SUMMARIES/PARAPHRASES

Summaries/Paraphrases

Paraphrasing and summarizing are ways of discussing the work and ideas of others without quoting them directly. We summarize a discussion or reading to make it more succinct so that it

can fit more neatly into our own discussion. We paraphrase a discussion in order to make it clearer or more relevant to our thesis and our audience. For all practical purposes, summary

and paraphrase mean the same thing—using your own words to represent another’s ideas. It is equally as important to cite authors whose ideas you summarize or paraphrase as it is to cite those you quote.

Tips for Summarizing and Paraphrasing

Following are some tips you can apply when you are summarizing or paraphrasing:

■ Whenever you summarize or paraphrase, write your understanding of the text you are summarizing. Avoid looking at the text as you do. This will help ensure that you do not inadvertently borrow the writer’s phrases. When you have finished, compare what you have written to the author’s words and correct any inaccuracies, again using your own words. If you used significant words or phrases from the original text, be sure to enclose them in quotation marks.

■ As you incorporate your summaries and paraphrases into your paper, cite them as carefully as you cite quoted material.

■ Be especially cautious when using word processing tools like Microsoft Word’s AutoSummarize. AutoSummarize shortens a page of text, highlighting key points and phrases

that can be inserted into a research paper. Instructors are aware of these features, and many do not consider them legitimate. It is arguable, after all, whether this is you or the word processor doing the job. If you do use this feature, be sure that you edit the auto summary to quote the words and phrases that the word processor extracted from the original and be sure that you cite the source.

■ Whenever you summarize or paraphrase, begin with a signal phrase to introduce the material. Be sure to cite the material as you would cite a quotation.

Phrases to Introduce Summaries

■ In general,                                                   ■ Typically,

■ In short,                                                       ■ Usually,

■ In brief,                                                        ■ As usual,

■ In summary,                                                 ■ As a general rule,

■ To summarize,                                             ■ As a rule,

■ To restate,                                                    ■ On the whole,

■ Generally,                                                    ■ In essence,

■ Generally speaking,                                     ■ In other words,

Phrases to Introduce Paraphrases

■ The author tells us that

■ According to the author,

■ The author writes …

Revising Your Work

■ The author says that …

■ The author states that …