PARAPHRASING AND SUMMARISING

LESSON 8

PARAPHRASING and SUMMARISING

Paraphrasing

Paraphrasing involves changing a text so that it is quite different from the source, while retaining the meaning. This skill is important in several areas of academic work, but this unit focuses on using paraphrasing in note-making and summary writing. Effective paraphrasing is vital in academic writing to avoid the risk of plagiarism.

1. Although paraphrasing techniques are used in summary writing, paraphrasing does not aim to shorten the length of a text, merely to restate it. For example: Evidence of a lost civilization has been found off the coast of China could be paraphrased: Remains of an ancient society have been discovered in the sea near China 2. A good paraphrase is significantly different from the wording of the original, without altering the meaning at all.

Read the text below and then decide which is the better paraphrase, (a) or (b). Say why.

Ancient Egypt collapsed in about 2180 BC. Studies conducted of the mud from the River Nile showed that at this time the mountainous regions which feed the Nile suffered from a prolonged drought. This would have had a devastating effect on the ability of Egyptian society to feed itself.

a) The sudden ending of Egyptian civilisation over 4,000 years ago was probably caused by changes in the weather in the region to the south. Without the regular river flooding there would not have been enough food. b) Research into deposits of the Egyptian Nile indicate that a long dry period in the mountains at the river’s source may have led to a lack of water for irrigation around 2180 BC, which was when the collapse of Egyptian society began.

To write the answer in forum

Paraphrasing Techniques

a) Changing vocabulary:

studies > research society > civilization mud > depositsNB Not all words and phrases can be paraphrased. For example, economics, socialism or global warming have no effective synonyms.

b) Changing word class:

Egypt (n.) > Egyptian (adj.) mountainous regions (adj. + n.) > in the mountains (n.)

c) Changing word order:

Ancient Egypt collapsed > the collapse of Egyptian society began

To do in forum

Let's get some practice on these 3 techniques

Find synonyms for the words in italics.a) The growth of the car industry parallels the development of modern capitalism. Example:The rise of the automobile industry matches the progressof contemporary capitalism. b) It began in France and Germany, but took off in the United States. c) There Henry Ford adapted the moving productionline from the Chicago meat industry to motormanufacturing, thus inventing mass production.

To do in forum

Let's get some practice on these 3 techniques

Change the word class of the words in italics, and then rewrite the sentences.a) In the 1920s Alfred Sloan’s management theories helped General Motors to become the world’s dominant car company. Example:In the 1920s, with help from the managerial theories of Alfred Sloan, General Motors dominated the world’s car companies. b) After the Second World War the industry developed‘planned obsolescence’, whereby frequent model changes encouraged customers to buy new cars more often than they needed to. c) Later, from the 1970s, environmentalists began to criticise the industry for producing inefficient models which used too much fuel, contributing to global warming.

To do in forum

Let's get some practice on these 3 techniques

Change the word order of the following sentences (other changes may be needed). a) At this time, trades unions became increasingly militant in defence of their members’ jobs. Example:At this time increasingly militant trades unions defended their members’ jobs. b) Today the industry owns some of the strongest brands in the world. c) However, many major car companies struggle with stagnant markets and falling profits

Summary Writing

• Making summaries is a common activity in everyday life. If a friend asks you about a book you are reading, you do not tell her about everything in the book. Instead, you make a summary of the most interesting and important aspects. The same principle applies to summarising in academic work.
• In essay writing students often have to summarise part of a book or journal article.
• The summary may be just one or two sentences, to explain the main idea of the article, and perhaps compare it with another summarised text, or it might be necessary to include much more detail. In other words, a summary can range from 1–2% of the original to more than 50%: summarising is a flexible tool.
• At first students need to follow a series of steps to summarise successfully. With practice the number of steps may be reduced, as the process becomes more automatic.

Features of good summaries

• selection of main features
• accuracy (i.e.not distorting the original)
• clear expression.

Stages in a successful summary

a) Read the text carefully and check key vocabulary. b) Underline or highlight the key points c) Make notes of these, taking care to use your own words . d) Write the summary using the notes, re-organising the order of ideas where necessary e) Check the summary to make sure no important ideas have been omitted or distorted.

to do in forum

Read the following text and compare the summaries on the right. Decide which is best, giving reasons.

Researchers in France and the United States have recently reported that baboons are able to think abstractly. It has been known for some time that chimpanzees are capable of abstract thought, but baboons are a more distant relation to mankind. In the experiment, scientists trained two baboons to use a personal computer and a joystick. The animals had to match computer designs which were basically the same, but had superficial differences. In the experiment the baboons performed better than would be expected by chance. The researchers describe their study in an article in the Journal of Experimental Psychology.

a) French and American scientists have shown for the first time that baboons have the ability to think in an abstract way. The animals were taught to use a computer, and then had to select patterns that were similar, which they did at a rate better than chance.

b) Baboons are a kind of monkey more distant from man than chimpanzees. Although it is known that chimpanzees are able to think abstractly, until recently it was not clear if baboons could do the same. But new research by various scientists has shown that this is so.

c) According to a recent article in the Journal of Experimental Psychology, baboons are able to think in an abstract way. The article describes how researchers trained two baboons to use a personal computer and a joystick. The animals did better than would be expected.

Let´s get some summarising practice

to do in forum

Complete the following notes of the key points. a) Indian scientists checking ancient ................................................... .b) Old saying links monsoon to . ......................................................... .c) Used by farmers to select peanuts (for wet) or ..................................... d) Dr Kanani of Gujarat Agricultural University has found that . ...................................................................................................................

Read the following text and underline the key points. Indian researchers are trying to find out if there is any truth in old sayings which claim to predict the weather. In Gujarat farmers have the choice of planting either peanuts, which are more profitable in wet years, or castor, which does better in drier conditions. The difference depends on the timing of the monsoon rains, which can arrive at any time between the beginning and the middle of June. Farmers, however, have to decide what seeds to sow in April or May.There is a local saying, at least a thousand years old, which claims that the monsoon starts 45 days after the flowering of a common tree, Cassia fistula. Dr Kanani, an agronomist from Gujarat Agricultural University, has been studying the relationship since 1996, and has found that the tree does successfully predict the approximate date of the monsoon’s arrival.

Link the notes together to make a complete summary using conjunctions where necessary. Check the final text for factualaccuracy. Indian scientists are checking......

Next lesson we´ll practice combining paraphrasing and summarising to develop literature reviews.