Week 1 summarizing & paraphrasing 2

1. Paraphrasing &
Summarizing
BY: RUSSELL RODRIGO

2. Week 1 Lesson Outline
 Describe the difference between paraphrasing and
summarizing
 Describe the steps involved in paraphrasing and summarizing
 Know how to avoid plagiarism

3. Paraphrasing
To paraphrase is to rewrite something 'in your own words'.
•Lecturers like to see you using paraphrasing in your writing
because it demonstrates what you know and understand
about their subject (because it is in your own words).
•Most of your academic reading texts are made up of
paraphrases. Any information in a paragraph that does not
have quotation marks and is referenced is either a
paraphrase or a summary.

4. Paraphrasing
Students often experience difficulties writing acceptable paraphrases. In
their studies of student essay writing problems, Brown and Smith (2006)
observe that the most common paraphrasing error made by students was
that they only changed a few of the writer’s words. They also noted that
this practice was a particular problem with internet users who copied and
pasted information from web sites. Even if this paraphrased text is
referenced, it is not an acceptable practice as the words and sentences are
also almost the same as the original text (Johnson & Jackson, 2006).
Therefore students who lack mastery in paraphrasing may experience
problems with avoiding plagiarism. (106 words)

5. Paraphrasing
Successful paraphrasing depends on the writer’s ability to rephrase the original
author’s words into their own, but also maintain the same meaning.
Two simple ways of rephrasing are to use synonyms and the passive voice.
• A) A group of US researchers has carried out trials on a new
vaccine.
• B) An unhealthy lifestyle can be the cause of many diseases.
Examples of
original text:
Using
synonyms:
• .
Using passive
voice:
Using both
synonyms
and passive
voice:

6. Paraphrasing
 Practice paraphrasing these sentences in your own words by using
synonyms and/or passive voice.
1. We need more proof that active learning really works.
2. They will build a huge medical center on the old site in the near future.
3. The organizers cancelled the talk because the main speaker was ill.

7. Paraphrasing
For ALL paraphrases:
• Keep the meaning the same as the original
writing
• Change most of the words except for
technical terms
• Restructure the sentence patterns
• Blend with the sentence (use reporting
words)
• Use strong/weak author to acknowledge the
source
• Reference the source/s of information

8. Paraphrasing
Don't do this!
• Don't just change a couple of words from your information source and
think that it is an acceptable paraphrase—adding a reference makes no
difference! Either use a direct quote (the author's EXACT words) or change
the words of the author significantly so that it is a correct paraphrase.
• Don't just switch around sentence parts from your information source and
add a reference, then think that it is an acceptable paraphrase—adding
a reference makes no difference! Either use a direct quote (the author's
EXACT words) or change the sentences significantly so that it a correct
paraphrase.
• Avoid patchworking (cutting and pasting and copying bits of information
from a variety of sources and connecting it all together in a paragraph,
usually without references). It is a GOOD strategy to use information from
different sources in a paragraph but you must paraphrase and reference
each and every piece of evidence correctly.

9. Summarizing
Summaries of material may be used to give an overview of an
author’s work.
• Because they are very brief outlines of arguments made, they
are very useful when you want to indicate the support given for
and/or against some position you are taking in your argument.
• In your writing you may make a summary from:
• one or more paragraphs
• an entire article, chapter or complete work
• a combination of readings with similar ideas
• You can get an idea from your reading as to whether an author
has used a direct quote, paraphrase or summary to support
their argument.

10. Summarizing

11. Summarizing
For ALL summaries:
• Keep the meaning and degree of certainty
the same as the original writing
• Put the main idea and key points into your
own words
• Expect that length of your summary will be
very short compared to the original writing
• Blend with the sentence (use reporting words)
• Use strong/weak author to acknowledge the
source
• Reference the source/s of information

12. Summarizing
Don't do this!
• Don't sacrifice CLARITY (clear writing) by clogging your writing
up with too many details. You need to get to the essence of
what the writer has to say in as few words as possible.
• Don't do a one-off summary. You need to have several tries at a
good summary. Keep checking against the original to ensure
that you have maintained the message and captured the
surety of the writer (how committed the writer is to their
opinion).

13. Lesson Review
 Describe the difference between paraphrasing and
summarizing
 Describe the steps involved in paraphrasing and summarizing
 Know how to avoid plagiarism

14. F2F Activities

15. Practice

16. Practice

17. Paraphrasing Homework pp. 11-12