paraphrasing summarizing and questioning/clarifying are all examples of

• TEFL Internship
• TEFL Masters
• Find a TEFL Course
• Special Offers
• Course Providers
• Teach English Abroad
• Find a TEFL Job
• About DoTEFL
• Our Mission
• How DoTEFL Works

Forgotten Password

• What is Paraphrasing? An Overview With Examples
• Learn English
• James Prior
• No Comments
• Updated February 23, 2024

What is paraphrasing? Or should I say what is the definition of paraphrasing? If you want to restate something using different words whilst retaining the same meaning, this is paraphrasing.

In this article, we cover what paraphrasing is, why it’s important, and when you should do it. Plus, some benefits and examples.

Table of Contents

Paraphrase Definition: What is Paraphrasing?

Paraphrasing is when you restate the information from a source using your own words while maintaining the original meaning. It involves expressing the ideas in a different way, often to clarify or simplify the content, without directly quoting the source.

When you paraphrase, you are not only borrowing, clarifying, or expanding on the information but also ensuring that you do all of these actions without plagiarizing the original content. It’s therefore definitely worth learning how to paraphrase if you want to improve your writing skills.

Why is Paraphrasing Important?

Paraphrasing is a valuable skill that allows you to convey information in your unique writing style while still giving credit to someone else’s ideas. It’s important for several reasons, and it serves various functions in both academic and professional writing.

Here are some key reasons why you should paraphrase:

• Paraphrasing allows you to present information from sources in your own words, reducing the risk of plagiarism. Proper in-text citation is still necessary, but paraphrasing demonstrates your understanding and interpretation of the material.
• When you paraphrase, you are required to comprehend the original content fully. You actively engage with the information, helping you better understand complex concepts and ideas. This process of restating the information in your own words showcases your understanding of the subject matter.
• By paraphrasing, you can clarify complex ideas or technical language and convey information in a clearer, shorter, and simpler form. This makes it more accessible to your audience and ensures they grasp the key points. This is particularly important when communicating with readers who may not be familiar with specialized terminology.
• Paraphrasing is valuable when synthesizing information from various sources. It enables you to blend ideas cohesively while maintaining a consistent writing style throughout your work.
• Paraphrasing allows you to inject your unique writing style and voice into the content. It helps you present information in a way that is more aligned with your personal expression and perspective.
• In certain situations where you need to meet specific length requirements for assignments or publications, paraphrasing allows you to convey information more concisely while still preserving the essential meaning.
• Paraphrasing helps maintain a smooth flow and cohesiveness in your writing. It allows you to integrate information seamlessly, avoiding abrupt shifts between your own ideas and those from external sources.
• Depending on your audience, you may need to adapt the language and level of technicality of the information you present. Paraphrasing allows you to tailor the content to suit the needs of your specific readership.

Incorporating paraphrasing into your writing not only showcases your understanding of the material but also enhances the overall quality and originality of your work.

When Should You Paraphrase?

Knowing when to paraphrase is an important skill, especially in academic writing and professional communication. Here are some situations in which you should consider paraphrasing:

• To Avoid Plagiarism:  Whenever you want to incorporate information from source material into your own work, but don’t want to use a direct quotation, paraphrasing is necessary to present the ideas in your own words while still acknowledging the original source.
• To Express Understanding:  Paraphrasing demonstrates your understanding of a topic by rephrasing the information in a way that shows you have processed and comprehended the material.
• To Simplify Complex Information:  If you encounter complex or technical language that may be difficult for your audience to understand, paraphrasing can help you clarify and simplify the information to make it more accessible and digestible.
• To Integrate Multiple Sources:  When synthesizing information from multiple sources, paraphrasing allows you to blend the ideas cohesively while maintaining your own voice and perspective.
• To Maintain Consistency in Writing Style:  In academic writing or professional writing, paraphrasing can help you maintain a consistent writing style throughout your work. This helps to ensure that all sections flow smoothly and are coherent.
• To Meet Specific Requirements:  Some assignments or publications may have specific requirements. This could relate to the number of words or concern the use of direct quotations. In such cases, paraphrasing allows you to meet these requirements while still incorporating relevant information from your sources.

