Paraphrasing and summarising
Explaining the ideas of authors in your own words shows that you understand the concepts and opinions of those authors. It takes skill to alter the form of information without changing the meaning of that information, and it is a skill well worth developing.
There are two approaches to putting authors' ideas into your own words:
- Summarising: creating a shortened version of the source information
- Paraphrasing: putting the source information into other words and phrases
Summarising
Summarising involves selecting out some key features and then using those to create a shortened version of the author's prose.
Of course, in your assignment, you need to ensure that there is enough difference in form between the original version and your own summarised version. This may be achieved by simplifying the ideas, as well as using a different sentence structure or sentence order to present those ideas.
- Identify some keywords and link these with other words to create a different combination
- Be selective about the specific ideas you choose to include, while leaving out others that are less useful
- Reorder the ideas in your own framework. By doing so, you are creating a distinction between your version and the author's.
- You can sometimes include several authors making similar points in one sentence, summarising them all together
All this can be achieved without significantly altering the meaning of the information. Many of these techniques can also be applied to the strategy of paraphrasing.
Consider this excerpt from a book. Please note, APA style referencing is used in this example:
“Children spend a very large proportion of their daily lives in school. They go there to learn, not only in a narrow academic sense, but in the widest possible interpretation of the word – about themselves, about being a person within a group of others, about the community in which they live, and about the world around them. Schools provide the setting in which such learning takes place” (Leyden, 1985, p. 38).
A summary of this passage might look like this:
As Leyden (1985) points out, schools are places for children to learn about life, themselves, other people, as well as academic information.
Schools are places for children to learn about life, themselves, other people, as well as academic information (Leyden, 1985).
These summaries rely on some of the same keywords as the original: “schools,” “learn,” “other(s),” “themselves,” and “academic.” This is because many concepts and ideas cannot be broken down to a more basic level without losing their original meaning. The difference between the summary and the original is that the keywords are arranged differently, and used in combination with new words.
A summary does not use all the ideas from the total pool available in the original version. In these summaries, the meaning in the first sentence of the original (that children spend much of their daily lives in school) has not been used. Other details are omitted (“the community in which they live”).
Instead of allocating a whole sentence to the point that “schools provide the setting in which such learning takes place”, the idea is condensed and merged with the ideas in the second sentence (“schools are places for children to …”).
Another difference from the original is the order in which the ideas are presented. For example, in Leyden's version, she mentions the academic focus of learning first, followed by a broader context of issues which children also learn about while they are at school. In contrast, the summary presents the broader context of issues first followed by the academic focus of learning.
Paraphrasing
Paraphrasing means to restate information using different words. Unlike summarising, paraphrasing focuses less on shortening and condensing the information. Paraphrasing aims to rewrite the information by drawing on different words and phrases.
Important: before you begin to paraphrase, you must build up your own idea of the information or try to develop a picture in your mind, and then use this as a model to help frame or guide your paraphrase. It may help to hide the original source and then write out this understanding of the information.
- Restate whole sentences: don't just replace individual words with synonyms (words meaning the same thing)
- Restructure the sentence: for example, reverse the order in which items are listed
- Embed the author's name in the paraphrase: “Leyden (1985) states that …”
- Link ideas differently, with signpost and linking words such as “therefore,” “although,” and “accordingly”
- Expand on what the author is saying with your own knowledge and understanding
The techniques of paraphrasing are described in detail in paraphrasing techniques.
Consider this excerpt from a book. Please note, APA style referencing is used in this example:
“Children spend a very large proportion of their daily lives in school. They go there to learn, not only in a narrow academic sense, but in the widest possible interpretation of the word – about themselves, about being a person within a group of others, about the community in which they live, and about the world around them. Schools provide the setting in which such learning takes place” (Leyden, 1985, p. 38).
A paraphrase of this passage might look like this:
As Leyden (1985) points out, schools are places where children spend a significant amount of time. Beyond merely going to school to learn academic information, Leyden argues that learning occurs within a far wider context as children also learn about who they are, by being in groups, their local community, as well as the wider world which surrounds them. Hence, schools offer the settings to facilitate children's learning about a great many things.
Schools are places where children spend a significant amount of time (Leyden, 1985). Beyond merely going to school to learn academic information, learning occurs within a far wider context as children also learn about who they are, by being in groups, their local community, as well as the wider world which surrounds them (Leyden). Hence, schools offer the settings to facilitate children's learning about a great many things.
The paraphrased version is more detailed than the one-sentence summary in the previous section. Here, each of the three sentences of the quotation are rewritten. The paraphrased version relies on a few more of the keywords from the original: “schools,” “children,” “academic,” “learn,” “spend,” “groups,” “community,” “world,” “setting(s),” and “learning.”
