A paraphrase is different from a summary. While a summary gives a general overview of the original, a paraphrase presents the source’s ideas in detail, including its main idea, its key supporting points, and perhaps even its examples. For this reason, a paraphrase is longer than a summary. In fact, it may be as long as the original.
Paraphrase when you want to communicate the key points discussed in a source—
Like a summary, a paraphrase uses your own words and phrasing, not the language and syntax of the original. Any words or phrases from your source must be placed in quotation marks. When you paraphrase, you may not always follow the order of the original source’s ideas, but you should try to convey the writer’s emphasis and most important points.
The following paragraph is from an editorial that appeared in a student newspaper.
ORIGINAL SOURCE
Additionally, as graduates retain their Facebook accounts, employers are increasingly able to use Facebook as an evaluation tool when making hiring decisions. Just as companies sometimes incorporate social functions into their interview process to see if potential hires can handle themselves responsibly, they may also check out a student’s Facebook account to see how the student chooses to present him or herself. This may seem shady and underhanded, but one must understand that social networks are not anonymous; whatever one chooses to post will be available to all. Even if someone goes to great pains to keep an employer-
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The following paraphrase reflects the original paragraph’s emphasis and clearly communicates its key points.
EFFECTIVE PARAPHRASE
Because students keep their accounts at social-
Notice that this paraphrase includes many of the details presented in the original passage and quotes a distinctive phrase, but its style and sentence structure are different from those of the original.
The following paraphrase is not acceptable because its phrasing and sentence structure are too close to the original. It also borrows words and phrases from the source without attribution or documentation.
UNACCEPTABLE PARAPHRASE
As more and more college graduates keep their Facebook accounts, employers are increasingly able to use them as evaluation tools when they decide whom to hire. Companies sometimes set up social functions during the interview process to see how potential hires handle themselves; in the same way, they can consult a Facebook page to see how an applicant presents himself or herself. This may seem underhanded, but after all, Facebook is not anonymous; its information is available to all. Many people try to keep their profiles employer friendly, but their friends sometimes tag pictures of them that employers will be able to see. Besides, students’ personal information is available not just on their profiles but also in the form they fill out when they register. Finally, according to their user agreement and their privacy policy, Facebook can give information to third parties and also add data from other sources.
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Do
Convey the source’s ideas fully and accurately.
Use your own words and phrasing.
Convey the emphasis of the original.
Simplify and clarify complex language and syntax.
Put any words borrowed from the source in quotation marks.
Include documentation.
Do not
Use the exact words or phrasing of your source (unless you are quoting).
Include your own analysis or opinions.
Argue with or contradict your source.
Wander from the topic of the source.
Write a paraphrase of the passage you summarized in Exercise 9.1. How is your paraphrase different from your summary?
The following paragraph is from the same Clemson University student newspaper article that was excerpted above. Read the paragraph, and then write a paraphrase that communicates its key ideas. Before you begin, circle any distinctive words and phrases that might be difficult to paraphrase, and consider whether you should quote them. Be sure to include documentation.
All these factors make clear the importance of two principles: Responsibility and caveat emptor. First, people should be responsible about how they portray themselves and their friends, and employers, authorities, and the owners must approach this information responsibly and fairly. Second, “let the buyer beware” applies to all parties involved. Facebook users need to understand the potential consequences of the information they share, and outside viewers need to understand that the material on Facebook is often only a humorous, lighthearted presentation of one aspect of a person. Facebook is an incredibly valuable communications tool that will link the college generation more tightly than any before it, but users have to understand that, like anything good in life, they have to be aware of the downsides.