What Are the Benefits of Paraphrasing?

Rewriting information in a clearer, shorter, and simpler form is called paraphrasing, so one of the benefits of paraphrasing is already clear! However, it can also be a useful exercise for other reasons, which are outlined below:

Avoiding Plagiarism

One of the main benefits of paraphrasing is mastering the ability to present information from external sources in a way that is entirely your own. By restructuring the content and expressing it using your words, you create a distinct piece of writing that reflects your comprehension and interpretation of the original material. This not only showcases your academic or professional integrity but also safeguards against unintentional plagiarism.

Paraphrasing is a fundamental skill in academic and professional settings, where originality and proper attribution are highly valued. This is especially true when it comes to writing research papers, where you’ll often need to reference someone else’s ideas with appropriate citations.

When you paraphrase effectively, you communicate to your audience that you respect the intellectual property of others while contributing your unique insights. This ethical approach to information usage enhances your credibility as a writer or researcher and reinforces the integrity of your work.

Enhancing Understanding

When you engage in paraphrasing, you actively participate in the material you are working with. You are forced to consider the ideas presented in the source material. You need to discern the essential concepts, identify key phrases, and decide how best to convey the message in a way that resonates with you.

This active engagement not only aids in understanding the content but also encourages critical thinking as you evaluate and interpret the information from your own standpoint.

By expressing someone else’s ideas in your own words, you deepen your understanding of the content. This process requires you to dissect the original text, grasp its nuances, and then reconstruct it using your language and perspective. In this way, you go beyond mere memorization and truly internalize the information, fostering a more profound comprehension of the subject matter.

Tailoring Information for Your Audience

Paraphrasing empowers you to adapt the language and complexity of the information to suit the needs and understanding of your audience. As you rephrase the content, you have the flexibility to adjust the level of technicality, simplify complex terminology, or tailor the tone to make the information more accessible to your specific readership.

Consider your audience’s background, knowledge level, and interests. Paraphrasing allows you to bridge the gap between the original content and the understanding of your intended audience.

Whether you are communicating with experts in a particular field or a general audience, the ability to paraphrase ensures that the information is conveyed in a way that resonates with and is comprehensible to your readers. This skill not only facilitates effective communication but also demonstrates your awareness of the diverse needs of your audience.

Improves Writing Skills

Paraphrasing helps in the development and refinement of your writing skills. When you actively engage in the process of rephrasing someone else’s ideas, you hone your ability to express concepts in a clear, concise, and coherent manner.

This practice refines your language proficiency, encouraging you to explore different types of sentence structure, experiment with vocabulary, and ultimately develop a more sophisticated and nuanced writing style.

As you paraphrase, you gain a heightened awareness of grammar, syntax, and word choice. This translates into improved writing, helping you construct well-articulated sentences and paragraphs. Moreover, paraphrasing allows you to experiment with different writing tones and adapt your style to suit the context or purpose of your writing, fostering versatility and adaptability in your expression.

Saves Time and Energy

Paraphrasing can significantly reduce the time and energy spent on the writing process. Rather than grappling with the challenge of integrating lengthy direct quotations or struggling to find the perfect synonym, paraphrasing allows you to distill and convey information in a more streamlined way.

This becomes particularly advantageous when faced with strict deadlines. By mastering paraphrasing, you empower yourself to produce well-crafted, original content in a shorter timeframe, allowing you to meet deadlines without compromising the quality of your work.

