Effective Paraphrasing and Summarizing Techniques in Academic Writing, Summaries of Literature

Download Effective Paraphrasing and Summarizing Techniques in Academic Writing and more Summaries Literature in PDF only on Docsity! 1 Paraphrasing, Summarising & Quoting This guide will introduce you to some techniques that can be used to make your use of academic literature more effectively in your written assignments. Please note that this guide has been produced in accordance with the APA Referencing guidelines, so please consult your referencing style guide for all other referencing conventions. Paraphrasing What is paraphrasing? Paraphrasing is the expression of meaning or ideas using different words, especially in order to achieve greater clarity. In academic writing, paraphrasing is a technique that should be employed regularly, as we use the ideas of others, but need to present them in a way that emphasises our argument or purpose, whilst not detracting from the content. If you paraphrase in your academic work, you still need to include a reference, as although the words have changed, the underlying idea or concept is still the intellectual property of the original author. The majority of evidence from the literature used in your essays should be paraphrased: you should reserve direct quotes for those key points that you need to use for emphasis or other specific purposes. Components of a good paraphrase Retains and honours the original meaning Demonstrates your subject synthesis Always acknowledges the original source How to paraphrase Here are some techniques you can use to craft a good paraphrase. Remember, a good paraphrase honours the original meaning of the source, so you may find that you need to use a combination of all three techniques to make your paraphrase more effective, and a lot different to the original quote. 2 Use synonyms Synonyms are words that have similar meanings, so can be used interchangeably. It is worth consulting a Thesaurus for this technique, to look at a variety of alternative words, and to ensure that the replacements are suitable to the style and tone of the essay. Example 1.1 Soller (2010, p. 12) states that ‘Companies that show a genuine interest in charitable activities can earn the respect of the buying public.’ Paraphrased: Businesses that demonstrate a real interest in not-for-profit activities can gain the respect of consumers (Soller, 2010). (Example taken from Harrison, Jakeman & Paterson, 2016) Change the form of words In the English language, certain words can be expressed as nouns, adjectives, verbs or adverbs; depending on their morphology. You can change the form of a word to enable an effective paraphrase. Example 1.2 Michaels (2009, p. 100) states that: ‘Some charities owe their success to the selective use of consultants.’ Paraphrased: Some charities are more successful as consultants are employed selectively (Michaels, 2009). (Example taken from Harrison, Jakeman & Paterson, 2016) Change the grammatical structure of the original This includes changing positive constructions into negative constructions (as below), swapping the order of information, changing active sentences into passive sentences or varying clause structure. It is worth noting that the tense might change in your paraphrase, but you should always make sure that the tense in use is appropriate for your purposes. 5 True Summary or Interpretive Summary? The difference between true summary and interpretive summary is as follows: True summary concisely recaps the main point and key supporting points of an analytical source or the main subject and key features of a visual source. . . Interpretive summary simultaneously informs your reader of the content of your source and makes a point about it . . . giving the reader hints about your assessment of the source. . .It is thus best suited to descriptions of primary sources that you plan to analyse. (The Harvard Writing Center, 2000) Example 2.1 demonstrates a true summary. When writing an essay, it is likely that you will need to use one, if not both kinds of summary techniques; particularly to achieve a balance between description, analysis and evaluation. The interpretive summary is a critical summary, as you condense and assess a source as a whole. This can be particularly helpful when you need to critique or discuss a theory, as you can outline the main features, whilst highlighting any flaws or areas for further discussion. However, it is important to note that if you produce an interpretive summary, you should be mindful when placing this kind of ‘spin’ on the summary, as there is the potential for the original meaning to become distorted (The Harvard Writing Center, 2000). Example 2.2 demonstrates an interpretive summary: Example 2.2 According to McLeod (2018), the purpose of Zimbardo’s (1973) prison experiment was to determine whether brutality amongst US prison guards was due to personality traits or environmental factors. To obtain realism, Zimbardo created a prison simulation in the basement of Stanford University; although it could be argued that any simulation of prison can never equate to a true experience, and is therefore, not applicable. 