Paraphrasing & SummarizingSummarizing

Summarizing….

What is summarizing?

Summarizing

A summary is a shortened version of another's text. It includes all of the main points of the original but reduces the detail of the original.original but reduces the detail of the original.

How to summarize a text?

– Identify the main idea of the PASSAGE.– Identify the main idea of each PARAGRAPH.– If the author consistently uses topic sentences, use them as clues.sentences, use them as clues.

– It is optional to present the ideas of the original using your own sentence structure as well as your own word choice.

– Be Brief

Paraphrasing

What is Paraphrasing?

- A paraphrase is a rewording the writer's or the speaker’s text to express the same meaning of an idea that you have heard or read.

- Good paraphrasing skills are necessary to - Good paraphrasing skills are necessary to avoid plagiarism.

- It is about the same length as the original, but is substantially different in wording and sentence structure.

Paraphrasing includes:• Replacing difficult vocabulary words or phrases with words the student understands.

• Rewriting lengthy or complex sentences into simpler sentences, or combining simple sentences into more interesting, complex sentences.sentences.

• Explaining concepts and abstract ideas from sentences or passages using more clear and concise wording.

• Translating ideas and information into students’ own words

Example:

• Original Text:“Tom Fixed the car”

• Paraphrasing:• Paraphrasing:“ The automobile was repaired by Tom”

• Original Text:Our instructor has been ill for approximatelyseven days.

• Paraphrasing:Our teacher was sick for nearly a week.

Summarize & Paraphrase

Students frequently overuse direct quotation in taking notes, and as a result they overuse quotations in the final [research] paper. Probably quotations in the final [research] paper. Probably only about 10% of your final manuscript should appear as directly quoted matter. Therefore, you should strive to limit the amount of exact transcribing of source materials while taking notes.

Key Words

Students frequently overuse direct quotation in taking notes, and as a result they overusequotations in the final [research] paper. Probably quotations in the final [research] paper. Probably only about 10% of your final manuscript should appear as directly quoted matter. Therefore, you should strive to limit the amount of exact transcribing of source materials while taking notes.

An acceptable summary

Students should take just a few notes in direct quotation from sources to help minimize the amount of quoted material in a research paper to only 10%.

A legitimate paraphrase

In research papers students often quote excessively, failing to keep quoted material down to a desirable level. Since the problem usually level. Since the problem usually originates during note taking, it is essential to minimize the material recorded verbatim

Why Paraphrasing?

• Some questions requires you to recognize or produce paraphrases on the:

Reading, Reading, Listening, Speaking, and Writing.

Problems?

• There is a natural tendency to repeat the same words

• Sometimes it is not possible to think of a • Sometimes it is not possible to think of a paraphrase

Solutions

1- Tendency to repeat the same wordsSolution:- listen and read for the meaning instead of focusing on individual words and grammatical structure.structure.

2- Sometimes it is not possible to think of a paraphraseSolution:- Use Compensatory strategies

Read and Listen for meaning

• Focus on the ideas that the writer or speaker is communicating, not the individual words or grammar used.individual words or grammar used.

• Train your mind to make connections and comprehend the ideas.

The important question is:

• What does the author or the lecturer mean?

• What ideas are being expressed?

e.g. What does the professor mean by the following

statement:

Poet and humorist Ogden Nash tried but failed to adapt himself to the academic and later the business world.

a. He was a better businessman than he was a teacher.b. He tried teaching before trying the business.c. He did not succeed in either teaching or business.d. He made no efforts to succeed in teaching and business.e. He made efforts to succeed in teaching and business.

How to Paraphrase a Text?

• a- Understand the context of what you are paraphrasing

• b- Substitute multiple synonyms• b- Substitute multiple synonyms• c. Make Structure Change• d- Use phrases• e- Make an explanation

e.g. The hardest woodwind instrument to learn is the oboe.

1- The most difficult woodwind instrument to learn is the oboe.

2- The most difficult woodwind instrument to 2- The most difficult woodwind instrument to master is oboe.3- The oboe is the most difficult woodwind

instrument to master

Substitute multiple synonyms• Use accurate synonyms.• Be sure to check the part of speech of the word you are replacing.

• How a synonym is used can change the meaning of the word or sentence.meaning of the word or sentence.

