What is Paraphrasing & Summarizing in Academic Writing?

Academic writing includes the means of producing, transmitting, teaching, coding, renovating, learning, and renovating ideology in the academic discipline. The skill of academic writing ensures essential disciplinary learning as well as critical academic success. Academic writing is clear and concise, and most importantly, it is backed up with evidence, proper style, and a formal tone, and thus aids the understanding of the reader. The purpose of academic writing is to persuade, synthesize or analyze and inform, based on the topic or genre selected. Academic writing is an integral portion of academic excellence and skill development considering it ensures that the writer presents information, backed up with evidence, in a formal manner, which is comprehendible by readers interested in the topic.

To ensure proper academic writing, two skills are quite important, one is paraphrasing and one is summarizing. Since academic writing ensures and evaluates information based on available evidence, paraphrasing and summarising are two skills that any academic writer should develop and maintain. Paraphrasing in academic writing is different from summarising considering each of these processes has its own technique and respective outcome, which are included in an academically written article for its respective readers. However, both of the processes allow one to develop as well as demonstrate the interpretation and understanding of the major concepts or findings in any discipline, and hence avoid plagiarism in academic writing. Plagiarism is avoided in academic writing to preserve academic integrity and hence writers can utilize either paraphrasing or summarising or both to ensure the same in their writings.

What is Paraphrasing?

Paraphrasing in academic writing considers the skill of utilizing different words as well as phrasing to represent the same ideas as presented by another author. Paraphrasing utilizes short texts usually, in the form of sentences and phrases. Paraphrasing hence utilizes analytical as well as written skills which do not match the article or information sources word for word to avoid academic plagiarism. Paraphrasing involves the identification, analysis, and presentation of information or concepts, or opinions of another article or writer, in one’s one words. The original meaning of the selected article or text is preserved in a paraphrase text and only the phrasing or wording of the passage is changed. The paraphrased text is to be attributed to the original source of the information and hence the academic integrity is preserved. Paraphrasing ensures that the original information or context of the source is presented, without changing the meaning or interpreting the information in a different way than originally intended by the source writer.

What is Summarizing?

Summarising is the process of including the main points presented in the original article and presenting the information in a broad overview. A summarised content is much shorter than the original article or text as it summarises the main points of the source information, without going into many details. The summarising skill is necessary to be incorporated into academic writing as it ensures that the primary points extrapolated in the original source of information are presented in a concise manner in one’s own words. The summarising skill also does not match the source word for word and presents only a broad overview of what is being said in the selected piece of information or context or opinion. The summarised text must also be attributed to the original source from where it has been summarised.

When one should paraphrase in academic writing and when summarise?

Paraphrasing in academic writing is performed when the selected piece of information is to be presented as evidence in the writing. Paraphrasing is conducted to express the idea or opinions of another person in one’s own words. The support claims or the evidence produced in one’s writing is also presented through paraphrasing to avoid plagiarism and ensure proper author attribution in the written text. The paraphrasing skill is also necessary to present an alternative to any direct quotation. Paraphrasing provides support and credibility to the paraphrased writing as it attributes the original source of the information by citing references to the original authors. Paraphrasing adds depth to an academic writer’s presented article. The paraphrasing skill is implemented to rewrite the ideas or information in words and phrases of one’s own but without changing the original meaning. The summarising skill, in contrast, outlines the key points of some other author in a concise manner without including elaborations or examples. Summarising is also implemented to include the information or concepts in fewer words than the original source of information to identify the primary points elaborated in the original text. The summarising also can be utilized to support claims or present the evidence in the writing. Summarising also includes examples of differing opinions regarding a similar topic. Summarising technique ensures the simplification of complex ideas and presenting it in a concise and clear manner. Summarising ensures simplification of the selected piece of article and the highlights of the selected text or information are mentioned.

` Paraphrasing is thus different from summarising as paraphrasing skill is required to write a particular article or piece of information in one’s own words while summarising mentions only the key points identified in the original source of information. The paraphrased article or text is usually equal in length to the original sourced information while the summarised text is always shorter than the original source of information. The paraphrasing technique is applied in academic writing with the purpose of presenting information or opinion without directly quoting the author and presenting plagiarised work while summarising ensures that the major identified points in a text or article are presented without much detail or elaboration. Paraphrasing is utilized to present to the reader the opinions of the writer regarding the source information and presents the author’s citation as and when required. The summarising method is best to convince the reader about what is being included as the presented summary and analyze the original source, thus providing the original source with author citation at the end or at the beginning.