ESL Writing Summarizing and Paraphrasing Avoiding Plagiarism

What It Is

Summarizing and paraphrasing are important skills in English that help you understand and communicate complex ideas. They involve restating information in your own words, without copying or changing the original text. This topic causes difficulty for ESL learners because it requires understanding the nuances of language, avoiding plagiarism, and expressing ideas clearly.

Key Rules

• Summarizing vs. Paraphrasing: A summary is a brief overview of the main points, while a paraphrase is a rewritten version of the text in your own words.
  • Example: Original text: "The new policy aims to reduce carbon emissions." Summary: "The new policy is designed to cut carbon emissions." Paraphrase: "The goal of the new policy is to decrease pollution."
• Use your own words when paraphrasing.
  • Example: Original text: "The company has been in business for 20 years." Paraphrase: "The company has a long history of success."
• Avoid direct copying from the original text.
  • Example: Original text: "The new policy aims to reduce carbon emissions." Incorrect paraphrase: "The new policy aims to reduce carbon emissions."
• Use synonyms to replace words with similar meanings.
  • Example: Original text: "The company is large." Paraphrase: "The company is massive."
• Use your own sentence structure when paraphrasing.
  • Example: Original text: "The new policy aims to reduce carbon emissions." Paraphrase: "Reducing carbon emissions is a key goal of the new policy."
• Use quotes when you're not paraphrasing or summarizing.
  • Example: Original text: "The new policy aims to reduce carbon emissions." Quote: "The new policy aims to reduce carbon emissions, as stated in the report."
• Cite sources when using someone else's ideas or words.
  • Example: Original text: "The new policy aims to reduce carbon emissions." Paraphrase: "According to the report, the new policy aims to reduce carbon emissions."
• Use your own examples when explaining a concept.
  • Example: Original text: "The new policy aims to reduce carbon emissions." Paraphrase: "For instance, the new policy could encourage people to use public transportation."
• Avoid plagiarism by using your own words and ideas.
  • Example: Original text: "The new policy aims to reduce carbon emissions." Incorrect paraphrase: "The new policy aims to reduce carbon emissions, just like the old policy."
• Use a thesaurus to find synonyms.
  • Example: Original text: "The company is large." Thesaurus: "The company is massive, enormous, or gigantic."
• Read and understand the original text before paraphrasing or summarizing.
  • Example: Original text: "The new policy aims to reduce carbon emissions." Paraphrase: "The new policy is designed to cut carbon emissions, which will help the environment."
• Use your own voice when writing.
  • Example: Original text: "The new policy aims to reduce carbon emissions." Paraphrase: "I think the new policy is a great idea because it will reduce carbon emissions."
• Check your work for plagiarism and errors.
  • Example: Original text: "The new policy aims to reduce carbon emissions." Paraphrase: "The new policy is designed to cut carbon emissions, which will help the environment." Check: Is this paraphrase original?

Common ESL Errors

Error: "The new policy is to reduce carbon emissions." Why it happens: Interference from L1 (e.g., using the infinitive form instead of the gerund).
Correction: "The new policy aims to reduce carbon emissions." (Use the gerund form to indicate purpose.)

Error: "The new policy is to reduce carbon emissions, just like the old policy." Why it happens: Overgeneralization (e.g., using a phrase that sounds similar to the original text).
Correction: "The new policy is designed to cut carbon emissions, which is a different approach from the old policy." (Use your own words and ideas.)

Error: "According to the report, the new policy is to reduce carbon emissions." Why it happens: Lack of understanding of citation rules.
Correction: "According to the report, the new policy aims to reduce carbon emissions." (Use the correct verb form and citation.)

Practice Exercises

1. Fill in the blank: "The new policy is designed to ______ (reduce) carbon emissions." Answer: reduce Reason: Use the correct verb form to indicate purpose.

2. Paraphrase the following sentence: "The company has been in business for 20 years." Answer: "The company has a long history of success." Reason: Use your own words to paraphrase the sentence.

3. Summarize the following text: "The new policy aims to reduce carbon emissions, which will help the environment." Answer: "The new policy is designed to cut carbon emissions." Reason: Use a brief overview of the main points to summarize the text.

Last-Minute Revision

⚠️ Irregular verbs: past tense and past participle forms (e.g., go - went - gone) ⚠️ Preposition pairs: e.g., in - on, at - on ⚠️ Articles: a/an, the ⚠️ Pronunciation nuances: e.g., /θ/ vs. /ð/ (th sound) ⚠️ Common phrases: e.g., "in addition to," "on the other hand" ⚠️ Idiomatic expressions: e.g., "break a leg," "cost an arm and a leg" ⚠️ Grammar formulas: e.g., "Subject + have/has + past participle" for present perfect ⚠️ Common exceptions: e.g., "who" vs. "whom" ⚠️ Spelling rules: e.g., doubling consonants (e.g., "hopping") ⚠️ Pronunciation tips: e.g., stress patterns (e.g., "emphasis on the first syllable")