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Insights into paraphrasing and summarizing techniques in academic writing. Paraphrasing involves expressing ideas using different words while retaining the original meaning, acknowledging the source, and demonstrating subject synthesis. Summarizing condenses large amounts of information into smaller phrases, capturing salient points, and demonstrating understanding. Techniques include using synonyms, changing the form of words, and combining all three. Quoting should be used sparingly and verbatim, with proper formatting and indication of original source.
What you will learn
Typology: Summaries
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This guide will introduce you to some techniques that can be used to make your use of academic literature more effectively in your written assignments. Please note that this guide has been produced in accordance with the APA Referencing guidelines, so please consult your referencing style guide for all other referencing conventions.
Paraphrasing is the expression of meaning or ideas using different words, especially in order to achieve greater clarity. In academic writing, paraphrasing is a technique that should be employed regularly, as we use the ideas of others, but need to present them in a way that emphasises our argument or purpose, whilst not detracting from the content. If you paraphrase in your academic work, you still need to include a reference, as although the words have changed, the underlying idea or concept is still the intellectual property of the original author. The majority of evidence from the literature used in your essays should be paraphrased: you should reserve direct quotes for those key points that you need to use for emphasis or other specific purposes.
Retains and honours the original meaning Demonstrates your subject synthesis Always acknowledges the original source
Here are some techniques you can use to craft a good paraphrase. Remember, a good paraphrase honours the original meaning of the source, so you may find that you need to use a combination of all three techniques to make your paraphrase more effective, and a lot different to the original quote.
Synonyms are words that have similar meanings, so can be used interchangeably. It is worth consulting a Thesaurus for this technique, to look at a variety of alternative words, and to ensure that the replacements are suitable to the style and tone of the essay. Example 1. Soller (2010, p. 12) states that ‘Companies that show a genuine interest in charitable activities can earn the respect of the buying public.’ Paraphrased: Businesses that demonstrate a real interest in not-for-profit activities can gain the respect of consumers (Soller, 2010). (Example taken from Harrison, Jakeman & Paterson, 2016)
In the English language, certain words can be expressed as nouns, adjectives, verbs or adverbs; depending on their morphology. You can change the form of a word to enable an effective paraphrase. Example 1. Michaels (2009, p. 100) states that: ‘Some charities owe their success to the selective use of consultants.’ Paraphrased: Some charities are more successful as consultants are employed selectively (Michaels, 2009). (Example taken from Harrison, Jakeman & Paterson, 2016)
This includes changing positive constructions into negative constructions (as below), swapping the order of information, changing active sentences into passive sentences or varying clause structure. It is worth noting that the tense might change in your paraphrase, but you should always make sure that the tense in use is appropriate for your purposes.
Summarising
A summary is a technique used in academic writing that takes a large amount of information, and reduces it to a small number of phrases, to paint a picture of the original text for the reader. Summaries are not used to detail or expand; they are used to succinctly capture important information in a manageable way; so that the reader doesn’t have to sift through irrelevant information. Summarising is like paraphrasing, so it still requires a reference when conducted in your academic work. It is an excellent technique to apply when you want to avoid being too descriptive in your essay writing (Day, 2018).
Transforms a large amount of information into a smaller volume Captures the points that are salient to your argument Demonstrates your understanding of a concept in a succinct way How to summarise Here are a few techniques to use to create a good summary. It is important to note that summarising can be applied in your essays in order to provide your reader with a brief background on a concept, theory or study. However, these techniques can also be applied when you have been asked to write a summary on a topic, text or theme.
Try reading a chunk of text (or an entire research paper) without taking notes. Once complete, write the three main things that you have remembered about the reading, and use that to craft your summary, or use the suggested framework below. Example 2. Introduction Sentence: In [name of book], [author] explains [insert main idea] Supporting Arguments: [Author] supports this view by pointing out [insert author's supporting arguments]. Final Point: In addition, [insert author's overarching argument and point]. Summary: In "My Favorite Shoe," Treyvon Jones explains that Nike shoes are the best brand of running shoe for serious track athletes. Jones supports this view by pointing out that Nike shoes are more comfortable, last longer, and provide more cushioning for the feet. In addition, Jones points out that most professional runners use Nike (2006, p. 45). (Example taken from Kearny, 2018)
The difference between true summary and interpretive summary is as follows: True summary concisely recaps the main point and key supporting points of an analytical source or the main subject and key features of a visual source... Interpretive summary simultaneously informs your reader of the content of your source and makes a point about it... giving the reader hints about your assessment of the source.. .It is thus best suited to descriptions of primary sources that you plan to analyse. (The Harvard Writing Center, 2000) Example 2.1 demonstrates a true summary. When writing an essay, it is likely that you will need to use one, if not both kinds of summary techniques; particularly to achieve a balance between description, analysis and evaluation. The interpretive summary is a critical summary, as you condense and assess a source as a whole. This can be particularly helpful when you need to critique or discuss a theory, as you can outline the main features, whilst highlighting any flaws or areas for further discussion. However, it is important to note that if you produce an interpretive summary, you should be mindful when placing this kind of ‘spin’ on the summary, as there is the potential for the original meaning to become distorted (The Harvard Writing Center, 2000). Example 2.2 demonstrates an interpretive summary: Example 2. According to McLeod (2018), the purpose of Zimbardo’s (1973) prison experiment was to determine whether brutality amongst US prison guards was due to personality traits or environmental factors. To obtain realism, Zimbardo created a prison simulation in the basement of Stanford University; although it could be argued that any simulation of prison can never equate to a true experience, and is therefore, not applicable. 24 participants were randomly assigned to the role of guard or prisoner, which indicates some potential for bias in the assignment of roles. Prisoners were taunted, insulted, and subjected to physical punishment; resulting in a prisoner rebellion against the guards. The experiment was terminated after just six days, due to ethical concerns about the well-being of the participants. The findings of the study suggested support for the effects of the environment on behaviour, but it could still be argued that personality still contributed to some extent.
