the speaker moves on. If you can, obtain a meeting agenda, a copy of the presentation, or a transcript of the speech in advance, so you know what's coming.

Make sure your notes are concise, well-ordered, and include only the points that really matter.

The Cornell Note-Taking System is an effective way to organize your notes as you write them, so that you can easily identify key points and actions later. Our article, Writing Meeting Notes , also contains plenty of useful advice.

4. Write Your Summary

Bullet points or numbered lists are often an acceptable format for summaries – for example, on presentation slides, in the minutes of a meeting, or in Key Points sections like the one at the end of this article.

However, don't just use the bulleted notes that you took in step 3. They'll likely need editing or "polishing" if you want other people to understand them.

Some summaries, such as research paper abstracts, press releases, and marketing copy, require continuous prose. If this is the case, write your summary as a paragraph, turning each bullet point into a full sentence.

Aim to use only your own notes, and refer to original documents or recordings only if you really need to. This helps to ensure that you use your own words.

If you're summarizing speech, do so as soon as possible after the event, while it's still fresh in your mind.

5. Check Your Work

Your summary should be a brief but informative outline of the original. Check that you've expressed all of the most important points in your own words, and that you've left out any unnecessary detail.

Summarizing: an Example

So how do you go about identifying your strengths and weaknesses, and analyzing the opportunities and threats that flow from them? SWOT Analysis is a useful technique that helps you to do this.

What makes SWOT especially powerful is that, with a little thought, it can help you to uncover opportunities that you would not otherwise have spotted. And by understanding your weaknesses, you can manage and eliminate threats that might otherwise hurt your ability to move forward in your role.

If you look at yourself using the SWOT framework, you can start to separate yourself from your peers, and further develop the specialized talents and abilities that you need in order to advance your career and to help you achieve your personal goals.

SWOT Analysis is a technique that helps you identify strengths, weakness, opportunities, and threats. Understanding and managing these factors helps you to develop the abilities you need to achieve your goals and progress in your career.

Permission and Citations

If you intend to publish or circulate your document, it's important to seek permission from the copyright holder of the material that you've paraphrased or summarized. Failure to do so can leave you open to allegations of plagiarism, or even legal action.

It's good practice to cite your sources with a footnote, or with a reference in the text to a list of sources at the end of your document. There are several standard citation styles – choose one and apply it consistently, or follow your organization's house style guidelines.

As well as acknowledging the original author, citations tell you, the reader, that you're reading paraphrased or summarized material. This enables you to check the original source if you think that someone else's words may have been misused or misinterpreted.

Some writers might use others' ideas to prop up their own, but include only what suits them, for instance. Others may have misunderstood the original arguments, or "twisted" them by adding their own material.

If you're wary, or you find problems with the work, you may prefer to seek more reliable sources of information. (See our article, How to Spot Real and Fake News , for more on this.)

Paraphrasing means rephrasing text or speech in your own words, without changing its meaning. Summarizing means cutting it down to its bare essentials. You can use both techniques to clarify and simplify complex information or ideas.

To paraphrase text:

• Read and make notes.
• Find different terms.
• Put the text into your own words.
• Check your work.

You can also use paraphrasing in a meeting or conversation, by listening carefully to what's being said and repeating it back to the speaker to check that you have understood it correctly.

To summarize text or speech:

• Get a general idea of the original.
• Check your understanding.
• Make notes.
• Write your summary.

Seek permission for any copyrighted material that you use, and cite it appropriately.

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Importance of paraphrasing and summarizing in research

A research paper is a piece of academic writing based on research-based data and gives a detailed study, appraisal, or conclusion of a particular topic. Conducting extensive research is necessary for writing in any form of content and for any audience.

After detailed research, you will have a complete idea about a topic. These different concepts or ideas broaden the minds of writers to write content by using two writing skills:

• Paraphrasing
• Summarizing

Paraphrasing is essential to show a solid understanding of the original piece of content because, in paraphrasing, you write content in your own words.

With the help of summarizing, students can learn to consider important topics and relevant data in a book or discard irrelevant concepts unrelated to those ideas. The objective of providing a summary of a theory or work is to offer context for your argument by concisely presenting the most important points of view.

