Summarizing and paraphrasing

What is summarizing and paraphrasing? Summarizing is restating only the main points of the passage in your own words. It is very brief. Paraphrasing is restating the idea in your own words. It can be about the same length or even longer than the original passage.

Why do I need to summarize and/or paraphrase? Summarization is important because it helps you understand what has been read.  Comprehension is a very important skill. You must be able to recall the main points in a text in order to summarize and/or paraphrase the information. 

How do I summarize what I read? Delete information that is not important or is repeated. If there are lists of items or events, think of one main heading or word for this information, instead of listing each item or event. Find or create a topic sentence that covers the main idea of the story.

Practice, practice, Practice - Summary Read the following passage from Goldilocks and the Three Bears. Then summarize the main idea of the passage. Once upon a time, there lived three bears in the forest. In the forest, the bears had a house made of wood and the house was furnished with bear sized furniture. There was a papa bear, a mama bear, and a baby bear. The papa bear was huge and had smooth black fur. The mama bear was medium sized (for a bear). She had dark brown fur. The baby bear was small and had light brown fur.

Practice, practice, Practice - Summary One possible answer could be… There were three bears that lived in the forest in a house a long time ago.

Why do I paraphrase what I read? Paraphrasing is important because it helps you put information that you have gathered in your own words so your paper or report flows smoothly. This means you avoid copying someone else’s work. However, you must still give credit to the original author or creator of the information. If you don’t, that’s plagiarizing and cheating.

How do I paraphrase what I read? Read a passage or chapter from a book. You may want to take a few brief notes. Now, rephrase what the passage said, in your own words. Use synonyms to help you (synonyms are words that are similar to each other). Ex. - House – home, hearth, abode, dwelling, domicile, manse, Restate what is written, keeping the basic meaning but putting it into your own words. 

Practice, practice, Practice - Paraphrase Read the following passage from Goldilocks and the Three Bears. Then paraphrase the passage. Goldilocks saw the house and thought, “Oh, how cute!” She went into the house and saw that there was a table with a big chair, a medium chair, and a little chair. There was also a big bowl of grits, a medium bowl, and a small bowl of grits at the table. The grits were steaming, creamy and looked delicious! Goldilocks sighed, “Ooh, how yummy, let’s taste them.” So she tasted the big bowl of grits and said, “Ooh, too salty.” Then she tasted the medium bowl, and said, “Yuck, too sweet!” Finally she tasted the small bowl of grits and said, “Yummy! This one is just right!”

Practice, practice, Practice - Paraphrase One possible answer could be… Goldilocks entered the house and saw the different chairs and different bowls of grits. She decided to try each bowl of grits and determined that the smallest bowl of grits was the best one. Now at this point, I need to still give credit to the original author. I need to cite the source, so I’ll add (Grimm's Fairytales, 2012) to the end if the paraphrased information right before the last period. … bowl of grits was the best one (Grimm’s Fairytales, 2012).

Works Cited Pressley, Michael.  Strategies That Improve Children's Memory and Comprehension of Text.  The Elementary School Journal.  Volume 90, number 1.  1989. "Summarization is the Key to Success"  By:  Barclay O'Brien Genie Website:  www.auburn.edu/rdggenie/breakthroughs/obrienrl.html. MMacLachlan, Patricia.  Sarah Plain and Tall.  Harper & Row:  1985. Rom Whitaker.  Snake Safari.  National Geographic News Online http://magma.nationalgeographic.com/ngexplorer/0409/articles/mainarticle.html Hope McClanahan, What Was THAT All About http://www.auburn.edu/rdggenie/explor/mcclanahanrl.html  Beth Montgomery, Super Summarizer http://www.auburn.edu/rdggenie/explor/montgomeryrl.html Pressley, M., C.J. Johnson, S. Symons, J.A. McGoldrick, and J.A. Kurity (1989) Strategies that Improve Children's Memory and Comprehension of Text. The Elementary School Journal, 90, 3-32. "Little Gorilla Rescue" from Ranger Rick Magazine (August 2003, Vol. 37, No. 8, pgs. 4-8) "Do You Know Beetles?" from the same Ranger Rick Magazine (Oct. 2003, Vol. 37, No. 8, pgs. 22-23).  www.auburn.edu/rdggenie/elucid/kstarr.html