PARAPHRASING

& SUMMARIZING
Instructor: Torgyn
Ayazbay
 What is the paraphrasing?

■ Paraphrasing means changing the wording of a text so that it is significantly different

from the original source, without changing the meaning.

■ Effective paraphrasing is a key academic skill needed to avoid the risk of plagiarism: it
demonstrates your understanding of a source.
The elements of effective paraphrasing

■ Paraphrasing and summarizing are normally used together in essay writing, but while
summarizing aims to reduce information to a suitable length, paraphrasing attempts to
restate the relevant information. For example, the following sentence:

There has been much debate about the reasons for the industrial revolution
happening in eighteenth-century Britain, rather than in France or Germany.

could be paraphrased:

Why the industrial revolution occurred in Britain in the eighteenth century,

instead of on the continent, has been the subject of considerable discussion.
Note that an effective paraphrase usually:

■ has a different structure to the original

■ has mainly different vocabulary

■ retains the same meaning

■ keeps some phrases from the original that are in common use e.g. ‘industrial revolution’
or ‘eighteenth century’
Read the text below and then evaluate the three paraphrases
(1=best), giving reasons.

THE CAUSES OF THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION

Allen (2009) argues that the best explanation for the British location of the industrial
revolution is found by studying demand factors. By the early eighteenth century high wages
and cheap energy were both features of the British economy. Consequently, the
mechanization of industry through such inventions as the steam engine and mechanical
spinning was profitable because employers were able to economize on labor by spending on
coal. At that time, no other country had this particular combination of expensive labor and
abundant fuel.
■ (a) A focus on demand may help to explain the UK origin of the

industrial revolution. At that time workers’ pay was high, but energy from

coal was inexpensive. This encouraged the development of mechanical

inventions based on steam power, which enabled bosses to save money

by mechanizing production (Allen, 2009).

■ (b) The reason why Britain was the birthplace of the industrial revolution

can be understood by analyzing demand in the early 1700s, according to

Allen (2009). He maintains that, uniquely, Britain had the critical

combination of cheap energy from coal and high labor costs. This

encouraged the adoption of steam power to mechanize production, thus

saving on wages and increasing profitability.

■ (c) Allen (2009) claims that the clearest explanation for the UK location of the

industrial revolution is seen by examining demand factors. By the eighteenth

century cheap energy and high wages were both aspects of the British economy.

As a result, the mechanization of industry through inventions such as the steam

engine and mechanical spinning was profitable because employers were able to

save money on employees by spending on coal. At that time, Britain was the

only country with significant deposits of coal.

Techniques for paraphrasing:

(a) Changing vocabulary by using synonyms:

■ argues > claims/ eighteenth century > 1700s/ wages > labor costs/ economize >

saving

■ NB. Do not attempt to paraphrase every word, since some have no true

synonym, e.g. demand, economy, energy

(b) Changing word class:

■ explanation (n.) > explain (v.) / mechanical (adj.) > mechanize (v.) / profitable (adj.) > profitability

(n.)
(c) Changing word order:

■ . . . the best explanation for the British location of the industrial revolution is found by

studying demand factors.

■ > A focus on demand may help explain the UK origin of the industrial revolution.
Read the following text and then practice the
techniques illustrated above.

FOUR WHEELS GOOD

■ The growth of the car industry parallels the development of modern capitalism. It began in
France and Germany, but took off in the United States. There Henry Ford adapted the moving
production line from the Chicago meat industry to motor manufacturing, thus inventing mass
production. In the 1920s Alfred Sloan’s management theories helped General Motors to become
the world’s dominant car company. After the second world war the car makers focused on the
styling of their products to encourage more frequent model changes. From the 1970s there was
criticism of the industry due to the inefficiency of most vehicles, which used petrol wastefully.
At the same time, trades unions became increasingly militant in defense of their members’ jobs.
Today the industry owns some of the most famous brands in the world. However, many car
makers are currently threatened by increased competition and saturated markets.
(a) Find synonyms for the words underlined.

(i) The growth of the car industry parallels the development of modern capitalism.

■ Example: The rise of the automobile industry matches the progress of contemporary
capitalism.

(ii) It began in France and Germany, but took off in the United States.

(iii) There Henry Ford adapted the moving production line from the Chicago meat industry
to motor manufacturing, thus inventing mass production.
(b) Change the word class of the underlined words, and then re-write the sentences.

(i) In the 1920s Alfred Sloan’s management theories helped General Motors to become the world’s dominant car

company.

■ Example: In the 1920s, with help from the managerial theories of Alfred Sloan, General Motors dominated the

world’s car companies.

(ii) After the second world war the car makers focused on the styling of their products, to encourage more frequent

model changes.

(iii) From the 1970s there was criticism of the industry due to the inefficiency of most vehicles, which used petrol

wastefully.
(c) Change the word order of the following sentences (other changes may be needed).