You can paraphrase your content to make it unique in plagiarism-free content. You can also sum up your extensive data with the help of summarizing. These two methods help you in creating a unique piece of writing. In this article, we are going to discuss the importance of summarizing and paraphrasing in writing a research paper.

Table of Contents

What Is Paraphrasing?

When you restate the meaning of sentences using your own words, It is called “paraphrasing .”When you paraphrase, you put anything that another person wrote into your own words to explain what they had written.

Writing it in your own words will help you make the message clear, more relevant to the audience, or give it more impact.

You can utilize already paraphrased content to create a more extensive research paper, but the content’s original meaning and length should be maintained. You can use paraphrasing tools to facilitate your writing process while writing a research paper. If you want to paraphrase well, and you have the ability to:

• Concentrate more on your studies.
• Simplify complex concepts and present them in language accessible to wide audiences.
• In your paper, prevent plagiarism (including self-plagiarism) and give your unique voice.

Importance of paraphrasing in research work

• Helps in Avoiding Plagiarism

When you rephrase anything in your own words instead of directly copying someone else’s words, you avoid the possibility of unintentionally copying someone else’s work while maintaining the ability to convey the meaning you want. Furthermore, it avoids any legal complications that may arise from someone for copyright infringement.

To paraphrase online effectively, you need to utilize your own words and come up with your concepts after researching a topic. This indicates that the reader will only get information from a single point of view, as opposed to the perspectives of several different sources.

The most prevalent kind of plagiarism is when students copy content from other works without giving credit to their original authors and then submit those passages as their work.

When you rephrase anything, you are writing content in your own words, which means that it is not an exact duplicate of the original content. This makes it much simpler to avoid committing this sort of plagiarism. So this helps in preventing plagiarism in research papers.

• Able to Concentrate More on different Ideas

When you paraphrase another person’s work, you are not just copying and pasting the original text into your own work as it is. Because you are taking the important points and concepts and then writing them into your own words, you are improving your understanding of the concepts presented by the original author.

Your writing will also come across as more natural as a result of this, giving the impression that it was written by you rather than by another individual.

• a better understanding of the topic

When paraphrasing, you must rewrite the source content using your own words instead of the original ones.

This may assist you in better understanding the point that was stated and enhance the quality of your own writing. In addition, by elaborating your thoughts, you can make it simpler for your audience to read and understand it.

Writers need to develop their paraphrasing skills. With the help of paraphrasing, you can write a research paper that is more understandable, precise, clear, and accurate.

• Enhance the Quality of Your Writing.

You will improve your writing skills as a writer if you take the time to paraphrase your phrases properly. When it comes to text that has been paraphrased, you have the ability to avoid making blunders that are quite typical.

Make sure you find authentic sources to back up anything you assert in your essay, as readers are eager to discover the truth.

When you successfully paraphrase online, you not only ensure that the central meaning of the original content is conveyed, but you also avoid any potential confusion. This is crucial to remember, particularly if you are writing for a specific audience.

Paraphrasing improves your punctuation and grammar and avoids spelling mistakes. And you can easily convey your concepts to your audience naturally.

• Help in proving arguments

A successful paraphrasing is an explanation or interpretation that you have given of the thoughts written by another person. In academic writing, paraphrasing is a valuable method for restating or clarifying the ideas presented by another author.

As a result, you need to make sure you use the right words to support your point. You can strongly prove your arguments when you use properly chosen phrases and paraphrase your content. So, you can strengthen your argument by using the paraphrasing strategy.

How do you paraphrase properly?

• Read and make notes

First, you should read the passage you want to paraphrase online carefully. Mark with a highlighter, underline or take notes on significant words and concepts that you need to keep in mind.

• Use synonyms

Find other words or phrases that mean the same thing as the ones you’ve selected so that you may use them instead. This is what we call a synonym . It will be helpful to use a dictionary or thesaurus or do an internet search for this purpose.

You have to choose synonyms carefully because it is important to maintain the original text’s sense, especially when working with technical or scientific words.

• Change parts of speech .

When using the paraphrasing method, the original nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs are changed into new parts of speech. This style of paraphrasing is highly useful for creating a unique piece of writing.

