WHAT IS THE IMPORTANCE
OF SUMMARIZING AND
PARAPHRASING AS
WRITING STRATEGIES
Summary Defined
Summaries are connected versions of
long and complicated text. They help
you focus on main idea, enabling you to
identify key points and glossing over
less important ones.
Kinds of Summary
Descriptive Summary - Basically a list of topics
without details and can serve as a quick reference to
the subject matter discussed in the literature.
Informative Summary - Much longer than
descriptive as it gives context to the realization of the
study. It provides the background of the problem and
the method used to address the problem.
Abstract - The summary that you write for your
research paper, thesis, or any college paper is
called an abstract. It is found at the beginning of
the entire paper and gives a brief but
comprehensive description of your work.
Parts of an Abtract
Introduction - This sections answers the
following:
1. What makes the article interesting?
2. Why should the reader know the problem?
3. What do the readers have to gain from
reading the full text?
Statement of the Problem - The abstract must
also answer questions involving the problem
being solved, including the scope of the study.
In some cases, statement of the problem is
stated at the start of the abstract before the
preview/ motivation.
Approach - This part of the abstract tells
your readers how you solved the problem
or made progress in the study. This is
where you discuss the materials and
methods used and the scope of the work
done.
Results - This part of the abstract tells the
readers the answer to the statement of the
problem, and how it was arrived at. Here are
the exact numbers and figures are discussed,
not words that merely indicate proximity and
estimates.
Conclusion - This part of the abstract talks
about the study’s significance and implications
to a particular field.
ISARC
Paraphrasing
The method of rewriting the passage from an
academic text in the paraphraser’s manner and
style and no longer that of the author. When
you parapharase, you adopt the author’s ideas
and translate them into your own words to
make the ideas suit your style of writing.
How to Paraphrase?
• After reading the text, take time to understand it
• As you read, interact with the text by asking relevant
questions pertaining to it.
• In your own words, answer the questions that you raised.
• Take another look at your ideas and put them all together.
• Acknowlege your source by citing the authors’s name,
year of publication, and when necessary, the page
number.
