Summarizing vs. Paraphrasing

Paraphrase vs Summarize

by Kerri McLean

​Paraphrase: taking an idea or text and putting it in your OWN words. It is not copying word for word or summarizing; it's simply REWORDING the information.

Summarize: taking ONLY the important parts of the text and writing them in chronological order. You can use SWBST or BME strategy when writing the summary.

Multiple Choice

When you put the words of others into your own words, you are doing what?

• plagiarizing
• summarizing

• paraphrasing

Multiple Choice

Paraphrasing, or restating ideas in your own words, helps you check your understanding of what you hear and read. Read the passage. Which sentence  best RESTATES the ideas in the passage?  

"Although television was not widely used in American homes until the 1950s, small, experimental television images were broadcast in the 1920s."

• Television was not widely used in American homes until the 1950s.
• Television became popular in the 1950s, but the first television images were used thirty years earlier.

• Television became popular in the 1920s, and again in the 1950s.

Multiple Choice

Which is the best paraphrase of the following sentence?
Dragonflies have six legs, but they can’t walk. 

• Dragonflies have six legs but cannot walk, and I think that this is odd.
• In addition, Dragonflies have six legs and they cannot walk at all.

•  Even though they have six legs, dragonflies can’t walk. 

Multiple Choice

Choose the best paraphrase of the following statement:
“According to the National Sleep Foundation, kids ages 6 to 13 should be getting between nine and 11 hours of sleep per night.”

• Researchers at The National Sleep Foundation believe kids ages 6 to 13 do not get enough sleep.
• According to the National Sleep Foundation, kids need lots of sleep.
• The National Sleep Foundation suggests nine to 11 hours of sleep each night for children between the ages of 6 and 13.

Multiple Choice

A summary does what?

• copies the idea word for word into a new sentence

• rewords parts of an idea into a new thought

• is a shorter way to explain a text with key points in order

Multiple Choice

Which of the following statements about SUMMARIZING is false?

• The Summary is what all or most of the sentences or paragraphs are about.
• The Summary is usually found in more than just one sentence of the passage
• The Summary is one small thought in a passage.

Multiple Choice

Which sentence summarizes this paragraph

best?

As December 6th draws closer, the streets of the new town filled with the Chivas of Fiestas de Quito. These open-air buses are parties on wheels that include live bands. The Chivas make stops around town where passengers get out and dance in plazas before heading on to the next stop. While a bit startling in number and the volume of the music, it’s a tradition here that becomes part of the backdrop of the celebration. You’ll find that the spirit of the merry riders carries in the air and into the days to come until the final day of the celebration brings the proceedings into full effect.

• The Chivas are too noisy and are surprising to foreign tourists.

• Dancing to the music of live bands on the Chivas and in the plazas is fun.

• Chivas are like party buses that are around during the days before the 6th December.

Multiple Choice

When you steal the words or ideas from another person without giving them credit is known as what?

• paraphrasing
• quoting

• summariznig

• plagiarizing