• Change sentence Structure

Changing the structure of the sentence is required for better paraphrasing, which might result in the creation of a passive voice from an active voice or vice versa. You can cut down lengthy sentences into short and short sentences into longer ones. These techniques will give a new look to your content.

What is summarizing?

Summarizing results in a summary is a concise outline of the whole content or argument. You can describe a whole discussion or research paper in a single paragraph, or you can use a series of bullet points to do so while utilizing your own words and approach. Moreover, if you are unable to do that on your own, a summarizer tool can help you in it.

When the original content is lengthy, or when people want only important facts or arguments, then you need to summarize. In summaries, details, and examples that may divert the reader’s attention from the most relevant information are removed. Moreover, complex arguments, syntax, and terminology are reduced to their most basic components using summarizing tools.

Summarizing tools help you generate a summary of your text. A summarizer tool reduces your text up to 20% approx. Concluding your whole content.

When used appropriately, summarizing and paraphrasing will save you time, raise your level of comprehension, and provide you with high-quality content.

Importance of summarizing in research paper

The summary is a piece of content in which you eliminate irrelevant or unimportant text. You need to be able to extract essential points and important arguments in order to make your content the most effective and relevant to your topic. Let’s look at the factors that make summarizing a critical writing skill.

• Extract importance points and arguments

In academia, it is common practice to write a summary of one’s argument and results to extract and express the most important concepts effectively.

You can effectively record your ideas by using summarization, which prevents you from being overwhelmed with the amount of content or losing essential aspects of what you want to say.

It is helpful for readers, especially those who don’t have enough time to read a complete paper. It offers a sufficient amount of information on the topic to enable one to get a more in-depth understanding of the topic.

• Improved credibility of your work

When you summarize your content, not only will it add interest, but it will also provide more credibility to your research paper.

It helps you stay on track while conveying the most important information in a simple and easy-to-read structure. The reader won’t lose interest and skim over or avoid what you’ve written.

• Gives a variety of perspectives on the topic

The skill to summarize offers many perspectives on a topic and is beneficial for a variety of other reasons as well. When you are writing a research paper, it will make managing time easier for you, and it will save you space by compressing ideas without reducing their value to the reader.

In addition, a summary makes it possible for others who aren’t already very knowledgeable about your study field to obtain the information. It broadens our understanding and provides us with fresh ideas.

• Gives access to relevant information

By summarizing, you will be able to present your readers with information that is both relevant and simple to understand. Your whole experience of learning a certain topic will improve as a result.

By summarizing, you are capable of effectively conveying your thoughts and concepts concisely. Readers can easily understand your point of view in a short time.

• Draws attention to the most important points

A book or article should have a summary written of it so that the most important facts and arguments are communicated engagingly. You will achieve this goal by recognizing and discussing significant ideas needed to understand what was said fully.

Summarizing enables readers to understand the important points of an article without having to read the whole text. Anyone may have a better understanding of the important points that are discussed in the text.

This is because the content is condensed into something that is simple for everyone to understand in a short time.

How do you summarize?

• Read content carefully

If you want to be sure that you understand a specific topic, you should read it more than once. Reading is broken up into three phases for maximum effectiveness:

• Skim the article fast to get an idea of its central theme and how it is generally structured.
• Carefully read the article, making sure to underline or highlight anything that’s particularly pertinent, and take notes as you go.
• Review the article once more to ensure that you understand the primary issues, and review any portions that you found especially significant or challenging.
• Separate content into several parts.

Separating the text into its many subsections will make it easier to comprehend its various points and more manageable overall.

Suppose the piece of writing is scientific research that belongs to a typical conceptual model. It has most likely already been structured into clearly recognized sections due to the nature of the research. These sections often consist of an introduction, methods, findings, and discussion.

• Determine the most important points of each section .

It is time to look over each part, identify relevant information, and remove irrelevant data. What information does your reader want in order to comprehend the general argument, as well as the conclusion, presented in the article?

Always remember that providing a summary does not need paraphrasing each paragraph of the original material. Your aim is to get the most important points from the text and write them in your own words.

• Summarize whole content

After fully understanding the most important points that the author wants to convey, the next step is for you to restate these ideas naturally using your own words.

It is crucial to correctly summarize the author’s thoughts in order to prevent plagiarism, and it will show that you have a deep understanding of the topic. You are not permitted to copy and paste any portion of the article, not even just one or two sentences, or to paraphrase the whole content word for word.

