There are two crucial methods for citing others’ work in the research process. Those two methods are paraphrasing and summarizing. Both are important processes as one needs to present accurately what others have to say, and yet one cannot plagiarize (you must cite your source).

The idea behind paraphrasing is to restate the text in another form, yet retain the original meaning. We pick our own words and phrases that still bring out the meaning we understand from the words of the work cited. A paraphrase conveys the same ideas as the author intended, without the full flavor of the original work. However, it allows us to understand the ideas cited.

The second technique is referred to as summarizing. A summary gives a shortened form of a work, retaining the general sense of the original. It is also a matching activity similar to paraphrasing.

One difference between summarizing and paraphrasing is in their lengths; a paraphrase can easily be as long as the original, a summary is shorter. Another difference between the two is that paraphrasing is generally for shorter texts, while summarizing is typically for longer ones. A summary will reduce the whole text to its thesis and major supporting points in relatively few words. A summary can be both presenting the author’s explicit meaning as well as their implicit meaning.

One can see from this that both paraphrasing and summarizing are very important in the research process. It allows the writer to extrapolate information from others works without plagiarizing the material cited.

Guilford College Writing Manual, College-Level Reading, Paraphrasing and Summarizing. Hege Library Greensboro, NC. Web. 29, October 29, 2012 < http://library.guilford.edu/guilford-college-writing-manual/college-level-reading/paraphrasing-and-summarizing/>.