Module: How to Avoid Plagiarism - Paraphrasing & Summarizing
Summary
Students will learn the difference between paraphrasing and summarizing by using examples from course texts (30 minutes).
How it works
- Ask students to define paraphrasing. When they have discussed this for a few minutes, ask them to define summarizing. By the end of a few minutes, ask them to agree on a clear definition for each:
- A summary usually applies to an entire text or an argument that has several parts. It states only the most important ideas as opposed to the details.
- To paraphrase is to restate an author's thought or idea in a plainer or easier to understand way. It generally restates all the information of shorter bits of text and sometimes includes words or phrases quoted directly from the text.
- Distribute the attached handout [PDF], taken from Between Worlds.
- Choose a paragraph (or two) from a text students are reading and ask them to write a paraphrase and then a summary. NB. It is difficult to find a paragraph students can paraphrase and summarize; by definition, it must have several elements (to be listed without their details) as well as represent a coherent idea or argument to be paraphrased. Choose 2 or 3 passages in order to model options. Here's one example:
Language is only one of many things most Americans share. This is, for example, a country where almost every citizen knows something about baseball and basketball. Americans also share a familiarity with the consumer culture. They shop American style and know a good deal about the same consumer goods: Coca-Cola, Nike, Levi's, Ford, Nissan, GE. They have seen Hollywood movies and know the names of some stars; and even the few who watch little or no television can probably tell you the names of some of its personalities. Even the supposedly persisting differences of religion turn out to be shallower than you might think. American Judaism is, as is often observed, extraordinarily American. Catholics in this country are a nuisance for Rome just because they are. . .well, so Protestant (Appiah 697).1
Summary: In "The Multicultural Mistake," K. Anthony Appiah claims Americans share one culture because of their familiarity with English language, common sports, brand names, entertainment icons, and even similar religious practices (697).
Paraphrase: Some arguments debunking an America based on differences highlight the universal recognition and understanding of various cultural traditions: sports, entertainment, consumer products, and even religion (Appiah 697).
- Next ask them, "What would the Bibliography or Works Cited page look like?"
- Discuss their answers with the group.
Further suggestions
Have students make a double entry journal, with summary notes on one side and paraphrase on the other. Add a third column for "interpretation."
1. Appiah, K. Anthony. "The Multicultural Mistake." Beyond Borders.
Ed. Randall Bass
and Joy Young. New York: Houghton Mifflin Co., 2003. 695-698.