Putting aside the article and writing down what you think are the most important points about the topic is the best method to write a summary. You can summarize your ideas in a paragraph or make bullet points. Using bullet points or numbered lists is an appropriate way to write a summary.

Paraphrasing and summarizing are two very important writing skills when writing a research paper . Students must acquire the skills to accurately summarize and paraphrase to write content in their own words.

When you appropriately summarize and paraphrase your content, you can save time, raise your level of understanding, and provide your work with stronger credibility. Many online paraphrasing and summarizing tools will help you write a summary and paraphrase a paragraph while maintaining the original meaning of the content.

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Master the Art of Summarizing: A Guide to Improving Your Summarizing Skills

Summarizing Skills is an important skill . Writing clear and concise summaries is very helpful for readers. You can condense a variety of data and information with a summary, giving your audience an overview of the main points of what they are about to read. A clear and concise summary provides readers with a basic knowledge of a work’s history, literature, and media. It also provides readers with a broad outline.

Believe us writing clear and concise summaries is a skill only some possess. But you can still learn this skill. This article will discuss tips to help you write clear and concise summaries.

What is a Summary?

A summary is a concise and comprehensive synopsis of a larger piece of writing. It is commonly used to present the main points of an article, book, or other forms of writing in a condensed format. Summaries are often used to provide a quick overview of a larger document or information for readers needing more time to read the whole thing. Summaries can be written in various styles, from formal academic writing to informal blog posts.

What is summarising skill?

Summarizing skills involve condensing and communicating the most important information or ideas from a longer text or speech clearly and concisely. It requires the reader or listener to identify the main points, key ideas, and important details of a piece of information and present them in a way that is easy to understand and remember.

Effective summarizing involves reading or listening carefully, identifying the central themes, and determining what is relevant and what is not. It requires an understanding of the context and purpose of the information and the ability to extract the most important details and communicate them accurately and succinctly.

Summarizing is useful in many different contexts, including academic and professional settings, where it can condense complex information into manageable and easily digestible chunks. It is also a valuable tool in everyday life, where it can help us to quickly and efficiently understand and remember important information.

Importance of Writing Clear and Concise Summaries

Writing summaries is a skill that comes in handy. With a summary, you can convey the main points of any document without putting the reader through the trouble of reading it entirely. Similarly, you can use summaries to get the document’s main points in a dumbed-down manner.

Clear and concise summaries can also help you save time when studying for exams. For example, if you are looking for a history exam, you can quickly skim through your notes and find the main points you need to know. This can save you the time of reading through long text chapters or trying to remember the details of each chapter.

In addition, writing clear and concise summaries can be helpful for professionals in the workplace. Summaries allow you to quickly convey information to colleagues or supervisors, saving time and ensuring everyone is on the same page. The ability to summarize an important document or conversation accurately and briefly can help you stand out from your peers and even give you a leg up in the job market.

4 Useful Tips for Improving Your Summarizing Skills

Find & elaborate key points separately.

As we mentioned above, writing clear and concise summaries is a skill that allows people to understand long pieces of text/documents in less time.

Identifying and separating the text’s key points is crucial to write a good summary. This allows for more accuracy in the summary and ensures the most critical issues are included.

To identify the main points of the text. Please look at the text and any subheadings it has, and note the main ideas expressed in each section. This will help you to break down the text into its most essential points.

Once the main points have been identified, the next step is elaborating on them separately. This means taking the main points and delving deeper into each one. For each main point, provide additional details and examples to explain the matter further. Make sure to include any critical facts related to the topic or help to add context to it.

Overall, identifying and separating the text’s key points and elaborating on each is an integral part of this process. Doing so will ensure that the summary is accurate and includes all the most crucial information.

Don’t Omit Important Details & Definitions

Omitting key details or definitions can lead to understanding and clarity. While it is vital to keep summaries short and to the point, skipping facts or definitions can lead to a lack of transparency. With the crucial details, readers may understand the overall message and draw the correct conclusions.

In addition, omitting details or definitions can lead to a lack of accuracy. Provide details or explanations to ensure the summary is complete and accurate.