Summarising can be a useful tool for condensing large amounts of information. In an academic reading and writing context: if you come across an entire chapter that covers a topic to perfection, then summarising it will not only allow you to absorb a major chunk of information, but also present that information to your reader, should they wish to peruse it. You can help your reader
“Reading is also a process and it also changes you” (Atwood, 2008, p. 30). Edited Quote: Margaret Atwood wanted her readers to realize that “reading is also a process and it also changes [them]” (2008, p. 30). (Example taken from University of Washington, 2019)
Editing and proof-reading is more of an art than an exact science. Therefore, you might notice a typo or an incorrect spelling in a book, or a journal. This doesn’t mean you can’t quote that text; but you shouldn’t attempt to correct the error either! You should indicate that the error is in the original source by using sic, which is the universal indicator that something has been quoted exactly as it appears in the original source. This can also be used for non-standard spellings or any other transcription errors, as demonstrated in Example 3.2. Example 3. "Do to the current market situation, several gas stations ask their customers to pre-pay” (Madeupimus, 2018). Edited Quote: As the Seattle Weekly reports, "Do [sic] to the current market situation, several gas stations ask [emphasis added] their customers to pre-pay.” (Madeupimus, 2018). (Example adapted from University of Washington, 2019)
You may want to quote two pieces of information from a lengthy paragraph. You can edit your quotes to just contain the necessary information, by replacing the missing words with an ellipsis (.. .). This demonstrates to your reader that you have not included the full quote, but provides them with the opportunity to go and find the full quote if they need to. Example 3. "In a book of that title, Anderson observes that with the possible exception of what he calls 'primordial villages,' human communities exist as imagined entities in which people 'will never know most of their fellow-members, meet them or even hear of them, yet in the mind of each member lives the image of their communion’” (Pratt, 2008, p. 582).
Edited Quote: As Pratt notes, "Anderson observes that... human communities exist as imagined entitles in which people 'will never know most of their fellow-members... ,' yet in the mind of each member lives the image of their communion’” (2008, p. 582). (Example adapted from University of Washington, 2019)
You may wish to draw your reader’s attention to a particular word or phrase in a quote, in order to develop an argument, or denote a particular perspective. This can be done by adding emphasis; but you must indicate to your reader that this has been added by you as the essay writer and does not feature in the original source. Example 3. “Due to the rise in popularity of ‘designer dogs’, prospective new dog-owners are spending more money on puppies that have been badly bred, and raised in poor conditions” (Barker, 2013, p. 56). Emphasis Added: “Due to the rise in popularity of ‘designer dogs’, prospective new [emphasis added] dog-owners are spending more money on puppies that have been badly bred, and raised in poor conditions” (Barker, 2013, p. 56). Shared language Some language is used and shared so often that it can be difficult to paraphrase and might not be necessary to reference. There will be instances in your writing where you wish to use the words of another person, but you aren't sure how you can paraphrase it without losing the meaning or making the words unnecessarily cumbersome. Context is very important here, as what is obvious to a subject-specialist, might not be apparent to other audiences. Here are some examples:
If something is known to the general public and can be verified by multiple sources in the public domain, then it can be considered as common knowledge. This includes broad historical and societal knowledge. Typically, common knowledge doesn't require a reference, but if you wish to use the exact wording a source has used to describe common knowledge, then this would need to be included as a quote or paraphrased with a reference. For example:
References Day, T. (2018). Success in Academic Writing. (2nd^ ed.). London, United Kingdom: Palgrave. Harrison, M., Jakeman, V. & Paterson, K. (2016). Improve your grammar: The essential guide to accurate writing. (2nd^ ed.). London, United Kingdom: Palgrave. Kearny, V. (2018). How to write a summary of an article [Blog]. Retrieved from https://owlcation.com/academia/How-to-Write-a-Summary The Harvard Writing Center. (2000). Summary [Online]. Retrieved from https://writingcenter.fas.harvard.edu/pages/summary University of Toronto. (2019) Using quotations [Online]. Retrieved from https://advice.writing.utoronto.ca/using-sources/quotations/ University of Washington. (2019). ‘How to integrate direct quotations into your writing’ [Online]. Retrieved from: https://depts.washington.edu/engl/askbetty/changing_quotations.php