Examples of Paraphrasing

Here are some examples of paraphrasing:

• Original:  “The advancements in technology have revolutionized the way we communicate with each other.”
• Paraphrased:  “Technological progress has transformed how we interact and communicate with one another.”
• Original:  “Deforestation poses a significant threat to global ecosystems and biodiversity.”
• Paraphrased:  “The impact of deforestation represents a substantial danger to ecosystems and the diversity of life on a global scale.”
• Original:  “Effective time management is essential for achieving productivity in both professional and personal spheres.”
• Paraphrased:  “Efficient management of time is crucial for attaining productivity in both professional and personal aspects of life.”
• Original:  “The restaurant offers a diverse selection of culinary choices, ranging from traditional dishes to modern fusion cuisine.”
• Paraphrased:  “The restaurant provides a variety of food options, including both traditional and modern fusion dishes.”
• Original:  “The novel explores the complexities of human relationships in a rapidly changing society.”
• Paraphrased:  “The book delves into the challenges of human connections in a fast-changing world.”
• Original:  “Regular exercise is crucial for maintaining optimal physical health and preventing various health issues.”
• Paraphrased:  “Exercising regularly is important for keeping your body healthy and avoiding health problems.”

In these examples, you can observe the use of different wording, sentence structure, and synonyms while preserving the core meaning of the original sentences. This is the essence of paraphrasing.

What Are the Differences Between Paraphrasing, Quoting, and Summarizing?

So, we’ve established that successful paraphrasing is a way of rewriting someone else’s words whilst retaining their meaning and still giving credit to the original author’s ideas. But how is this different from quoting and summarizing?

While paraphrasing, quoting, and summarizing are all ways of incorporating information from source material into your own writing, there are key differences between them:

Paraphrasing

• Definition:  Paraphrasing involves rephrasing someone else’s ideas or information in your own words while retaining the original meaning.
• Usage:  You use paraphrasing when you want to present the information in a way that suits your writing style or when you need to clarify complex ideas.
• Example:  Original: “The study found a significant correlation between sleep deprivation and decreased cognitive performance.” Paraphrased: “The research indicated a notable link between lack of sleep and a decline in cognitive function.”
• Definition:  Quoting involves directly using the exact words from a source and enclosing them in quotation marks.
• Usage:  You use quoting when the original wording is essential, either because of its precision or uniqueness, or when you want to highlight a specific phrase or concept.
• Example:  Original: “The author argues, ‘In the absence of clear guidelines, individual judgment becomes paramount in decision-making.'”

The use of quotation marks is vital when quoting.

Summarizing

• Definition:  Summarizing involves condensing the main ideas of a source or original passage in your own words, focusing on the most crucial points.
• Usage:  You use summarizing when you need to provide a concise overview of a longer piece of text or when you want to capture the key points without including all the details.
• Example:  Original: A lengthy article discussing various factors influencing climate change. Summary: “The article outlines key factors contributing to climate change, including human activities and natural processes.”

In summary, paraphrasing is about expressing someone else’s ideas in your own words, quoting involves directly using the original words, and summarizing is about condensing the main points of a source.

Each technique serves different purposes in writing and should be used based on your specific goals and the nature of the information you are incorporating. If you want to level up your writing skills you need to be able to do all three of these.

Conclusion (In Our Own Words)

Paraphrasing is a valuable skill with numerous benefits. It helps you understand complex ideas, refine your writing style, and demonstrate ethical information use. It also allows you to tailor information for different audiences and can save time in academic and professional writing.

So, if you want to incorporate information from external sources into your writing in a way that is clear, concise, and respectful of the original author’s work, it’s worth mastering the art of paraphrasing.

• Recent Posts

• 113+ American Slang Words & Phrases With Examples - May 29, 2024
• 11 Best Business English Courses Online - May 29, 2024
• How to Teach Business English - May 27, 2024

More from DoTEFL

11 of the Best English Learning Apps For English Learners

• Updated January 8, 2024

11 Reasons Why You Should Take a TEFL Course Abroad

• Updated January 15, 2024

TEFL Level 3, TEFL Level 5 or TEFL Level 7: Which One Is Right for You?

• Updated November 2, 2023

Welcome Aboard vs Welcome On Board – What’s the Difference?