That’s why, when writing summaries, it is vital to include all of the necessary details and definitions to ensure accuracy and clarity. While it may be tempting to omit details to keep the summary short, it is essential to remember that the more accurate and comprehensive the overview is, the better.

Including the necessary details and definitions allows the reader to understand the full context of the summary. It is also essential to use clear and concise language when writing summaries. This will make the information more accessible to readers and make it easier to comprehend.

For example, suppose you’re a student writing a chemistry research paper. In that case, you should include important definitions, formulas, laws, etc. Similarly, think you are writing a history paper. In that case, you should include the important dates and figures in the timeline.

Use Active Voice to Write Clear & Concise Summaries

Using active voice is an essential part of writing clear and concise summaries. Active voice is when a sentence is structured with the subject performing the verb, while passive voice is when the verb is acting upon the subject. Active voice makes sentence construction more straightforward, allowing for a more transparent and precise summary.

Using an active voice in your writing helps to keep ideas concise, allowing for easy understanding by the reader. An active voice sentence usually contains fewer words and is simpler to read than one written in passive voice.

For example , “The car was driven by the man” is written in passive voice. This sentence is unnecessarily wordy and can be rewritten in active voice as “The man drove the car.” The active voice sentence is shorter, easier to understand, and more direct.

In addition, using active voice, in summary, can keep the narrative moving forward. When a summary contains too many passive-voice sentences, the flow of the narrative can become bogged down, and the reader may need clarification.

That’s why using an active voice in your writing is essential. Because doing this will allow the readers to focus on the main idea of the summary without being distracted by unnecessary details.

Use Online Tools To Write Clear and Concise Summaries of Your Text

As we already mentioned in the introduction of this article, writing a clear and concise summary can take time, especially if you’re pressed for time. Fortunately, you can use a few online tools to help write clear and concise summaries of your text. Let’s take a look at them:

Text Summarizer by Prepostseo:

The Text Summarizer by� Prepostseo is an easy-to-use tool that can generate summaries in a few seconds. It uses advanced algorithms to analyze the text and create a summary. The tool can summarize both long and short documents expeditiously and efficiently.

The tool is also capable of extracting key phrases from the text. It can generate summaries based on user-defined parameters such as word count—the percentage of the original text to be included in the summary.

To better understand how it works, we have taken a paragraph and summarized it. The result we got can be seen in the image below.

Additionally, this tool is available in multiple languages, allowing users worldwide to summarize the text in their native language. Moreover, the tool also supports various file upload options for added flexibility.

Summarizingtool.net:

Summarizingtool.net is also considered a popular tool for writing concise summaries. This tool allows users to summarize any text in eight different languages quickly. The tool is designed to help users quickly get to the gist of a document without having to read the entire text.

Using this tool is quite simple. Users copy and paste their text into the text box, choose their language, and click “Summarize.” The tool will then analyze the text and extract the most important sentences from the text. And then compiles these sentences into a summary that is typically a fraction of the original length. To illustrate this, we have attached an image below.

This� summarizing tool is helpful for students and professional users who need to comprehend the contents of a document quickly. Students can use the tool to summarize lengthy texts for their research papers promptly. In contrast, professionals can use it to grasp the main points of reports and presentations quickly.

Difference between Summarizing and Paraphrasing

While both summarizing, and paraphrasing involve rephrasing information in one’s own words, there is a subtle difference between the two.

Summarizing involves condensing the main points of a text or speech into a shorter version that accurately captures the essence of the original. A summary typically includes only the most important information, omitting minor details and examples. Summaries are often shorter than the original text or speech and provide a brief overview of a longer piece of information.

Paraphrasing, on the other hand, involves restating information from the original text or speech in a new way while maintaining the same meaning. A paraphrase may be longer or shorter than the original and often includes more details and examples than a summary. Paraphrasing is useful when the original wording is difficult to understand or needs clarification for a specific audience.

In summary, summarizing is about capturing the most important points in a condensed form, while paraphrasing is about restating the original information in a new way while retaining the same meaning. Both skills are important in effective communication, but they serve different purposes and are used in different contexts.

Final Words

Writing a clear and concise summary can be a challenge. But following the tips mentioned above, you can learn to craft effective summaries. Make sure to include only the most relevant details, and structure your summary in a logical way that is easy to follow. Avoid introducing new information or making conclusions not supported by the original document.