24 participants were randomly assigned to the role of guard or prisoner, which indicates some potential for bias in the assignment of roles. Prisoners were taunted, insulted, and subjected to physical punishment; resulting in a prisoner rebellion against the guards. The experiment was terminated after just six days, due to ethical concerns about the well-being of the participants. The findings of the study suggested support for the effects of the environment on behaviour, but it could still be argued that personality still contributed to some extent. Take advantage of size Summarising can be a useful tool for condensing large amounts of information. In an academic reading and writing context: if you come across an entire chapter that covers a topic to perfection, then summarising it will not only allow you to absorb a major chunk of information, but also present that information to your reader, should they wish to peruse it. You can help your reader 6 out even further by indicating the exact information you are summarising, by including the page numbers, as in Example 2.3. Example 2.3 In “An Anthropologist on Mars,” Sacks notes that although there is little disagreement on the chief characteristics of autism, researchers have differed considerably on its causes. (pp. 22-48). (Example adapted from University of Toronto, 2019) Quoting What is a quote? A quote is a direct copy of words, exactly as they appear in an original source. When used in your essay, they should always contain a name, a date and a page number (where possible). The focus of an academic essay is on your understanding of your subject so quotes should be used sparingly. Your lecturer will want to see how you understand material; not that you can copy words from a book! When used effectively, quotes can be a useful tool in academic writing. For instance, if the language used in the original source is particularly elegant, powerful or memorable; if the text requires further analysis, or you are conducting a detailed argument (University of Toronto, 2019). Components of a good quote Consistent formatting Edited to enhance the meaning Short and succinct Includes a page number How to quote You should aim to quote verbatim from original sources; but this isn’t always possible. There will be circumstances when you need to edit a quote in order to fit your purposes. These reasons can be stylistic, grammatical or emphatic, as demonstrated in the following examples. Insert words into quotes Sometimes it is difficult to insert a quote into the running text of an essay, as the original words don’t necessarily match the tense, perspective or voice of your essay. You can amend your quotes, so they match your essay’s style, for instance, through the insertion of words or punctuation in order to achieve grammatical agreement. It is important that any insertions are denoted in square brackets. Example 3.1 demonstrates how you can change a parenthetical citation to the main focus of the sentence in the running text: Example 3.1 7 “Reading is also a process and it also changes you” (Atwood, 2008, p. 30). Edited Quote: Margaret Atwood wanted her readers to realize that “reading is also a process and it also changes [them]” (2008, p. 30). (Example taken from University of Washington, 2019) Quote: warts and all Editing and proof-reading is more of an art than an exact science. Therefore, you might notice a typo or an incorrect spelling in a book, or a journal. This doesn’t mean you can’t quote that text; but you shouldn’t attempt to correct the error either! You should indicate that the error is in the original source by using sic, which is the universal indicator that something has been quoted exactly as it appears in the original source. This can also be used for non-standard spellings or any other transcription errors, as demonstrated in Example 3.2. Example 3.2 "Do to the current market situation, several gas stations ask their customers to pre-pay” (Madeupimus, 2018). Edited Quote: As the Seattle Weekly reports, "Do [sic] to the current market situation, several gas stations ask [emphasis added] their customers to pre-pay.” (Madeupimus, 2018). (Example adapted from University of Washington, 2019) Omit information from your quote You may want to quote two pieces of information from a lengthy paragraph. You can edit your quotes to just contain the necessary information, by replacing the missing words with an ellipsis (. . .). This demonstrates to your reader that you have not included the full quote, but provides them with the opportunity to go and find the full quote if they need to. Example 3.3 "In a book of that title, Anderson observes that with the possible exception of what he calls 'primordial villages,' human communities exist as imagined entities in which people 'will never know most of their fellow-members, meet them or even hear of them, yet in the mind of each member lives the image of their communion’” (Pratt, 2008, p. 582). 10 Common vocabulary • Collocations are words that appear together frequently to form fixed relationships. This means they are quite restricted in use and are difficult to paraphrase. For example, ‘find a replacement’, ‘close a deal’, or ‘go to great lengths’. You can use these collocates in your academic writing without referencing. • Signposts are words that are used to indicate the direction, flow or links in a piece of writing and is a common feature of academic writing. For example, ‘however’, ‘on the other hand’, and ‘in conclusion’. These can be used in your academic writing without referencing. • Common terms of reference that have origins in specific disciplines but are used by most people to denote specific societal issues, or terms coined to describe specific phenomena. For example, ‘young offenders’, ‘climate change’, and ‘no-deal Brexit’. However, you may wish to clarify your use of these terms if you are using them to describe a specific context, or if you are explaining the background to someone who might not be familiar with the word. 11 References Day, T. (2018). Success in Academic Writing. (2nd ed.). London, United Kingdom: Palgrave. Harrison, M., Jakeman, V. & Paterson, K. (2016). Improve your grammar: The essential guide to accurate writing. (2nd ed.). London, United Kingdom: Palgrave. Kearny, V. (2018). How to write a summary of an article [Blog]. Retrieved from https://owlcation.com/academia/How-to-Write-a-Summary The Harvard Writing Center. (2000). Summary [Online]. Retrieved from https://writingcenter.fas.harvard.edu/pages/summary University of Toronto. (2019) Using quotations [Online]. Retrieved from https://advice.writing.utoronto.ca/using-sources/quotations/ University of Washington. (2019). ‘How to integrate direct quotations into your writing’ [Online]. Retrieved from: https://depts.washington.edu/engl/askbetty/changing_quotations.php