Lecture: Paraphrasing,

Summarizing and Quoting

Part 3
Summarizing
• Summarizing is done when the original writer’s work is
lengthy, and you need the main points, but not a direct
quotation or full sentences that copy the meaning. For
example, if you are using an entire chapter of a book
as a resource for one point in a paragraph, you aren’t
going to be able to include all of the ideas from the
 book. Instead, you will simplify those ideas into
something shorter, keeping the main points intact and
concisely expressing them.
•
• A summary works well when you have a large chunk of text
you want to pull the main ideas from in your piece. It
allows you to get to the main idea of the author’s piece,
only pulling out what is necessary for you to make your
point. It provides background information to the reader, as
well.
•
Summaries also work well if you need just the main points
of the writer’s work instead of all of the added material.
This strategy works particularly well when you need to
 argue a point and want to use an entire work to do so but
do not have enough space to quote the source material.
•
• Unlike summarizing though, paraphrasing focuses less on
shortening and condensing the information. Paraphrasing
aims to rewrite the information by drawing on different
words and phrases”.
• Although both tools or techniques involve using your own
words to describe somebody else’s text, they are different.
You need to retain the original work’s meaning with both
techniques while using your own words. When you’re
summarizing a work, you’re selecting only the most
essential points of the text and rewriting these in your
 own words. This means that you provide a short overview
of what a text is about.
•
• here are various ways in which you can enrich your academic vocabulary. These
include:
• Keeping a word journal: A great way to learn new words is to carry a little book
along with you, in which you can write down words that you don’t know. You can
write down the word and then look up the meaning when you have time. It can
also be helpful to construct your sentence with the word once you’ve jotted down
its definition.
• Highlight words in texts: Whether you’re working with a physical copy of a text or
a digital version, it’s good to highlight or underline words that you don’t know. You
can then either write a definition of the words in the margin or, if you’re working
with a digital copy, you can add a comment. Another good tip is to write by hand –
people learn better when writing something by hand than if they typed the same
information.
• Read as much as you can: Although this may be obvious, the best way to improve
your vocabulary is to read as many books and articles as you can fit into your
schedule. Even if you don’t have the time to look up the meaning of each word
that you don’t understand, just seeing the word pop up in different contexts will
help you work out the meaning for yourself over time. Apart from reading, you can
also listen to podcasts or watch documentaries and news channels.

• Here are some times when paraphrasing

becomes plagiarism:
• You rephrase someone else’s original idea in
your own words, but don’t give them credit.
• You keep your sentence structure and
wording too similar to the other source
without showing it as a direct quote.
• Statements that seem complimentary in one
context may be inappropriate in another. For
example, women in business are usually
uncomfortable if male colleagues or superiors
compliment them on their appearance: the
comments suggest that the women are being
treated as visual decoration rather than as
contributing workers. (p.