Paraphrasing vs. Summarizing
THERE IS A DIFFERENCE
Common Myths
 Students often make the assumption that
paraphrasing and summarizing written materials are
the same thing.
 Sadly this premise results in poor writing mechanics
as well as running the risk of failing a written
assignment.
 The intent of this presentation is to provide an
overview of:


How to define what each process entails, &
Provide a manner in which the student may determine if their
writing is correct.
Framing the Question: What is the difference?
 Basic details:
 Paraphrasing is a restatement of the author’s
original thought and meaning.
 Summarization is the condensing of a passage or
thought into a much smaller package.
Paraphrasing
 The American Heritage College Dictionary defines a
paraphrase as:

“a restatement of text or passage in another form or words”
(1009a)
 Etymology:
 Paraphrase derives from the Latin paraphrasis and the Greek
paraphrazein meaning to show or explain. (1010)
 Perhaps the best working definition for paraphrasing
is :

to restate another’s work in your own words but maintain the
author’s original meaning.
Paraphrasing Checklist
 Contained on the next slide are suggestions for
determining if your paraphrase is indeed a
paraphrase.
Checklist for Paraphrasing
1. Reread the original
passage carefully in
order to fully
understand the concept
& author’s meaning.
2. Identify the main points
of the passage.
3. Rewrite the passage in
your own words (not
just substituting
synonyms or order for
some of the text).
4. Compare your text to
the original and use the
5 finger test.

(If you count more than
5 exact words, you need
to change it!)
5. Build in the in-text
citation and be sure to
include the page no. or
paragraph no.

(See the Parenthetic
Citations pptx. for more
help.)
The 4 “Musts” for Paraphrasing
A paraphrase must:
1. Be in your own words!
2. Be near or longer than the original passage.
3. Be used to explain a difficult/complex concept or
passage.
4. Convey the original meaning.
Paraphrase Examples
 Using the passage found on the following pages,
please utilize the “4 Musts” & “5 Finger Test” to
determine why one paraphrase is “good” and the
other is “bad”.
Paraphrase Example 1
From:
Trotta, Alison A. “Plagiarism: the best defense is
a good offense.” Information Today Sept. 2013 :
11. General OneFile. Web 2 Dec. 2013.
Good Example: In the passage below the word
choice reflects the author’s original thought, but
does not have too many simple synonym
substitutions.
Plagiarism doesn’t only happen in student
essays. In March 2013, the National Science
Foundation (NSF) began investigating nearly
100 potential cases of plagiarism within its
funded proposals. In the same month, Jane
Goodall’s new book, Seeds of Hope: Wisdom and
Wonder From the World of Plants, was delayed
due to at least a dozen uncited passages that
were reportedly taken from multiple sources,
according to Steven Levingston’s Washington
Post article on March 19, 2013.
Alison Trotta illustrates in her article
“Plagiarism: the Best Defense is a Good Offense”,
that the act of omission, otherwise known as
plagiarism, is not solely relegated to classroom
essays. Inquiries were made in March of 2013 by
the National Science Foundation (NSF) into at
least 100 examples of plagiarism in research
proposals. She also observed that during that
time period Steve Levingston of the Washington
Post notes that there are nearly a dozen
plagiarized passages can be found in Jane
Goodall’s new book, Seeds of Hope: Wisdom,
and Wonder From the World of Plants (11).
Paraphrase Example 2
From:
Trotta, Alison A. “Plagiarism: the best defense is
a good offense.” Information Today Sept. 2013 :
11. General OneFile. Web 2 Dec. 2013.
Plagiarism doesn’t only happen in student
essays. In March 2013, the National Science
Foundation (NSF) began investigating nearly
100 potential cases of plagiarism within its
funded proposals. In the same month, Jane
Goodall’s new book, Seeds of Hope: Wisdom and
Wonder From the World of Plants, was delayed
due to at least a dozen uncited passages that
were reportedly taken from multiple sources,
according to Steven Levingston’s Washington
Post article on March 19, 2013.
BAD Example: The text below is too closely related in
word choice to be considered a n acceptable
paraphrase.
Alison Trotta states in her article “Plagiarism:
the Best Defense is a Good Offense”, that student
essays are not the only place for plagiarism. The
National Science Foundation (NSF) began
inquiries in March of 2013 into 100 possible
cases of plagiarism in funded research proposals.
Also on March 19, 2013, Steve Levingston of the
Washington Post reported that Jane Goodall’s
new book, Seeds of Hope: Wisdom, and Wonder
From the World of Plants contains a dozen
plagiarized passages from numerous other
sources (11).
Summarization
 The American Heritage College Dictionary defines a
summary as:

“a presentation of a body of material in a condensed form, or by
reducing it to its main points” (1382)
 Etymology:

Paraphrase derives from the Middle English/Med. Latin summārius
and the Latin summa meaning of or concerning the sum. (1382)
 Perhaps the best working definition for summarizing is :

A condensed version of an original passage or writing. It provides
only the main points and eliminates extra details , but a summary is
considerably shorter that the original work.
Summarizing Checklist
 Contained on the next slide are suggestions for
determining if your summary is indeed a summary.
Checklist for Summarizing
Reread the original
passage carefully in order
to fully understand the
concept & author’s
meaning.
2. Identify the main points
of the passage.
3. Rewrite the passage using
only the main points of
the original work (e.g.,
thesis statement and
conclusion)
1.
Compare your text to the
original and use the
“vision test”.
4.

(The original work must be
twice the size as your work.
If not, you need to “shrink”
or cut down the number of
words you use!)
Build in the in-text
citation and be sure to
include the page no. or
paragraph no.
5.

(See the Parenthetic
Citations pptx. for more
help.)
The 4 “Musts” for Summarizing
A summary must:
1. Be in your own words!
2. Be shorter (by half) of the original passage.
3. May contain some of the words from the original
work, however these single words must be
contained in “quotation marks”.
4. Convey the original meaning but does not evaluate
or comment on the author’s original work.
Summarization Examples
 Using the passage found on the following pages,
please utilize the “4 Musts” & “Vision Test” to
determine why one summarization is “good” and the
other is “bad”.
Summary Example 1
From:
Trotta, Alison A. “Plagiarism: the best defense is
a good offense.” Information Today Sept. 2013 :
11. General OneFile. Web 2 Dec. 2013.
Plagiarism doesn’t only happen in student
essays. In March 2013, the National Science
Foundation (NSF) began investigating nearly
100 potential cases of plagiarism within its
funded proposals. In the same month, Jane
Goodall’s new book, Seeds of Hope: Wisdom and
Wonder From the World of Plants, was delayed
due to at least a dozen uncited passages that
were reportedly taken from multiple sources,
according to Steven Levingston’s Washington
Post article on March 19, 2013.
Good Example: In the passage below the word
choice reflects the author’s original thought in a
condensed form.
Alison Trotta, in her article “Plagiarism: the Best
Defense is a Good Offense”, plagiarism is not a
solely a classroom occurrence. She notes that in
March 2013 both the National Science
Foundation and the Washington Post reported
multiple plagiarism incidences by professionals
(11).
Please look after the article introduction, and
note that the summary is half the size and scope
of the original passage. It also leaves out
unnecessary wording but still imparts the
original intent of the author’s passage.
Summary Example 2
From:
Trotta, Alison A. “Plagiarism: the best defense is
a good offense.” Information Today Sept. 2013 :
11. General OneFile. Web 2 Dec. 2013.
Plagiarism doesn’t only happen in student
essays. In March 2013, the National Science
Foundation (NSF) began investigating nearly
100 potential cases of plagiarism within its
funded proposals. In the same month, Jane
Goodall’s new book, Seeds of Hope: Wisdom and
Wonder From the World of Plants, was delayed
due to at least a dozen uncited passages that
were reportedly taken from multiple sources,
according to Steven Levingston’s Washington
Post article on March 19, 2013.
Bad Example: In the passage below the word
choice reflects the author’s original thought in a
condensed form.
Alison Trotta, in her article “Plagiarism: the Best
Defense is a Good Offense”, plagiarism is not a solely
based on student essays. In March 2013 the
National Science Foundation began an investigation
into almost 100 incidents of plagiarism contained in
its funded proposals. Also in March 2013 a
Washington Post reporter, Steven Levingston
reported that Jane Goodall’s new book multiple
incidences of plagiarism from varied sources (11).
Please look after the article introduction, and note
that the summary is almost the same the size and
scope of the original passage. Although it does
convey the author’s original message, it is too much
like the original passage to be considered an
accurate summarization.
Works Cited
Driscoll, Dana L., and Allen Brizee. "Purdue Online Writing Lab." Quoting, Paraphrasing
and Summarizing. Purdue University, 15 Feb. 2013. Web. 13 Dec. 2013.
"Paraphrasing and Summarizing." Coconino Community College Library Services
Handouts Workshop. Coconino Community College, 27 June. Web. 13 Dec. 2013.
<http://www.coconino.edu/sa/library/Pages/HandoutsWorkshops.aspx>.
Trotta, Alison A. “Plagiarism: the best defense is a good offense.” Information Today Sept.
2013 : 11. General OneFile. Web 2 Dec. 2013.