• Updated February 13, 2024

Teach English Online: Your Guide to Getting Started

• Updated November 1, 2023

Sports Idioms & Expressions With Their Meanings & Examples

• The global TEFL course directory.

What is the difference between paraphrasing & summarizing

Differences between paraphrasing & summarizing, definition and purpose.

Paraphrasing involves rewriting someone else's ideas or a specific text in your own words while maintaining the original meaning and often keeping a similar length to the source material. The primary purpose of paraphrasing is to use another person's ideas in your work without resorting to a direct quotation, thereby showing your understanding of the source while integrating it smoothly into your own narrative.

Summarizing , on the other hand, is the process of distilling a longer piece of text down to its essential points, significantly reducing its length. The goal of summarizing is to provide a broad overview of the source material, capturing only the main ideas in a concise manner, which helps in clarifying the overall theme or argument of the text for the reader.

Detail and Length

The level of detail and the length of the text are key differences between paraphrasing and summarizing. Paraphrasing retains a level of detail similar to the original text, and the paraphrased passage is typically about the same length or slightly shorter than the source. This approach is suitable when specific details or points from the source are necessary to understand the reader in the context of your work.

In contrast, summarizing significantly reduces the length of the original text, focusing only on the central themes or main ideas. This makes summaries particularly useful for giving an overview of long texts, such as books, articles, or comprehensive reports, where only the core message is needed.

Usage in Academic Writing

Both paraphrasing and summarizing are crucial skills in academic writing. They help one effectively incorporate the ideas of others into one's work. Paraphrasing is often preferred when specific evidence or a detailed understanding of the source is required to support one's argument without overusing direct quotes, which can clutter the text and disrupt the flow of the narrative.

Summarizing is a time-saving and efficient strategy when referring to broader concepts or discussing a source's general scope. It's particularly useful during literature reviews or when providing background information where detailed support is unnecessary. Allowing you to succinctly conveys the essence of a sourcerelieves you from overwhelming your readers with unnecessary details while still ensuring they grasp the relevance of the referenced works.

In summary, choosing between paraphrasing and summarizing depends mainly on the writer's intent, the importance of the details in the source material, and how they wish to integrate this information into their own writing.

How to paraphrase in a few steps

Paraphrasing refers to rewriting content in our own words while keeping the original meaning. Here are some steps and tips for effective paraphrasing:

Reading & Understanding the content

Ensure you fully understand the meaning of the text while identifying the essential concepts.

Taking Notes

Write the main ideas without looking at the original text.

Using Synonyms

This step involves replacing words with relevant synonyms; keeping some technical words that can't be replaced is essential.

Changing Sentence Structure

Alter the sentence structure, such as changing active to passive voice or shortening long sentences.

Rephrasing Concepts

Explain the concepts differently, using your own words and style.

Comparing with the original content

Ensure your paraphrased version accurately reflects the original meaning and is not too similar.

Cite the Source

It's essential to credit the source even when paraphrased.

• The original text:

Students frequently overuse direct quotations in taking notes, and as a result, they overuse quotations in the final [research] paper. Probably only about 10% of your final manuscript should appear as a directly quoted matter. Therefore, you should strive to limit the exact transcribing of source materials while taking notes. Lester, James D. Writing Research Papers. 2nd ed., 1976, pp. 46-47.

• The paraphrased text:

In research papers, students often quote excessively, failing to keep quoted material down to a desirable level. Since the problem usually originates during note-taking, it is essential to minimize the material recorded verbatim (Lester 46-47).

Here are some tips to paraphrase:

• Avoid Plagiarism: Don’t copy the text verbatim without quotation marks and proper attribution.
• Maintain Original Meaning: Ensure the paraphrased text conveys the same message as the original.
• Use a Different Structure: Change the information order and rephrase sentences.
• Simplify the Language: Use more straightforward language to make the text more understandable, if appropriate.