(i) At the same time, trades unions became increasingly militant in defense of their members’ jobs.

■ Example: At the same time increasingly militant trades unions defended their members’ jobs.

(ii) Today the industry owns some of the most famous brands in the world.

(iii) However, many car makers are currently threatened by increased competition and saturated

markets.
Find a synonym for the underlined words/phrases. Re-
write each sentence using these new words and phrases

■ 1. Around 30,000 children may be helped by the proposed “free lunch” program.

■ 2. All of the people in class studied hard. The effect was a big increase in test scores.

■ 3. If you use cheap paper and discount ink, the quality of your printed documents will suffer.

This situation can be avoided by switching to high quality products.

■ 4. The weather forecast says it will be mostly windy and rainy over the next few days. In

addition, a strong typhoon is expected to hammer the coast next Wednesday.

Answer:

■ 1. Around 30,000 children may be helped by the proposed free lunch program.

– Approximately 30,000 children may be assisted by the planned free lunch

program.

– About 30,000 children may benefit from the recommended free lunch

program.
Answer:

■ 2. All of the people in class studied hard. The effect was a big increase in test scores.

– All of the students in class studied intensely. The result was a dramatic increase in

test scores.

– All of my classmates studied well. In the end, there was a huge jump in test scores.
Answer:
■ 3. If you use cheap paper and discount ink, the quality of your printed documents will

suffer. This situation can be avoided by switching to high quality products.

– If you use inexpensive paper and cheap ink, the quality of your printed documents

will be poor. This problem can be avoided by changing to high quality supplies.

– If you use low cost paper and budget ink, your printed documents will not look

good. This unfortunate experience can be avoided by using high quality materials.
Answer:

■ 4. The weather forecast says it will be mostly windy and rainy over the next few days. In

addition, a strong typhoon is expected to hammer the coast next Wednesday.

– The weather forecast says it will be mostly windy and rainy for the next several days.

Moreover, a powerful typhoon is expected to hit the coast next Wednesday.

– The weather forecast says it will be mostly windy and rainy during the next three or

four days. Furthermore, a dangerous typhoon is expected to slam into the coast next

Wednesday.
■ 5. A science teacher caught two high school students smoking outside the school
cafeteria. This action forced the principle to expel them for violating the
school’s no smoking policy.

■ 6. The engineer must judge how much dynamite to use according to the quantity
of material to be removed from the tunnel.

■ 7. Skateboarding is a fun way to exercise, meet people and look cool. It is a

popular sport with around 10 million skaters worldwide. Based on this
information, skateboard companies work hard to develop new products for this
large group of consumers.
Answer
:
■ 5. A science teacher caught two high school students smoking outside the school cafeteria.

This action forced the principle to expel them for violating the school’s no smoking policy.

– A science teacher found two high school students smoking outside the school cafeteria.

This event forced the principle to kick them out for breaking the school’s no smoking

rule.

– A science teacher saw two high school students smoking outside the school cafeteria.

This fact forced the principle to boot them out for disobeying the school’s no smoking

law.
Answer:

■ 6. The engineer must judge how much dynamite to use according to the quantity of material to

be removed from the tunnel.

– The engineer must decide how much dynamite to use depending on the amount of

material to be removed from the tunnel.

– The engineer must figure out how much dynamite to use based on the volume of material

to be removed from the tunnel.

Answer:
■ 7. Skateboarding is a fun way to exercise, meet people and look cool. It is a popular sport with around 10

million skaters worldwide. Based on this information, skateboard companies work hard to develop new

products for this large group of consumers.

– Skateboarding is an exciting way to exercise, meet people and look good. It is a popular sport with

about 10 million skaters around the world. Based on this data, skateboard companies work hard to

create new products for this large group of buyers.

– Skateboarding is a thrilling way to exercise, meet people and look stylish. It is a popular sport with

approximately 10 million skaters around the globe. Based on this knowledge, skateboard companies

work hard to sell new products to this large group of customers.

■
Paraphrase the text by replacing the underlined words and
phrases with synonyms. Some sentences might need to be
changed.

■ Cell phone usage has exploded over the past decade and continues to rise.

Today there are over one billion phone users worldwide. Concern has arisen

over whether cell phone usage can harm a person’s health. Brain cancer rates

in the United States have risen since cell phones were introduced, leading

some people to wonder if cell phone usage is the reason for the increase.
Possible version:

■ Mobile phone usage has increased sharply over the past 10 years and

continues to grow. Today there are more than one billion phone users around

the globe. Questions have arisen over whether cell phone usage can

negatively impact a person’s health. The number of brain cancer patients in

the United States has increased since cell phones were introduced, leading

some people to wonder if cell phone usage is the cause of the change.
Summarizing
■ Summarizing means giving a concise overview of a text’s main points in your own

words. A summary is always much shorter than the original text.

