PARAPHRASING, SUMMARIZING,
AND MAIN IDEA
Objective:
Students will be able to identify the difference between
paraphrasing and summarizing.
Students will be able to identify main idea.
Students will be able to write an effective summary,
paraphrase, and main idea.
Quoting, paraphrasing, and summarizing
are writing techniques that allow you to
use another author’s work in your paper.
Citing others’ works adds credibility to
your work and provides support for your
ideas.
To begin, let’s read the following short article titled
“Tattoo, Bling Craze Raises Hiring Issues” found in
the April 2006 issue of USA Today Magazine on
page 10; there is no mentioned author.
Using Quotations
You must use quotation marks if you are taking
something directly (word for word) from the
information source. Quotations must be
attributed to the original author.
From the article, you like the sentence that says
“However, body art is going mainstream and
growing in popularity, particularly among
young people.”
You decided you will incorporate that sentence into your paper.
The first paragraph of your paper will then read:
Tattoos and body piercings are becoming more and more acceptable. In
fact, if a person is standing on a city corner in any city in the United
States, they are likely to see numerous visible tattoos and body piercings
on people walking by. According to an article found in the USA Today
Magazine, “…body art is going mainstream and growing in popularity,
especially among young people.” (“Tattoo Bling Craze Raises Hiring
Issues.” USA Today Magazine April 2006: 10. Print). It’s the young
people , those who may be more inclined to get a tattoo, that will
eventually be the CEO’s and managers of top-name business; but will
their tattoo cause others to judge. Not according to Challenger, who
noted, “Some employers are already having trouble finding skilled
workers-they ate not going to let some body art get on the way of hiring
the best qualified candidate. Plus…employers recognize…the benefits of
diversity…and are embracing the unique attributes that make people
stand out from the crowd.” (“Tattoo Bling Craze Raises Hiring Issues.”
USA Today Magazine April 2006: 10. Print).
CITATION: OWL PURDUE ONLINE WRITING LAB
MLA: Author(s). "Title of Article." Title of Periodical Day Month Year: pages.
Medium of publication.
Using Paraphrasing
Paraphrasing means putting information from a source
into your own words. A paraphrase is generally the
same length or slightly shorter than the original
source. For this example, the following section has
been paraphrased.
Paraphrase
Just 10 years ago, people in charge of hiring would
have placed resumes of people with visible tattoos
and body piercings in the discard pile. Today, that
policy has changed. A significant percentage of
younger generation employees have tattoos or other
body marks. (“Tattoo Bling Craze Raises Hiring
Issues.” USA Today Magazine April 2006: 10. Print).
Notice that you’ve put the thoughts from the original
snippet into your own words. Using the same words
and phrases and just rearranging them is plagiarism
and a serious offense.
Direct Plagiarism
Ten years ago, most job search authorities would have
said that tattoos would have eliminated you from
possible contention for a position. Times have changed.
More than one-third of the younger generation now
sport tattoos.
This is direct plagiarism. The text in red has been taken directly from
the article.
Summarizing
Summarizing means to restate the main points of
a text in your own words. When you summarize
you condense the information from the text into
a few sentences. (length varies)
Summary B-M-E
B: About 10 years ago, if a person applied for a job with
noticeable tattoos or piercings it was highly unlikely that
that person would be hired, but times have changed
because employers are finding it difficult to find good
workers, let alone good workers without tattoos.
M: More and more young persons are getting tattoos; a
small percentage have between three and five tattoos,
and about half have piercings other than the earlobes.
Some tattoos and piercings cannot be covered by
clothing.
E: Even though it is more acceptable, some businesses, due to
the type of business, still shun away from visible tattoos.
If a person really wants to work at an establishment, he
or she will probably need to find a way to conceal the
tattoo or remove the piercing. It is suggested to ask a
employee or the secretary if visible tattoos are or are not
acceptable.
Summing Up
Quoting, paraphrasing, and summarizing are all
important skills to use when writing papers.
Using other people’s information provides
support and credibility to your writing.
 Use quotation marks if you are copying word for
word.
 Use paraphrasing to put the thoughts of the author
into your own words.
 Use a summary to describe the main points from an
information source.