Students must learn how to paraphrase and summarize properly. It is an important skill indeed because paraphrasing and summarizing is the sole means through which the writer can express their opinions in the form of information which they have learned from various sources.
Paraphrasing and summarizing is a skill that will help you to write a academic research paper. Why? When writing a research paper, you need to integrate the information and ideas you gathered and learned throughout the course into the paper. Sometimes, it is not inappropriate to use quotations to quote the opinions and ideas of another author. But it must only be done in exceptional cases. Therefore, you need to rely on your paraphrasing and summarizing skills to incorporate what you have learned into the research paper assignment. There are certain steps that, if you follow, you will be able to develop your vocabulary to paraphrase and summarize more efficiently.
Why are Paraphrasing and Summarizing Important?
Topgrademakers.com have explained the importance of paraphrasing and the need to master the art.
Firstly, as a writer, you must ensure that you are not overusing quotations in the content. It is true that there is no definite limit to the amount of quoting directly into the content; however, our experts at Topgrademakers.com suggest the best practice is to limit the use of direct quotations to 10%—12%. Therefore, you should know how to quote and when to quote. Furthermore, you must ensure that the quote delivers a purposeful means to the essay or research paper.
How do we identify that purpose?
But, only when a statement is highly important can it deliver a strong message to the readers or act as evidence. Ultimately, you must maintain a proper balance between quotations and your voice.
Lastly, once you master the skill of paraphrasing, you are able to produce good work and deliver information to a new audience. Furthermore, paraphrasing also shows your understanding and how well you have grasped a particular concept.
Differences Between Paraphrasing and Summarizing
- Paraphrasing is an essential skill through which a student can show his/her understanding and the precision of their knowledge by rewriting an author’s literary work and presenting it in his/her own voice.
- Summarizing- During summarizing, you must extract the main points from various research sources and briefly incorporate the information into your own words.
5 Steps to Paraphrase and Summarize Efficiently
Extracting Information from the Source
The process is called skimming. When conducting research, you need to analyze the content of a specific source to identify information you can skim.
Take Notes in the Form of Listicles
Prepare the notes in the form of listicles. Writing down notes in the form of points will help you summarise and paraphrase. These kinds of notes are more informative and list the main points.
Incorporate the Information in Your Own Words
After you have completed skimming the information from various sources and learned it, the best practice is to rewrite the research paper or essay in your own words without looking at the source.
Turn the Points into Sentences
Earlier, you took notes in the form of points and listicles; now, it is time to turn those point-formed notes into sentences.
The best idea is to study the concept internally; imagine that you must cover all the main points and explain them to the students.
Put Your Work Through a Test to Avoid Plagiarism
In this stage, you must evaluate your writing and identify similar phrases and statements in a sentence or passage. While paraphrasing or summarizing, there are no ways that you can avoid some of the very common words in the sentences. However, the test’s purpose is to determine the number of similar phrases and statements between your work and the original work and their repetitions.
In this way, you can make necessary changes in your writing to avoid plagiarism.
