Summarizing and Paraphrasing Complex Texts

Summarizing
➧ Condensing information while retaining the main ideas.

Paraphrasing
➧ Rewriting text in your own words without changing the meaning.

Importance
➧ Key skills for academic and professional writing.

Identify the main idea and supporting details.
➧ Focus on the core message of the text.

Omit unnecessary information.
➧ Remove examples, anecdotes, or any irrelevant details.

Keep it concise.
➧ A summary should be significantly shorter than the original text, capturing only the essentials.

Use synonyms and different sentence structures.
➧ Change the wording and structure while preserving the meaning.

Keep the original meaning.
➧ Make sure your paraphrase conveys the same ideas as the original.

Avoid plagiarism by not copying phrases directly.
➧ Ensure that you’re not simply copying phrases but rewriting them in a new form.