Paraphrase/Paraphrasing

• Matches the source in terms of meaning.

• You use your own words.
• Approximately the same length, though often shorter than the source.

Purpose:
• To get down the meaning of someone else’s words when: 1. Their exact words are not important 2. Their
exact words are not appropriate (style too dense or too simple for example) or useful (what they emphasize is
different from what you want to emphasize).
• To show that you have command of the material (not a slave to the original author’s word).
• To “shorten” a section from the source that is too long to quote.
• To demonstrate comprehension (independent assignment).

Paraphrasing is?
When you paraphrase, the words and structures you use should sound like something you would normally say
or write.
Therefore, paraphrasing is...
• Presenting the ideas and information of others in your own voice. • Not necessarily presenting the original
text in an elaborate way, but in a way that flows with your expression. • If you want to write very closely to the
original text, then you may need to consider whether it’s worthy of a direct quote – or if you have to work more
at expressing it in your own voice.

Outline/ outlining
What is an Outline? An outline is a formal system used to think about and organize your paper. For example,
you can use it to see whether your ideas connect to each other, what order of ideas works best, or whether you
have sufficient evidence to support each of your points. Outlines can be useful for any paper to help you see
the overall picture.

There are two kinds of outlines: the topic outline and the sentence outline.
• The topic outline consists of short phrases. It is particularly useful when you are dealing with a number of
different issues that could be arranged in a variety of ways in your paper.
• The sentence outline is done in full sentences. It is normally used when your paper focuses on complex
details. The sentence outline is especially useful for this kind of paper because sentences themselves have
many of the details in them. A sentence outline also allows you to include those details in the sentences
instead of having to create an outline of many short phrases that goes on page after page. Both topic and
sentence outlines follow rigid formats, using Roman and Arabic numerals along with capital and small letters of
the alphabet. This helps both you and anyone who reads your outline to follow your organization easily. This is
the kind of outline most commonly used for classroom papers and speeches (see the example at the end of
this paper). There is no rule for which type of outline is best. Choose the one that you think works best for your
paper.

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Making the Outline
1. Identify the topic. The topic of your paper is important. Try to sum up the point of your paper in one sentence
or phrase. This will help your paper stay focused on the main point.
2. Identify the main categories. What main points will you cover? The introduction usually introduces all of your
main points, then the rest of paper can be spent developing those points.
3. Create the first category. What is the first point you want to cover? If the paper centers around a complicated
term, a definition is often a good place to start. For a paper about a particular theory, giving the general
background on the theory can be a good place to begin.
4. Create subcategories. After you have the main point, create points under it that provide support for the main
point. The number of categories that you use depends on the amount of information that you are going to
cover; there is no right or wrong number to use.
Example:
The completed outline could look like this: Television and Children's Violence
I. Introduction
A. Does television cause violence?
1. Brief mention of previous areas of research
2. Identify causation dilemma
B. Present studies on both sides
1. Some studies are "for"
2. Some studies are "against"
C. After weighing evidence it appears that TV does not cause violence
II. Research "For"
A. First study "for"
1. Method
2. Results
3. Analysis of their conclusions
a. insufficient sample size
b. but representative sample
B. Second study "for"
1. Method
2. Results
3. Analysis of their conclusions
a. faulty instructions
b. poor control group
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III. Research "Against"

Direct Quotation/ Direct Quoting

• Matches the source word for word.
• You use the source’s words.
• Exact same length as the source, unless you follow the rules for adding or deleting material from a quote.

Purpose:
• To provide credibility for what you are saying (you support your point by quoting an authority).
• To get someone’s exact words (when HOW someone said something is as important as WHAT they said).

Summary/ Summarizing
• Sums up the central point of the source.
• You use your own words.
• Much shorter than the source.

Purpose:
• To get down the gist of someone else’s work.
• To avoid unnecessary details when the main point is all you need.
• To show that you understand what the source is saying.
• To refresh the reader’s memory if they have read the source.
• To give your audience a general introduction to the source.

Many assignments are accompanied by a compulsory and/or suggested reading list. No doubt you have often
wondered how your 2 000 or so word assignment could possibly incorporate all those resources that are meant
to inform your writing. Summaries of material may be used to give an overview of the work of one or more
authors, so they are much shorter than the original text. Because they are very brief outlines of arguments
made, they are very useful when you want to indicate the support given for and/or against some position you
are taking in your argument.

In your writing you may make a summary from:

● one or more paragraphs
● an entire article, chapter or complete work
● a combination of readings with similar ideas.

STEPS FOR SUMMARIZING

1. If you are reading longer texts (e.g. a chapter, a journal article), skim read the information. Note sub-
headings, the first and last paragraphs and topic sentences.
2. Read the text carefully using a dictionary.
3. Reread a difficult text several times.
4. Write notes in point form using key words and ideas.
5. Put your text away and write your summary from your notes.
6. Refer back to the original to make sure that your summary truly reflects the writer's ideas and strength of
opinion (degree of certainty on this topic).
7. Do not forget to use an in-text reference at the start or end of your summary.

EXAMPLE OF CORRECTLY SUMMARISED INFORMATION

ORIGINAL TEXT (103 words)

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 “For most people, writing is an extremely difficult task if they are trying to grapple in their language with new
ideas and new ways of looking at them. Sitting down to write can be an agonising experience, which doesn't
necessarily get easier with the passage of time and the accumulation of experience. For this reason you need
to reflect upon and analyse your own reactions to the task of writing. That is to say, the task will become more
manageable if you learn how to cope with your own particular ways avoiding putting off the moment when you
must put pen to paper” (Taylor 1989, p. 3).

ACCEPTABLE SUMMARISED TEXT (31 words)

Inexperienced and even skilled writers can feel a great deal of anguish when faced with writing tasks; however,
this response can be managed by recognising and coping with personal avoidance strategies (Taylor, 1989, p.
3).

ASSESS YOUR SUMMARY

 The MEANING is the same.
 The summary keeps the degree of certainty of the writer.
 This is a much shorter version of the original writing.
 The source/s of information is/are clearly referenced.

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