Summarizing, Paraphrasing, and Quoting

What is paraphrasing?

Paraphrasing involves getting an idea or ideas from a source and then explaining it in your own words. For example, if I read some interesting facts on how bees communicate, and then I reword these ideas in a paper, that would be paraphrasing. Paraphrasing does not require using quotation marks, since I am rewording the idea, not quoting it word for word. However, paraphrasing does require an in-text citation. The citation lets anyone who reads your paper know what you looked at to get the information. It is a form of academic honesty.

After you paraphrase, citing a source provides many good features, including:

• giving that source credit (which is a nice thing to do)
• indicating where the information came from (Polk State College and your instructor require academic honesty)
• providing the reader with a source if they want to look at the original material 

How do I paraphrase?

• Paraphrasing involves two things:
  • Changing the syntax or order of the original text 
  • Using different words than the original text

It can be helpful to read an entire article or chapter, set it aside, and then jot down the main points or ideas that you want to use in your paper. Paraphrasing after reading large chunks of information is much easier than trying to paraphrase one sentence at a time. 

What if the original wording is necessary? 

Sometimes you will come across acronyms or initialisms that will require you to maintain the same wording and order. In that case, use the same wording and order for the acronym or initialism only. Paraphrase the rest of your description. 

I am being asked to summarize an article. Is this the same thing as paraphrasing?

Summarizing is a type of paraphrasing. Summarizing is writing down in your own words only the essential aspects of a source.  If you are being asked to summarize an article, your professor is asking for important points of the article rather than all the details. As with all types of paraphrasing, you will still need to provide in-text citations. 

These two Paraphrasing Activities are provided by the Excelsior Online Writing Lab (OWL) and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution--4.0 International license. 

Try It Out: Paraphrasing Activity is embedded from the Excelsior Online Writing Lab, which is an Excelsior University Site.