■ Writing a summary does not involve critiquing or analyzing the source—you should

simply provide a clear, objective, accurate account of the most important information

and ideas, without copying any text from the original and without missing any of the

key points.
Stages of summarizing

■ Summarizing is a flexible tool.

■ You can use it to give a one-sentence synopsis of an article, or

to provide much more detail, depending on your writing needs.

Study the stages of summary writing below, which have been mixed up.
Put them in the correct order.

■ (a) Write the summary from your notes, re-organizing the structure if needed.

■ (b) Make notes of the key points, paraphrasing where possible.

■ (c) Read the original text carefully and check any new or difficult vocabulary.

■ (d) Mark the key points by underlining or highlighting.

■ (e) Check the summary to ensure it is accurate and nothing important has been changed
or lost.
Practice

Read the following text (3.1) and

the summaries (a)–(c). Rate them

1 (best) – 3.
■ (a) Fruit crops have usually been picked by hand, as it is difficult to mechanize the process.

But in rich countries it has become hard to find affordable pickers at the right time so fruit

is often wasted. Therefore intelligent machines have been developed that can overcome the

technical problems involved, and also provide the farmer with useful data about the plants.
■ (b) Developing machines that can pick fruit such as tomatoes or apples is a challenging

task, due to the complexity of locating ripe fruit in an unpredictable outdoor environment,

where difficult conditions can be produced by wind or water. But recent developments in

computing ability mean that growers can now automate this process, which should save

them money and increase their profits.

■ (c) Strawberries and grapes are the kind of crops that have always been hand-picked. But

many farmers, for example in California, now find it increasingly difficult to attract enough

pickers when the fruit is ripe. However, computing advances have produced a solution to this

problem, which will save farmers from worrying about the pickers, and also collect vital

data.
Step 1: Read the text

You should read the article more than once to make sure you’ve thoroughly understood it. It’s often effective

to read in three stages:

■ Scan the article quickly to get a sense of its topic and overall shape.

■ Read the article carefully, highlighting important points and taking notes as you read.

■ Skim the article again to confirm you’ve understood the key points, and re-read any particularly important or difficult

passages.

There are some easy tricks you can use to identify the key points as you read:

■ Start by reading the abstract—this already contains the author’s own summary of their work, and it tells you what to

expect from the article.

■ Pay attention to headings and subheadings—these should give you a good sense of what each part is about.

■ Read the introduction and the conclusion together and compare them: what did the author set out to do, and what was

the outcome?
Step 2: Break the text down into sections

■ To make the text more manageable and understand its sub-points, break it down into smaller
parts.

■ If the text is a scientific paper that follows a standard empirical structure, it is probably
already organized into clearly marked sections, usually including an introduction, methods,
results, and discussion.

■ Other types of articles may not be explicitly divided into sections. But most articles and
essays will be structured around a series of sub-points or themes.

■ Try writing a word or phrase in the margin next to each paragraph that describes the
paragraph’s content. Then you can see at a glance what each part of the article focuses on. If
several paragraphs cover similar or related topics, you may group them together in sections.
Step 3: Identify the key points in each section

■ Now it’s time go through each part and pick out its most important points. What does

your reader need to know to understand the overall argument or conclusion of the

article?

■ Keep in mind that a summary does not involve paraphrasing every single paragraph of

the article. Your goal is to extract the essential points, leaving out anything that can be

considered background information or supplementary detail.

Step 4: Write the summary

■ Now that you know the key points that the article aims to communicate, you need to put them in

your own words.

■ To avoid plagiarism and show you’ve understood the article, it’s essential to properly paraphrase

the author’s ideas. Do not copy and paste parts of the article, not even just a sentence or two.

■ The best way to do this is to put the article aside and write out your own understanding of the

author’s key points.

Practice:
Original text:

■ America has changed dramatically during recent years. Not only has the number of graduates in traditional

engineering disciplines such as mechanical, civil, electrical, chemical, and aeronautical engineering

declined, but in most of the premier American universities engineering curricula now concentrate on and

encourage largely the study of engineering science. As a result, there are declining offerings in engineering

subjects dealing with infrastructure, the environment, and related issues, and greater concentration on high

technology subjects, largely supporting increasingly complex scientific developments. While the latter is

important, it should not be at the expense of more traditional engineering (96 words).

Source: Excerpted from Frankel, E.G. (2008, May/June) Change in education: The cost of sacrificing

fundamentals. MIT Faculty Newsletter, XX, 5, 13.)

One-paragraph Summary:

■ In a 2008 Faculty Newsletter article, “Change in Education: The cost of sacrificing fundamentals,”

MIT Professor Emeritus Ernst G. Frankel expresses his concerns regarding the current state of

American engineering education. He notes that the number of students focusing on traditional

areas of engineering has decreased while the number interested in the high-technology end of the

field has increased. Frankel points out that other industrial nations produce far more traditionally-

trained engineers than we do, and believes we have fallen seriously behind. (81 words)