Paraphrasing vs Summarizing

Introduction

Is paraphrasing vs summarizing the hot topic of debate for you whenever you start an essay? Essentially, both revolve around rewriting a piece of content. However, these two are different in many ways. Whether you're writing an academic paper or working as a writer, having a basic understanding of the distinction between paraphrasing and summarizing is crucial. Quotation, summary, and paraphrase are the three pillars for integrating your sources into your papers.

While choosing which one to use in the battle of paraphrasing vs summarizing, you should first consider the discipline, and the type of writing to which you are committed. For instance, in academic papers, particularly literature reviews in scientific reports, summaries play a crucial role. Argumentative essays, on the other hand, benefit from utilizing all three tools, necessitating a clear understanding of the distinction between summary vs paraphrase.

What is summarizing?

Summarizing is the practice of restating a piece of content into shorter forms that comprehensively present the main idea. A summary must include the key points of that content so that the readers can understand the main idea.

When should you summarize?

Summarizing can be helpful for the following reasons:

• Provide a concise introduction to a subject
• Emphasize the key points in any document
• Make an appropriate resource for future use
• Delivering the essence of a lengthy complicated message crisply and effectively.

Top Tips: Summarizing

Here are some tips to help you to make a brilliant summary:

• Reading the text several times helps in making a gist
• Thinking about the big picture and main ideas always provides insight into the topic
• Preparing an outline and arranging the data can be an excellent way to ace the art of summarizing
• Checking the summary’s brevity and clarity is important

While summarizing, it is essential to first absorb the meaning and then write in your own words the most important points.

What is paraphrasing?

‘Paraphrasing’ a text in our own words while preserving the original meaning is called paraphrasing. It aims to provide original content that resonates with the main ideas of the original text.

When should you paraphrase?

Paraphrasing is necessary when you:

• Cite details from a different source
• Give clarity to a long and challenging passage
• Present your write-up in a more engaging manner
• Specifically mention a different angle on a subject that has already been stated

Top Tips: Paraphrasing

It’s crucial to paraphrase in a way that is distinct from the source text. However, at the same time, it is essential to be illustrative and truthful. Here are some pointers to help you:

• Read the source text very carefully
• Write in your own words after brainstorming the keywords from the source
• Add your interpretation to the material
• Employ a plagiarism detector

Apart from these considerations, it is important to mention that you must provide a reference. The paragraph must have originality. You must create your sentence structures.

Advantages: Paraphrasing vs Summarizing

Advantages of summarizing

• Pinpoint key ideas
• Identify relevant information
• Identify any knowledge gaps
• Quickly can get the gist of a book without losing context

Advantages of Paraphrasing

• Have a better grasp of the source
• Describe the original text’s meaning to others
• Coming up with new ideas on how to proceed with the text
• Develop one’s writing style
• Avoid plagiarism

Disadvantages: Paraphrasing vs Summarizing

Disadvantages of Summarizing

• Can be repetitive, incoherent or miss important information
• Requires a critical analysis of the paragraph
• Often has page or time constraints
• The idea of summarizing is basically including every key point in the passage so nothing can be left

Disadvantages of Paraphrasing

• Prone to plagiarism
• Lack of personal thoughts and opinions; merely citing the author
• Limited ability to add personal vocabulary.
• Risk of unintentionally changing the original meaning
• Direct quotation is better if the original text is clear and concise.

Differences: Paraphrasing vs Summarizing

The following represents the difference between paraphrase and summarize in a tabular format:

	Summarizing	Paraphrasing
Definition	Summarizing means compressing	Paraphrasing is rewriting
Length	Usually shorter in length	No fixed length. Usually somewhat the same length as the source
Advantage	An effective way to deliver the main idea	Expand a deeper comprehension of a subject
Information	Additional thoughts can be added with key points	No fixed norm as such. But one should be careful about plagiarism
Content Production Time	An effective way to express the main idea	An effective way to express the main idea

Paraphrase vs Summary Examples

Example: Summarizing

The excerpt is taken from the book ‘The Price of Inequality’ by Stiglitz (2012)

“... there are two ways to become wealthy: to create wealth or to take wealth away from others. The former adds to society. The latter typically subtracts from it, for in the process of taking it away, wealth gets destroyed. A monopolist who overcharges for his product takes away money from those whom he is overcharging and at the same time destroys value. To get his monopoly price, he has to restrict production.”

Summarizing the above paragraph:

Stiglitz suggests that gaining wealth adds value to society while taking away the wealth of others detracts from it. He gives the example of a monopolist who overcharges for his product which ultimately results in loss of wealth for the customer as well as loss of value since eventually the monopolist has to restrict production.

Example: Paraphrasing

The same paragraph by Stiglitz can be paraphrased as:

Creating wealth adds to society, whereas taking away the wealth of others detracts from it and destroys wealth in the process. For example, a monopolist overcharging for a product takes money away from the customer, but also destroys value because to get the monopoly price, production has to be restricted. (Stiglitz, 2012)

Conclusion

The distinction between summarizing and paraphrasing hinges on length and information, with a subtle line separating them. Summarizing involves rewriting key points while incorporating personal views. On the other hand, paraphrasing involves citing the source and is typically employed to enhance the quality of the content. This article has elucidated everything about paraphrasing and summarizing.

FAQs

1.How are paraphrasing and summarizing similar?

One common aspect is that both involve using someone else's write-up and presenting it in their own way.

2. Why is summarizing better than paraphrasing?

It is better than paraphrasing because it condenses the main ideas and keywords of a text. A summary also provides a crisp and comprehensive overview of the content. It also retains the core information while reducing unnecessary information given in the text, making it more accessible

3.When should paraphrasing be used over summarizing?

Paraphrasing should only be used when you are considering rephrasing a specific passage or sentence in your own words without changing the meaning.