In the paraphrased version the order of ideas is retained. For instance, unlike the summarised version, the paraphrased one mentions the academic focus of learning first, followed by a broader context of issues which children also learn about while they are at school. Moreover, the paraphrased version also represents more closely the specific points addressed by Leyden. In contrast, the summarised version presents a very general representation of the ideas, while leaving out specific aspects.
The paraphrase and the summary do have at least one thing in common, however. The paraphrased example integrates many other words and phrases not used by Leyden to get across Leyden's message. For example, while Leyden refers to learning “not only in a narrow academic sense, but in the widest possible interpretation of the word – about themselves… ”, the paraphrased version refers to the same idea in another way: “beyond merely going to school to learn academic information, learning occurs within a far wider context as children also learn about who they are … ”.
As stated above, it is not enough to simply replace a few words. Doing so results in a bad paraphrase that may be plagiaristic:
Consider this excerpt from a book. Please note, APA style referencing is used in this example:
“Capital represents human creations that are used in the production of goods and services. We often distinguish between human capital and physical capital. Human capital consists of the knowledge and skills people develop (through education and formal or on-the-job training) that enhance their ability to produce, such as the taxi driver's knowledge of the city's streets or the surgeon's knowledge of the human body. Physical capital consists of buildings, machinery, tools, and other manufactured items that are used to produce goods and services. Physical capital includes the driver's cab, the surgeon's scalpel, the ten-ton press used to print Newsweek, and the building where your economics class meets” (McEachern, 1991, p. 3).
This is an unacceptable paraphrase of the original:
Capital signifies human products that are utilised in the creation of goods and services (McEachern, 1991). Human capital comprises knowledge and skills that people develop (through education and on-the-job training) to enhance their capacity to produce. In contrast, physical capital comprises buildings, machinery, tools, and other manufactured items that are utilised to produce goods and services (McEachern).
Although the author is acknowledge with bracketed in-text citations, the phrasing is not sufficiently different from the original. Only a few words are substituted:
- represents = signifies
- creations = products
- production = creation
- ability = capacity
- used = utilised
- consist of = comprises
Although most of the examples have been excluded, the sentence structure is exactly the same as the original. Including linking phrases, like “In contrast,” on their own do not adequately restate the author's idea. The whole passage needs to be restated in different words to meet the requirements of paraphrasing.
This is a better paraphrase:
Capital is an economic concept referring to the things humans make, which are then used “in the production of goods and services” (McEachern, 1991, p. 3). This broad concept can be divided into human as well as physical capital, as McEachern illustrates. Indeed, human capital focuses on the products pertaining to individuals' skills and expertise, which function to improve individuals' production capacity. This type of capital can be gained through some form of education and/or training. In contrast, physical capital involves the kinds of tools and equipment, including buildings, that are central to providing goods and services.
There are several notable differences between the good and bad paraphrasing here:
- Capital is presented as “an economic concept.” Hence – even at the basic word level – the good paraphrase draws on the paraphraser's own understanding to help guide the process of rewriting the author's idea.
- Instead of distinguishing between two types of capital, as the original version does, the good paraphrase talks about this in terms of dividing the “broad concept” of capital into two. Similarly, as in the point above, the author's words have been reframed using the paraphraser's understanding.
- Linking words at the beginning of sentences have been used to help with the flow of writing, such as “indeed,” and “in contrast.”
- Rather than defining human and physical capital in terms of “consists of…”, “human capital focuses on…” and “physical capital involves” have been applied. Similarly, instead of talking about human capital as enhancing people's ability, the paraphrase talks about “function[ing] to improve …” Likewise, “central to the production of…” has replaced “used to produce”.
- Individual words have also been replaced by other words, such as “things humans make” for “human creations,” and “individuals” instead of “people.” Again, at the level of individual words, the information has been repackaged within a different framework of understanding.
- Acknowledgement of the author's ideas are made with two references provided in the paraphrase, one in brackets and another embedded in the body of a sentence.
In some circumstances you have to retain some of the features of the original phrase.
Some words and phrases are recognised terms used within a field; they are not specific to an individual author. Such terminology and technical concepts should not be changed. If the terminology is generally known in the field you do not need to put it in quotation marks, but if you are not sure it is often safest to put quotation marks anyway.
In the Bad Paraphrase example above, the original author's phrasing for “in the production of goods and services” is retained. However, the author's words are acknowledged with quotation marks.
A few other phrases are retained from the original: “physical capital” and “human capital.” These phrases are recognised terms in economics, so they should not be changed.
The phrase “goods and services” is kept because it is a recognised term, commonly applied in many other contexts beyond an academic setting. Consequently, it was not necessary to use quotation marks around it.
References and further reading
The example quotations on this page are taken from the following books:
Leyden, S. (1985). Helping the child of exceptional ability. Croom Helm.
McEachern, W. A. (1991). Economics: A contemporary introduction (2nd ed.). South-Western.