Avoiding Plagiarism
Summarizing and Paraphrasing
Original Source:
Regardless of how your job is officially classified manufacturing, service, managerial,
technical, secretarial, and so on), or the industry in which you work (automotive, steel,
computer, advertising, finance, food processing),your real competitive position in the
world economy is coming to depend on the function you perform in it. Herein lies the
basic reason why incomes are diverging. The fortunes of routine
producers are declining. In-person servers are also becoming poorer.
Summary
Summarizing means stating, in your own words, a source’s main points. A summary
is concise and short; it generally does not include the source’s supporting details or
evidence. You can use summaries when you only need the main points of a source in
order to support your arguments.
Example of a Summary
The summary and paraphrase are of the passage given previously showing
how to take notes. Note that this example uses APA style.
Reich’s argument (2000) is that in today's economy, workers' “real competitive
position” (24) is based on their function within the larger economic system rather than
on their actual job title or economic sector. Those who function as “routine
producers” and “in-person servers” (24) are losing out.
Paraphrase
Paraphrasing is more detailed than summary. It involves giving, in your own words,
your source’s facts and ideas. Paraphrase when your essay requires detailed
information. Paraphrase short sections. If you paraphrase longer sections, you risk
losing track of the points that you are trying to make.
Example of a Paraphrase
The summary and paraphrase are of the passage given previously showing
how to take notes. Note that this example uses MLA style.
Reich’s point is that in today's economy, workers' “real competitive position” (24) is
based on their function within the larger economic system rather than on their actual
job classification or industry. Examples of job classifications are manufacturing,
managerial, and secretarial, and examples of the various industries
are automotive, steel, and computer. This distinction between function on the one
hand, and classification/industry on the other shows why some incomes are going
down and others are going up. “Routine producers” (24) and “in-person servers”
(24) are not doing well.
The words in bold appear in both the original source and in the summary/paraphrase. Some of the
bolded words are quoted, some are not. Not every word needs to be changed for it to be your own.
There is no point changing words like economy, function, industry, etc. The point is that the sentences
are the writer’s own and do not follow the source’s sentence structure and word choice too closely.