Many times in academic writing, students are required to interact with the source material, using it by quoting, paraphrasing, or summarising. All three methods serve slightly different purposes, though paraphrasing often gets confused with summarising.
Both paraphrasing and summarising are used to put their work instead of someone else, but they have their specific purposes; these words should not be confused with each other. For any student who strives to use sources, and thinks what is the difference between summarising and paraphrasing, then you are on the right page. Let's explore the key points!
This blog will open you to the definitions of paraphrase vs summarise, point out what is the difference between them, and suggest when and in which manner both these methods should be used while writing your academic papers.
A simplified version of summarisation would be the act of turning a longer text into fewer words, in an attempt to preserve its core message. summarising is an activity that involves cutting out the important/main things of something, the details/ examples, and additional info. A summary is supposed to offer an overview of the original text that will not miss any major points from the primary article.
For instance, if you are writing a summary of an academic book chapter, your excerpt would provide the central argument of that chapter and a baseline summary of the major supporting points surrounding it- but you would not be summarising every little detail covered or every little discussion had. For students seeking assignment help, mastering summarisation can streamline their academic work and enhance comprehension.
You can summarise when you need to give an overall view of the text and not all the details about it. This is often used in academic writing when the writer has too much to write, again either for clarity or for brevity. For those thinking, should I pay someone to do my assignment? Using summaries can also be a helpful way to manage time and condense complex readings into manageable portions.
Paraphrasing is all about rephrasing a certain passage or an idea from the source itself in the same meaning. Paraphrasing, in contrast to summarising, does not change the length of text, however, does seek to retain all essential details from the original work with respect for its nuance. You frequently utilise paraphrasing when you would like to share a certain point from a source.
So in your case, if a sentence was paraphrased from a scientific article, you would write it again using different words but all the things that the original author said.
You can use paraphrasing when you want to represent some points of a source without rewriting them as they are. This enables you to work in plenty of detail without relying too heavily on straight-up quotes from outside sources. Incorporating the PEEL paragraph structure can also help you organise your writing, ensuring that each point is clearly explained and supported with evidence, leading to a more structured and coherent argument.
Be it summary or paraphrasing, they both convey the context of the original content and this is how are paraphrasing and summarising similar. Apart from this factor, they are completely different and are carried out differently. Let’s understand the differences.
Summary vs paraphrase are two seemingly similar actions that have several critical differences between them.
Summary: Summaries are much shorter than the original text, sometimes reducing so many words or the whole work into a few sentences or paragraphs.
Summary: Paraphrased content Is around the same length as the original since it has the same amount of details but with different words.
You can also summarise: Highlight the main key points and pass over smaller details, examples, and even passages.
Paraphrasing: It keeps the main ideas with specifics and gives a detailed reformulation of the original text.
Summarise It- You summarise by making an outline of a large text in less than half the size to provide an overview.
Paraphrasing: Re-stating information in terms that are easier to comprehend or better connect with your writing.
Summary: Summaries are not specific and offer an overview, sometimes omitting direct data, quotes, or numbers in exact detail.
Paraphrase: Paraphrasing is very detailed, going in and getting all the details from the original citation or quote.
The examples below will help illustrate the summarising vs paraphrasing differences better:
A network that lives off the internet by a solar charging battery, allows all your devices to be routed wherever there is sunlight and allows privileges of connectivity such as: Posted on July 27, 2019Leave a Comment“The explosive growth of social media networks over the past decade has revolutionised human interaction, information-sharing, /and how we engage with our communities. It has become an indispensable feature of daily life, influencing aspects from political discourse to personal relationships.
Social media sit at the crossroads of the most profound change in how people communicate and share information since the dawn of the Internet a decade ago when commercial use became possible.
Social media has grown explosively over the last 10 years, with profound changes in how people communicate, find information, and interact with content. They have gone on to become central in the political discourse, but also in our interpersonal exchanges.
That means that the summary will tell you what the book is about in a very generic way, without any references to political discourse or personal relationships. This paraphrase maintains all of the most critical information but changes its sentence structure and wording.
Depending on your purpose of writing and the nature of the information, you will decide whether to summarise or paraphrase A quick guide on when to use each:
The art of summarising and paraphrasing can be learnt through the work of skill and deep understanding. So without further ado, here are the tips to master each technique.
Plagiarism is one of the most common reasons to use summarising and paraphrasing. Credit where credit is due: if you borrow someone else's idea or information, make sure to give proper credit. No matter if you put the concepts as a summary or paraphrase, always credit them to their original source in your paper. With the proper citation, not only does this show that you are maintaining academic integrity, but it adds weight to your argument by letting readers know that your research is sound.
If you summarise or paraphrase, you restate in your own words the original information and do not change its message. They look alike, but each of them has a unique function. Summarising provides you with a quick brief about what you read, and paraphrasing helps to rewrite some points more specifically.
By understanding paraphrase vs summarise and when to correctly implement these techniques, you will sharpen your writing, which is clearer, more interactive, and more academically consistent.
A summary condenses the main points, while a paraphrase rewords specific content without changing the meaning.
Be it summary or paraphrased content, both maintain the original context of the content.
To summarise means to provide a brief overview of the main points of a text.
Use someone else's ideas in your own words while not changing their original meaning.