Common paraphrasing mistakes

• Not changing enough to avoid plagiarism

One of the most complex parts of paraphrasing a sentence is changing enough to avoid copying and not lose the original meaning. This can be a tricky balancing act, especially if you have to keep some of the wording.

• Distorting the meaning

Likewise, changing the words and sentence structure can accidentally change the meaning. That’s fine if you want to write an original sentence, but if you’re trying to convey someone else’s idea, it's best to rewrite and adequately describe it.

Review your paraphrase to confirm that all the words are correctly used and placed in the correct order for your intended meaning. If unsure, you can ask someone to read the passage to see how they interpret it.

• Forgetting the citation

Some people think that if you put an idea into your own words, you don’t need to cite where it came from—but that’s not true. Even if the wording is your own, the ideas are not. That means you need a citation.

If you have many paraphrased sentences from the exact location in a source, you need only one citation at the end of the passage. Otherwise, you need a citation for each paraphrased sentence from another source in your writing, without exception.

How to summarize in a few steps

Focusing on the main ideas.

Read through the entire piece you want to summarize and identify the most important concepts and themes. Ignore minor details and examples. Focus on capturing the essence of the critical ideas.

If it's an article or book, read introductions, headings, and conclusions to understand the central themes. As you read, ask yourself, "What is the author trying to convey here?" to determine what's most significant.

Keeping it short and straightforward

A summary should be considerably shorter than the original work. Aim for about 1/3 of the length or less. Be concise by eliminating unnecessary words and rephrasing ideas efficiently. Use sentence fragments and bulleted lists when possible.

Maintaining objectivity

Summarize the work factually without putting your own personal spin or opinions on the information. Report the key ideas in an impartial, balanced manner. Do not make judgments about the quality or accuracy of the content.

Using a summarizing tool

As AI continues gaining popularity, leveraging dedicated to benefit from their advantage is essential.

Among these tools lies  Wiseone , an innovative AI tool that transforms how we read and search for information online. 

Wiseone's "Summarize" feature allows you to understand the main points of an article or a PDF document efficiently without the need to read the entire piece by generating thorough summaries with key takeaways. 

Don’ts of paragraph summarization

Similarly, keep these in mind as things to avoid:

• Plagiarizing the original paragraph. It’s perfectly fine to include direct quotes, but if you do, cite them properly. However, most of the summary should be in your own words.
• Paraphrasing rather than summarizing. Here’s a way to think of the difference: a summary is a “highlight reel,” and paraphrasing condenses the entire paragraph.
• Omitting key information. When summarizing a paragraph, you might need to mention information from its preceding or following paragraphs, or even other sections from the original work, to give the reader appropriate context for the other information included in the summary.

What is paraphrasing?

What is summarizing.

Summarizing is the process of distilling a longer text down to its essential points, significantly reducing its length. The goal of summarizing is to provide a broad overview of the source material, capturing only the main ideas in a concise manner, which helps in clarifying the overall theme or argument of the text for the reader.

What are the steps to paraphrase?

• Reading & Understanding the content: Ensure you fully understand the meaning of the text while identifying the essential concepts.
• Taking Notes: Write the main ideas without looking at the original text.
• Using Synonyms: This step involves replacing words with relevant synonyms; keeping some technical words that can't be replaced is essential.
• Changing Sentence Structure: Alter the sentence structure, such as changing active to passive voice or shortening long sentences.
• Rephrasing Concepts: Explain the concepts differently, using your own words and style.
• Comparing with the original content: Ensure your paraphrased version accurately reflects the original meaning and is not too similar.
• Cite the Source: It's essential to credit the source even when paraphrased.

What are some tips to paraphrase?

What are the common paraphrasing mistakes.

