Dr. Ryan Allen
Assistant Professor of English & Writing
Director, Writing Center
Briar Cliff University ryan.allen@briarcliff.edu
712-279-5211

 Summarizing, paraphrasing, quoting, and synthesizing are direct preparation for what you’ll be doing in any type of research-based writing project
 You will need to be able to paraphrase and handle your source material effectively, adhering to all of the rules of standard English and style and formatting requirements
 You will need to be able to pull various sources together to examine cause/effect relationships, to articulate main ideas, and to evaluate points of comparison/contrast

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A summary is a kind of general review of some particular subject matter. Think of a summary as an ‘overview.’
Summaries should be in your own words and your own sentence structure.
Summaries do not generally contain the direct language of the original source material.
Summaries do not generally include your personal observations, opinions, or arguments—they are a condensed transmission of the source’s main ideas.
Summaries REQUIRE citations because you are using the intellectual property of someone other than yourself.

 A paraphrase is:
 your own rendition of essential information and ideas expressed by someone else, presented in a new form.
 one legitimate way (when accompanied by accurate documentation) to borrow from a source.
 a more detailed restatement than a summary, which focuses concisely on a single main idea.
 a more point by point by rendering of original info
 Paraphrases should contain citations as well.

1. Reread the original passage until you understand its full meaning.
2. Set the original aside, and write your paraphrase on a note card.
3. Jot down a few words below your paraphrase to remind you later how you envision using this material. At the top of the note card, write a key word or phrase to indicate the subject of your paraphrase.
4. Check your rendition with the original to make sure that your version accurately expresses all the essential information in a new form.
5. Use quotation marks to identify any unique term or phraseology you have borrowed exactly from the source.
6. Record the source (including the page) on your note card so that you can credit it easily if you decide to incorporate the material into your paper.

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The following example includes a short quote taken from Dr. Martin
Luther King Jr., followed by examples of both unacceptable and acceptable paraphrases:
 “It is true that the police have exercised a degree of discipline in handling the demonstrators. In this sense they have conducted themselves rather ‘nonviolently’ in public. But for what purpose? To preserve the evil system of segregation.” (King, 1963).
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King argues that although the police have exercised some discipline in controlling the demonstrators, they have exerted control to preserve an evil system, that of segregation. Unacceptable Paraphrase (borrows too much original language)
King points out that police who showed restraint in confronting demonstrators were still upholding segregation (King, 1963).
Acceptable Paraphrase
King, M.L. (1963), Letter from a Birmingham Jail. Retrieved October 20,
2008 from http://www.mlkonline.net/jail.html

 What makes King, Jr. example unacceptable?
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Borrows too much original language without directly quoting
- “police have exercised”
- “some discipline in controlling the demonstrators”
- “preserve an evil system, that of segregation”
No in-text citation is provided

 A synthesis is:
 an analysis of the whole article (or book chapter) or of several sources together
 a personally meaningful rewriting of the article’s main points
 not like a paraphrase; rather, try to think of it as an “engaged” assessment of the article—also, will not follow original source or author’s ideas point by point
 more like a reflection and a review of the article’s main points
 focusing on uniqueness of article—what might be left out or strengthened or most creative

 What is effective in the article?
 What needs further development or is ineffective?
 What unique contributions might the article make to the topic?
 What might the article leave out?
 What succeeds and what fails in the article?

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Read the whole article
Take notes on main points, crucial insights, special points that author(s) is/are making
Rewrite what the article is saying in such a way that makes you see the meaning/relevance of this article for your topic
Avoid using a point by point structure of the original article (this is what you do in paraphrase)
Ultimately, you are “teaching” your reader about the article, so retell it in a way that makes sense to you
Goal here is personal understanding and personal assessment

 The report carefully reveals that which is often missed in other sources….
 The main point of the article is….
 Main issues within the article can reveal that . . .
 One would wonder if . . . .
 Though the author presents six points, there is room for more research in the area of….
 Although the author does a great job of explaining….(s)he should also consider….
 The author’s point here is unique because….

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Whenever you report to a friend the things several other friends have said about a film or CD you engage in synthesis.
People synthesize information naturally to help other see the connections between things they learn.
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For example, you have probably stored up a mental data bank of the various things you've heard about particular professors. If your data bank contains several negative comments, you might synthesize that information and use it to help you decide not to take a class from that particular professor.
Synthesis is related to but not the same as classification, division, or comparison and contrast. Instead of attending to categories or finding similarities and differences, synthesizing sources is a matter of pulling them together into some kind of harmony.
Synthesis searches for links between materials for the purpose of constructing a thesis or theory.

 It is incredibly important to present an author’s original language as it is/was intended
 This means that part of quoting effectively is making sure you are contextualizing the quote in a meaningful way
 Quotes should be ‘sandwiched’
 Lead-in
 Quote
 Analysis or synthesis of quote (why it’s significant)

 http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/619/01/
 http://web001.greece.k12.ny.us/academics.cfm?subpag
e=943
 http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/563/1/
 http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/930/10/
 http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/930/01/

Questions?
Concerns?
Complaints?
Criticisms?
Please contact the Writing Center.
writing.center@briarcliff.edu
712-279-5520
Heelan Hall 050