Session 2.1
Paraphrasing and Summarising
In-sessional Academic Writing (Humanities)
University Language Centre
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Discussion
• What is a paraphrase? What is a summary?
• What process do you go through when
paraphrasing or summarising a source text?
• What do you understand by the terms
“traditional medicine” and “modern
medicine”?
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Definitions
• Paraphrase
Rewriting a text in your own words.
• Summary
A shortened version of a text including the
main points in your own words.
• Direct Quotation
Direct Quotation
• A section of text copied word for word from a
source
• Enclosed in quotes “…” or ‘…’
• Acknowledged with a reference
• Direct Quotations, Summaries and
Paraphrases all need acknowledgement with
in-text references
How to paraphrase
•
•
•
•
•
Read the text, highlight main ideas
Make notes – change vocabulary/structure
Re-read source to check the notes
Put the source away.
Write your paraphrase from your notes (don’t
look at the source)
• Add a reference
• Compare the source and the paraphrase.
How to summarise
• Read the text, highlight main ideas
• Make notes on the main ideas – change the
vocabulary and structures
• Re-read source to check the notes.
• Put the source away.
• Write your summary from your notes (don’t
look at the source)
• Add a reference
• Compare the source and the summary.
2.2 Changes
Original
Paraphrase
Change
was incorporated … the incorporation of
Word class
the gulf
… the gap …
Vocabulary
appears
… seems …
Vocabulary
to have narrowed … reducing (transitive)
(intransitive)
to some extent
Vocabulary/verb
form
… go some way towards Word class
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The other change?
Two clauses linked by ‘since’ have become a
single clause.
(Also, there is a possible change in meaning in
the paraphrase – the use of ‘since’ in the
original may not necessarily indicate a definite
causal link.)
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Basic linguistic operations
i) use another word
ii) change the verb form
iii) change the word class
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2.3
a. Following the incorporation of traditional
medicine into the World Health
Organisation's programmes in 1976, there
seems to have been a narrowing of the gulf
between traditional and modern systems.
b. The incorporation of traditional medicine
into the World Health Organisation's
programmes in 1976 seems to have brought
about a reduction in the gap between the
traditional and modern systems.
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3.1 Suggested Paraphrase
Modern health practitioners have become
interested in the various traditional
practices, while some of the technology of
modern medicine is becoming more widely
accepted and used by practitioners of
traditional, indigenous or alternative
systems (Bannerman, 1983).
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3.2 Suggested summary
Dooghe (1992) challenges the view that
adult children are now more reluctant
to care for elderly parents, arguing
instead that families continue to play an
important part in the care of aged
parents.
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