• Not changing enough to avoid plagiarism: One of the most complex parts of paraphrasing a sentence is changing enough to avoid copying and not lose the original meaning. This can be a tricky balancing act, especially if you have to keep some of the wording.
• Distorting the meaning: Changing the words and sentence structure can accidentally change the meaning. That’s fine if you want to write an original sentence, but if you’re trying to convey someone else’s idea, it's best to rewrite and adequately describe it. Review your paraphrase to confirm that all the words are correctly used and placed in the correct order for your intended meaning. If unsure, you can ask someone to read the passage to see how they interpret it.
• Forgetting the citation: Some people think that if you put an idea into your own words, you don’t need to cite where it came from—but that’s not true. Even if the wording is your own, the ideas are not. That means you need a citation.

What are the steps to summarize content?

• Focusing on the main ideas : Read through the entire piece you want to summarize and identify the most important concepts and themes. Ignore minor details and examples. Focus on capturing the essence of the critical ideas. If it's an article or book, read introductions, headings, and conclusions to understand the central themes. As you read, ask yourself, "What is the author trying to convey here?" to determine what's most significant.
• Keeping it short and straightforward: A summary should be shorter than the original work. Aim for about 1/3 of the length or less. Be concise by eliminating unnecessary words and rephrasing ideas efficiently. Use sentence fragments and bulleted lists when possible.
• Maintaining objectivity: Summarize the work factually without putting your own personal spin or opinions on the information. Report the key ideas in an impartial, balanced manner. Do not make judgments about the quality or accuracy of the content.

Enhance your web search, Boost your reading productivity with Wiseone

Our content is reader-supported. Things you buy through links on our site may earn us a commission

Join our newsletter

Never miss out on well-researched articles in your field of interest with our weekly newsletter.

• Project Management
• Starting a business

Get the latest Business News

Mastering communication: paraphrasing and summarizing skills.

Two very useful skills in communicating with others, including when coaching and facilitating, are paraphrasing and summarizing the thoughts of others.

How to Paraphrase When Communicating and Coaching With Others

Paraphrasing is repeating in your words what you interpreted someone else to be saying. Paraphrasing is powerful means to further the understanding of the other person and yourself, and can greatly increase the impact of another’s comments. It can translate comments so that even more people can understand them. When paraphrasing:

• Put the focus of the paraphrase on what the other person implied, not on what you wanted him/her to imply, e.g., don’t say, “I believe what you meant to say was …”. Instead, say “If I’m hearing you right, you conveyed that …?”
• Phrase the paraphrase as a question, “So you’re saying that …?”, so that the other person has the responsibility and opportunity to refine his/her original comments in response to your question.
• Put the focus of the paraphrase on the other person, e.g., if the person said, “I don’t get enough resources to do what I want,” then don’t paraphrase, “We probably all don’t get what we want, right?”
• Put the ownership of the paraphrase on yourself, e.g., “If I’m hearing you right …?” or “If I understand you correctly …?”
• Put the ownership of the other person’s words on him/her, e.g., say “If I understand you right, you’re saying that …?” or “… you believe that …?” or “… you feel that …?”
• In the paraphrase, use some of the words that the other person used. For example, if the other person said, “I think we should do more planning around here.” You might paraphrase, “If I’m hearing you right in this strategic planning workshop, you believe that more strategic planning should be done in our community?”
• Don’t judge or evaluate the other person’s comments, e.g., don’t say, “I wonder if you really believe that?” or “Don’t you feel out-on-a-limb making that comment?”
• You can use a paraphrase to validate your impression of the other’s comments, e.g., you could say, “So you were frustrated when …?”
• The paraphrase should be shorter than the original comments made by the other person.
• If the other person responds to your paraphrase that you still don’t understand him/her, then give the other person 1-2 chances to restate his position. Then you might cease the paraphrasing; otherwise, you might embarrass or provoke the other person.

How to Effectively Summarize

A summary is a concise overview of the most important points from a communication, whether it’s from a conversation, presentation or document. Summarizing is a very important skill for an effective communicator.

A good summary can verify that people are understanding each other, can make communications more efficient, and can ensure that the highlights of communications are captured and utilized.