• Key words that are specialized subject vocabulary do not need to be changed.

• Ensure that you keep the original meaning and maintain the same relationship between main ideas and supporting points.

Make Structure Change

• change the structure of the original sentences by either inverting the order of sentence parts, breaking them intoshorter sentences, combining simple shorter sentences, combining simple sentences into compound and complex sentences, change the voice (active/passive) , or change word forms (e.g. nouns, adjectives).

Practice

• Because I wasn’t wealthy, I was unable to purchase a new sofa.

• He was murdered with a fanatic supporter.• There is an unpleasant odor coming up from the cellar.

• The arithmetic examination was extremely • The arithmetic examination was extremely difficult.

• It is unlawful to conceal a firearm in your carry-on luggage as you attempt to get on an airplane.

• The gist of his accusations against me was that I had not told the complete truth to the attorneys.

• His automobile was totally destroyed as a result of an accident.

• We discovered a thief concealed among • We discovered a thief concealed among the automobiles in the parking lot.

Use phrasal Verbs

• Phrases can be a useful alternative.• Phrasal verbs express the same meaning as a one word verbas a one word verb

Guess!

• Bring about: • Go over: • Look over: • Look over: • Come across: • Put off:

• Bring about à cause• Go over à review• Look over examine• Look over à examine• Come across à find• Put off à postpone

Practice 1&2Practice 1&2

Make Explanation

Compensatory strategies

Compensatory strategies• Adjective: Use the opposite adjective with the word “not”e.g. - The sum was large ----------à The sum was not small

- The temperature in many desert regions is cold at night.

• A verb: Use a general verb instead of a specific synonyme.g. - Early traders relied on bartering instead of money to exchange goods.e.g. - Early traders relied on bartering instead of money to exchange goods.

- Old merchants used barter instead of money to exchange goods.

• A noun: Describe the noun with a descriptive phrase or clausee.g. - Farmers ---------à People who engage in agriculture

- In many cities, vendors must have a license to set up their booths in public places

Problems to avoid in paraphrasing

Don’t………………?

• Don’t change the meaning• Don’t leave out information• Don’t use too much of the original wording• Don’t use too much of the original wording• Don’t copy the original

e.g. Sometimes students plagiarize from the lectures and reading passages because they do not understand how to make appropriate changes for an excellent paraphrase.

1- On occasion, students use paraphrases of excellent lectures and reading passages without understanding the purpose of the changes that they have made in them.

2- On occasion, students use lecture and reading materials verbatimverbatim

3- On occasion, students plagiarize material from lectures and reading passages because they don’t comprehend how to make necessary changes for an excellent paraphrase.

4- Sometimes students plagiarize from the lectures and reading passages because they do not understand how to make appropriate changes for an excellent paraphrase.

• Practice

Of the more than 1000 bicycling deaths each year, three-fourths are caused by head injuries. Half of those killed are school-age children. One study concluded children. One study concluded that wearing a bike helmet can reduce the risk of head injury by 85 percent. In an accident, a bike helmet absorbs the shock and cushions the head

While the Sears Tower is arguably the greatest achievement in skyscraper engineering so far, it's unlikely that architects and engineers have abandoned the quest for the world's tallest building. The question is: Just how high can a building go? Structural engineer William building go? Structural engineer William LeMessurier has designed a skyscraper nearly one-half mile high, twice as tall as the Sears Tower. And architect Robert Sobel claims that existing technology could produce a 500-story building.

. "The Antarctic is the vast source of cold on our planet, just as the sun is the source of our heat, and it exerts tremendous control on our climate," Jacques Cousteau told the camera. "The cold ocean water around Antarctica flows north to mix with warmer water from the tropics, and its upwellings water from the tropics, and its upwellings help to cool both the surface water and our atmosphere. Yet the fragility of this regulating system is now threatened by human activity."

Matisse is the best painter ever at putting the viewer at the scene. He's the most realistic of all modern artists, if you admit the feel of the breeze as necessary to a landscape and the smell of oranges as essential to a still life. "The Casbah Gate" depicts the well-known gateway Bab el depicts the well-known gateway Bab el Aassa, which pierces the southern wall of the city near the sultan's palace. Matisse gets the essence of a Tangier afternoon, including the subtle presence of the bowaab, the sentry who sits and surveys those who pass through the gate.