Top 10 Importance Of Paraphrasing And Summarizing In Essay Writing

A well-researched essay is usually the outcome of paraphrasing and summarizing many sources to produce an original paper that has not been previously published in any form. If you are planning to write your essay, you should know how important paraphrasing and summarizing are in the process of composing it correctly. Whether you write the essay yourself or pay for essay online , understanding the significance of paraphrasing and summarizing is crucial.

As you probably already know, this method of writing comes with many benefits. In this article, we will talk about the 10 benefits of paraphrasing and summarizing in writing an essay, but first, let’s take a look at what these two methods really mean.

1. Saving time

Paraphrasing saves time. It is faster to write a summary than to rephrase every sentence, so by paraphrasing, you’ll complete your essay faster. What’s more, if you have less material to work with, it takes less time to complete your work.

2. Getting to the point

Of course, essay writing isn’t about filling a page with words, it’s about being concise. Paraphrasing helps you make your point more clearly and quickly. When summarizing, your goal is to focus on just one or two main points.

Combining these strategies will help you get to (and stay) on the topic while avoiding needless repetition, leading to an efficient essay.

3. Avoiding plagiarism

The main benefit of paraphrasing and summarizing in essay writing is that it helps you avoid plagiarism. If you are writing a paper without first paraphrasing and outlining your ideas, there’s no guarantee that you won’t accidentally incorporate someone else’s language into your work.

4. Being original

When you’re working on an essay for class, even though not as an essay writer , it’s tempting to just restate what others have said about a subject. But true learning happens when you put your own spin on an idea—and show that you understand how and why other people think what they do.

To put these ideas into practice, first, make sure you fully understand your professor’s assignment—you don’t want to waste time with an essay that won’t earn good marks.

5. Boosting creativity

If you’re writing an essay on a subject you don’t know much about, you may find yourself stuck. To get in the creative mode, try paraphrasing and summarizing someone else’s point of view. This can help stimulate creativity while aiding your research efforts.

6. Improving your vocabulary

It is hard to overestimate how important a good vocabulary is for success. Whether it’s a college essay or a professional document, readers will be able to understand you more clearly if you use appropriate words.

That’s why an essay writer teaches that any time they use a new word, they should come back to it later and learn its meaning, including any etymology or historical context.

7. Being more organized

It’s no secret that poor organization is a top time waster. Luckily, there are simple steps you can take to be more organized and make time for other things like hobbies or spending time with friends and family. If you aren’t sure where to start, try these tips for increasing your efficiency at work so that your personal life doesn’t suffer.

Even if you don’t have office hours keeping you from working on an essay in your free time, it can still feel daunting when all you want to do is rest after a long day. However, if you can take even ten minutes per day towards writing your essay, you’d notice that those small bits of time add up quickly.

8. Using words with precision

Whether you’re paraphrasing an idea, presenting a quote, or summarizing material from an outside source, using words with precision is an important skill. This will show that you have mastery over your topic.

In addition to making sure that what you write accurately reflects what was said before, you can also use careful word choice to show that you know more about a subject than what was stated.

9. Paraphrasing improves grades

Students who paraphrase a source when writing an essay, for example, actually score higher on tests than students who summarize. Paraphrasing forces you to really understand what a source says, which helps your own thinking become more sophisticated—and it shows that sophistication to your professor.

Plus, research has shown that students often struggle with summarizing and understanding complex texts, whereas most people have no trouble at all with paraphrasing. It’s one reason why many instructors recommend emphasizing paraphrasing over summary.

10. Summarizing makes you a better writer

Not only will it improve your grammar, but it can also help you develop an eye for details by making you more aware of how different words, phrases, and meanings are interrelated.

At its best, it can even make you a better thinker. In other words, paraphrasing and summarizing will make your essay stronger—and what’s not to love about that?

Martha Simmonds

A self-confessed pop culture junkie, Martha Simmonds writes about everything from books and graphic novels to lesser-known TV shows and films from all over the world. She’s driven by the urge to explore the intricacies of societal movements and their representation in pop culture. She calls herself “the homemade critic” and loves sharing her view with the world.

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