When summarizing, consider the following guidelines:

• When listening or reading, look for the main ideas being conveyed.
• Look for any one major point that comes from the communication. What is the person trying to accomplish in the communication?
• Organize the main ideas, either just in your mind or written down.
• Write a summary that lists and organizes the main ideas, along with the major point of the communicator.
• The summary should always be shorter than the original communication.
• Does not introduce any new main points into the summary – if you do, make it clear that you’re adding them.
• If possible, have other readers or listeners also read your summary and tell you if it is understandable, accurate and complete.

For many related, free online resources, see the following Free Management Library’s topics:

• All About Personal and Professional Coaching
• Communications Skills
• Skills in Questioning
• Team Building
• LinkedIn Discussion Group about “Coaching for Everyone”

————————————————————————-

Carter McNamara, MBA, PhD – Authenticity Consulting, LLC – 763-971-8890 Read my blogs: Boards , Consulting and OD , and Strategic Planning .

Carter McNamara

How to Start Your Private Peer Coaching Group

Introduction Purpose of This Information The following information and resources are focused on the most important guidelines and materials for you to develop a basic, practical, and successful PCG. The information is intended for anyone, although it helps if you have at least some basic experience in working with groups. All aspects of this offering …

What Makes for An Effective Leader?

© Copyright Sandra Larson, Minneapolis, MN. Sandra Larson, previous executive director of MAP for Nonprofits, was once asked to write her thoughts on what makes an effective leader. Her thoughts are shared here to gel other leaders to articulate their own thoughts on what makes them a good leader. Also consider Related Library Topics Passion …

How to Design Leadership Training Development Programs

Written by Carter McNamara, MBA, Ph.D., Authenticity Consulting, LLC. Copyright; Authenticity Consulting, LLC (Note that there are separate topics about How to Design Your Management Development Program and How to Design Your Supervisor Development Program. Those two topics are very similar to this topic about leadership training programs, but with a different focus.) Sections of …

What is the One Best Model of Group Coaching?

Group and team coaching are fast becoming a major approach in helping more organizations and individuals to benefit from the power of coaching. There are numerous benefits, including that it can spread core coaching more quickly, be less expensive than one-on-one coaching, provide more diverse perspectives in coaching, and share support and accountabilities to get …

Avoiding Confusion in Learning and Development Conversations

It’s fascinating how two people can be talking about groups and individuals in almost any form of learning and development, but be talking about very different things. You can sense their confusion and frustration. Here’s a handy tip that we all used in a three-day, peer coaching group workshop in the Kansas Leadership Center, and …

Reflections on the Question: “Is it Group or Team Coaching?”

I started my first coaching groups in 1983 and since then, have worked with 100s of groups and taught hundreds of others how do design and coach/facilitate the groups. I’ve also read much of the literature about group and team coaching. Here are some of my lessons learned — sometimes painfully. 1. The most important …

Single-Project and Multi-Project Formats of Action Learning

In the early 1980s, I started facilitating Action Learning where all set members were working on the same problem or project (single-project Action Learning, or SPAL). My bias in Action Learning has always been to cultivate self-facilitated groups, somewhat in the spirit of Reginald Revans’ preferences for those kinds of sets, too. However, at least …

The Applications of Group Coaching - Part 2

In Part 1, we described group coaching, starting with a description of coaching and then group coaching. We also listed many powerful applications of group coaching. Basic Considerations in Designing Group Coaching It is very important to customize the design of group coaching to the specific way that you want to use it. There are …

6 Steps to Resolving a Level 1 Disagreement

A disagreement arises in a meeting you are facilitating. This is an inevitable scenario in many types of meetings where a group needs to come to critical decisions - such as strategic planning or issue resolution sessions. How do you - the person in the room responsible for building consensus - resolve it without breaking group dynamics or creating a tense environment of division? It's a tough job, but you can (and need to) do it. Here's one way to resolve the disagreement.

