and

Paraphrasing
TWO SIDES OF THE
SAME COIN

Learning outcomes
At the end of this lesson, you should be
able to :
Understand the techniques of summarising
Apply the techniques of summarising
Understand the techniques of paraphrasing
Apply the techniques of paraphrasing
Understand the importance of paraphrasing
Introduce an outside source

What is a summary?
A shorter version of a piece of
information which
Presents the main ideas or most important

information
Demonstrates understanding of the material in a
condensed form
Reports without personal interpretation or opinion
Involves Writing, Reading and Critical Thinking

Getting started
Read until you understand the text and feel

you can explain in your own words

Recall the information using the 6 question
words: Who? What? Where? When? Why?
How?
Remember to cite the writer of the text e.g.
Hanlon ( 1984) states
or
According to Hanlon (1984)

Language use
Write in the present tense and omit personal

pronouns e.g. I and me

Use verbs to indicate summarized information
e.g. suggests, states, writes, argues, etc.
Use transitional words for a smooth, logical
flow of ideas.
Paraphrase using your own vocabulary and
sentence structure. Make the tone and style
your own.
If quotations are used, remember quotation
marks

Summary example 1
Source:
Amphibians, which is the animal class or frogs
and toads, were the first creatures to crawl
from the sea and inhabit the earth.
Summary: The first animals to leave the sea
and live on dry land were amphibian.

Summary example 2
Source:
People whose professional activity lies in the
field of politics are not, on the whole,
conspicuous for their respect for factual
accuracy.
Summary : Politicians often lie.

Summary example 3
Source:
Failure to assimilate an adequate quantity of
food over an extended period of time is
absolutely certain to lead, in due course, to a
fatal conclusion.
Summary: Lack of food causes death.

Summary example 4
Source:
The climatic conditions prevailing in the British
Isles show a pattern of alternating and
unpredictable periods of dry and wet weather,
accompanied by a similarly irregular cycle of
temperature change
Summary: British weather is changeable.

Summarize the short article on saving

books
Authors: Elizabeth Johnson, Franco San Giorgio, Katrine Schengen, Alaister
MacDonald Libraries Viking Press, Edinburgh 2003

Some people save books to make a good

impression. Some think that a library full of the

literary classics, dictionaries, and books about art,
science, and history makes them look well read and
therefore, sophisticated. Of course, this impression
may be inaccurate. Some have never bothered to
read the majority of those books at all! In fact, a few
people even have libraries with fake books. Also,
some people like to reveal to visitors their wide
range of tastes and interests. They can subtly
reveal their interests in economics, art, politics,
philosophy, or animals without saying a word.

Paraphrasing

Learning outcomes:
At the end of this lesson, you
should be able to

Defining paraphrase
Restate what has been said, or
written, in a different way.
Use your own words to express
another writers words or ideas.

The importance of
paraphrasing
To avoid plagiarism
To report ideas and
information which belong
to someone else
As an alternative to
quoting

Attributes of a good
paraphrase
The use of different words to convey the same

ideas and information as the original writing.

The grammar and vocabulary are not the

same with the exception of technical terms.

The use of multiple paraphrasing techniques

simultaneously.

paraphrasing
Use
synonyms

Use varied
sentence
patterns

Break long
sentences
into shorter
ones

Change the
order of
ideas

Simplify
abstract
ideas

Technique 1 Use of
synonyms
Original

Paraphrased

Stress

Anxiety

Primary

Main use

application
About six
At least 600

hundred

Technique 2 Varying sentence structure

Original

Paraphrased

Although at least

Britain has just

600 of the devices

are used in the US,
there are
apparently only
three in Britain.

three devices,
whereas America
uses around 600.

Technique 3 changing the order of

ideas
Original
Dektor claims that the
muscle tightening
occurs very quickly,
and can change from
one word to the next,
so that it is possible
to pick out a word or
phrase that causes
stress.

Paraphrased
An anxiety-inducing
word or phrase may
be obvious, as the
muscles can tighten
between words,
according to Dektor

Technique 4 Breaking long sentences into

shorter ones
Original
In the US, the PSE device is
used for pre-employment
interviews, with questions such
as Have you ever used
marijuana? and for monthly
checks with branch managers,
asking questions like, Do you
suspect any present employees
of cheating the company?
which at least prevents a
manager from setting his own
pace to investigate possible
suspicious behavior.

Paraphrased
The PSE device is used in
America to ask
prospective employees if
they have aver taken
narcotics and to question
financial managers about
possible fraud in the
company. This is a
prevention against branch
managers conducting
their own investigations.

Technique 5 : simplifying abstract ideas

Original
Normally, but not
under stress, these
voluntary muscles
vibrate at 8-12 Hz,
and this adds a
clearly noticeable
frequency-modulated
component to the
voice. The PSE works
by analyzing this
infrasonic FM
component.

Paraphrased
The PSE analyses
vibrations of muscles
in the mouth and
throat which usually
vibrate at 8-12Hz.
However, under
stress, these muscles
tighten and the PSE
can identify the
change in the voice.

Introducing an outside source

Always acknowledge
the writer of the text
e.g.

Hanlon (2000) states /

writes / maintains /
According to Hanlon
(2000) the PSE
Or
The introduction of the
PSE (Dektor) to Britain
is a cause for concern
as no law exists to
prohibit its use (Hanlon,
2000).

Example of a good summary

Original text: Students

frequently overuse direct
quotation in taking notes, and
as a result they overuse
quotations in the final
[research] paper. Probably only
about 10% of your final
manuscript should appear as
directly quoted matter.
Therefore, you should strive to
limit the amount of exact
transcribing of source
materials while taking notes
(Lester, 1976).

A plagiarized version:
Students often use too many direct
quotations when they take notes,
resulting in too many of them in the
final research paper. In fact, probably
only about 10% of the final copy
should consist of directly quoted
material. So it is important to limit
the amount of source material copied
while taking notes.

An acceptable summary:
When
writing the final

research paper, students

are advised to limit direct
quotations
taken
from
sources (Lester, 1976).

A good paraphrase
Original text: Students
frequently overuse direct
quotation in taking notes,
and as a result they
overuse quotations in the
final [research] paper.
Probably only about 10% of
your final manuscript
should appear as directly
quoted matter. Therefore,
you should strive to limit
the amount of exact
transcribing of source
materials while taking
notes (Lester, 1976).

Lesters (1976) advise is for

students to limit direct

quotations and a good
guide is to only have at
least 10% of quoted text in
the final paper.

On a final note:
Use a variety of paraphrasing

techniques.
Always ensure information

paraphrased is true to the

original.

Conclusion
THIS IS THE
END OF
TODAYS
LECTURE