Summarizing,

Paraphrasing, and
Direct Quotes Bellwork
Mrs. Bly
SUMMARIZING
 What is a summary?
• Summarizing is how we take larger
selections of text and reduce them
to their bare essentials: the gist, the
key ideas, the main points that are
worth noting and remembering.
• Webster's calls a summary the
"general idea in brief form."
 What Are We Doing When
We Summarize?

• We strip away the extra words and

examples.
• We are trying to capture the main ideas
and the necessary supporting details.
• We are shortening the passage by
including the main ideas in order to use it
as a concrete detail.
 When summarizing,
DON’T
• write down everything
• write down next to nothing
• copy word for word
• be too detailed
• include unimportant info
• make your summary as long as or
longer than the original
 Strategies
• Figure out the main idea
• Use the 5W’s/1H to pick out
important details
• Imagine that each word in your
summary costs money, like an ad in
the paper. Is this info worth the
cost? Would the summary still get
the point across without it?
 When summarizing,
DO
• pull out main ideas
• focus on key details
• use key words and phrases
• break down the larger ideas
• write only enough to convey the gist
• use your own words
• include the original author’s name and
title of the work you’re summarizing (use
MLA format to cite)
 Practice
• Insects are small, six-legged animals. There are many different insects,
like bees, ants, wasps, butterflies, cockroaches, ladybugs, fireflies, and
termites. Other insects include houseflies, dragonflies, mosquitoes,
grasshoppers, lice, crickets, fleas, and moths. It would take over 6,000 pages
to print the scientific names of all insects on paper.
Over 1.5 million species of animals have been named by scientists.
Approximately 1 million of these are insects. Scientists discover 7,000 to
10,000 new species of insects each year. Some scientists believe that 1
million to 10 million species of insects are still undiscovered.
Insects live almost everywhere on Earth. They live in tropical jungles and
cold snowy regions. They can be found high on mountains and in deserts below
sea level. From caves to the sky, insects can be seen crawling or flying. The
only place where few insects are found is the ocean.

Who What Where When Why How

 Choose the BEST
summary of this passage:
– A- There are millions of species of insects. New insect species are
discovered each year, and scientists believe that millions have not
been discovered yet. Insects live almost everywhere, but only a few
live in the ocean.
– B- Insects are small, six-legged animals. It would take more than
6,000 pages to list them all. Insects live in caves, on mountains, and in
deserts. They can be found in jungles and snowy regions. Only a few
insects live in the ocean.
– C- Bees, ants, ladybugs, and termites are examples of insects. There
are 1.5 million kinds of insects on Earth. Some scientists think there
are up to 10 million species left to discover. They live high on
mountains and in deserts.
– D- Insects are not found in oceans. They are found in deserts, below
sea-level, and on mountain tops. They fly and live in caves. They even
live in tropical jungles and in snowy regions. Scientists have not found
all the species of insects yet.
 ANSWER: A
• A good summary tells the most important points of a
passage in a very short way. Some summaries are
only a couple of sentences long, but they always
cover the main points of a passage. This passage is
about insects.
• The most important points in the passage are:
• (1) there are millions of different kinds of insects,
• (2) new species are discovered every year,
• (3) scientists still haven't found all of the species
of insects, and
• (4) insects live just about everywhere, but very few
species of insects live in the ocean.
• Therefore A is the correct answer:
• A- There are millions of species of insects. New insect species
are discovered each year, and scientists believe that millions have
not been discovered yet. Insects live almost everywhere, but only
a few live in the ocean.
 Application
• When would we use a summary as a
CD in a research paper?
PARAPHRASING
 What is a paraphrase?
• Paraphrasing is restating the idea
in your own words. It can be about
the same length or even longer than
the original passage.
What are we doing when
we paraphrase?
• We replace difficult vocabulary with
words we understand and would
normally use
• We rewrite the complex ideas into
simple, clear sentences
• A more detailed restatement than a
summary, which focuses concisely on
a single main idea.
 When paraphrasing,
DON’T
• Copy word for word
• Use words you don’t understand or
wouldn't’t normally use
• Leave out ideas
• Change the author’s meaning or
message
 When paraphrasing,
DO
• Put all ideas into your own words
• Include all ideas and examples
• Include the original author’s name and title of
the work you’re paraphrasing (use MLA format to
cite)
• Keep your paraphrase about the same length as
the original
• Write more detailed restatement than a summary,
which focuses concisely on a single main idea.
 Strategies
• Read the text, and make sure you
understand what it is saying
• Put each idea into your own
words…imagine how you would say
this idea to a friend or in your
own writing
• Paraphrasing is helpful because
the mental process required for
successful paraphrasing helps you
to grasp the full meaning of the
original.
 IMPORTANT
• When paraphrasing, be VERY careful
not to be too close to the original
version. This is PLAGIARISM.
• To avoid plagiarism, make sure to
change both the vocabulary and
sentence structure in your
paraphrase.
 Practice
• Original: "Upon the eighth night I was more
than usually cautious in opening the door. A
watch's minute hand moves more quickly than
did mine." –E.A. Poe

• Plagiarism: On the eighth night I was more

cautious than usual when opening the door. The
minute hand on a watch moves more quickly than
did mine.

• Paraphrase: On the eighth night, I was more

careful than normal when I opened the door.
The minute hand on a watch moved faster than
my hand did.
 “I knew that sound well
too”
• I knew that sound very well.
• It was a sound I recognized very
well.
• It was a sound I recognized.
“There entered three men, who
introduced themselves, with
perfect suavity, as officers of the
police.” –E.A. Poe
• Three guys entered and explained
themselves to be police officers.
• Three police officers entered and
politely explained who they were.
• Three men entered and introduced
themselves very suavely as police
officers.
Using Direct Quotes
What are direct quotes?
• A direct quote is one in which you
copy an author’s words directly from
the text and use that exact wording
in your essay
• Direct quotes are the most common
CD (concrete detail) you have used as
textual evidence in my English class.
What are we doing when
we use direct quotes?
• We provide the exact words from
the text
• We give evidence to support the
evaluation and analysis in our essay
 When using direct quotes,
DON’T
• Only choose dialogue to cite
• Change the grammar of the quote
• Leave out important details when using
ellipses (the 3 dots: …)
• Don’t use direct quotes for plot summary
• Don’t use the direct quote without following
it with analysis sentences. The direct quote
doesn’t speak for you!
 When using direct quotes,
DO
• Use quotation marks to identify your direct
quote in the paragraph (‘’ “)
• Write the exact words from the text
• Choose descriptive passages as well as dialogue
• Cite your direct quotes
• For quotes longer than 3 lines, block indent
using left/right indent
 Strategies
• Choose the main idea of the textual
evidence that you want to use and
eliminate extraneous parts
• Include only the direct quote that you are
going to analyze in your CM (commentary)
sentences
• Make sure your direct quote supports your
thesis
Practice: What direct quotes could you
use from this passage?

• https://www.poetryfoundation.or
g/poets/edgar-allan-poe
 RECAP
• What’s the difference between a
summary, a paraphrase, and a direct
quote?