Empowering Action Learners and Coaches: Free Online Resources

(The aim of this blog has always been to provide highly practical guidelines, tools and techniques for all types of Action Learners and coaches. Here are links to some of the world’s largest collections of free, well-organized resources for practitioners in both fields.) The Action Learning framework and the field of personal and professional coaching …

Action Learning Certification: Exploring Independent Standards

The field of personal and professional coaching has a widely respected and accepted, independent certifying body called the International Coach Federation. It is independent in that it does not concurrently promote its own model of coaching — it does not engage in that kind of conflict of interest. There seems to be a mistaken impression …

Effective Recording Techniques: Capturing Information

As a meeting facilitator, you must employ several techniques for recording information in a session to make it a manageable process. When you are gathering input, ideas, and issues from your group at warp speed, it will inevitably be challenging and tedious. Here are a few methods to make the process easier.

What March Madness teaches us about facilitation

Here we go. It's now down to the Final Four in this year's NCAA March Madness. As I analyze the four remaining teams and highlights of their seasons (and take a look at my butchered bracket!), I think about how March Madness and - more importantly - the game of basketball really does embody what we know about facilitation. Let's consider that thought for these reasons.

What kind of a Tough Leader are you?

Alan Frohman Articles, books and experience identify at least two types of tough leaders. Each is demanding, but in very different ways. The first type is described in these terms: Critical Judgmental Lacks compassion Micromanaging Disrespectful They rarely view themselves that way. But that is how their people describe them. They see themselves as being …

6 Things You’ll Hear in an Unprepared Meeting

Many times, we, as facilitators, are not prepared (or ill prepared) for meetings, and that leads to some horrific results – including those feelings you experienced while watching a fellow facilitator suffer through a meeting. What are some things you'll hear in an unprepared meeting? Look out for these words. And, don't let this happen to you.

Privacy Overview

Paraphrasing vs. Summarizing (Differences, Examples, How To)

It can be confusing to know when to paraphrase and when to summarize. Many people use the terms interchangeably even though the two have different meanings and uses.

Today, let’s understand the basic differences between paraphrasing vs. summarizing and when to use which . We’ll also look at types and examples of paraphrasing and summarizing, as well as how to do both effectively.

Let’s look at paraphrasing first.

What is paraphrasing?

It refers to rewriting someone else’s ideas in your own words. 

It’s important to rewrite the whole idea in your words rather than just replacing a few words with their synonyms. That way, you present an idea in a way that your audience will understand easily and also avoid plagiarism. 

It’s also important to cite your sources when paraphrasing so that the original author of the work gets due credit.

When should you paraphrase?

The main purpose of paraphrasing is often to clarify an existing passage. You should use paraphrasing when you want to show that you understand the concept, like while writing an essay about a specific topic. 

You may also use it when you’re quoting someone but can’t remember their exact words. 

Finally, paraphrasing is a very effective way to rewrite outdated content in a way that’s relevant to your current audience.

How to paraphrase effectively

Follow these steps to paraphrase any piece of text effectively:

• Read the full text and ensure that you understand it completely. It helps to look up words you don’t fully understand in an online or offline dictionary.
• Once you understand the text, rewrite it in your own words. Remember to rewrite it instead of just substituting words with their synonyms.
• Edit the text to ensure it’s easy to understand for your audience.
• Mix in your own insights while rewriting the text to make it more relevant.
• Run the text through a plagiarism checker to ensure that it does not have any of the original content.

Example of paraphrasing

Here’s an example of paraphrasing:

• Original:  The national park is full of trees, water bodies, and various species of flora and fauna.
• Paraphrased:  Many animal species thrive in the verdant national park that is served by lakes and rivers flowing through it.

What is summarizing?

Summarizing is also based on someone else’s text but rather than presenting their ideas in your words, you only sum up their main ideas in a smaller piece of text.

It’s important to not use their exact words or phrases when summarizing to avoid plagiarism. It’s best to make your own notes while reading through the text and writing a summary based on your notes.

You must only summarize the most important ideas from a piece of text as summaries are essentially very short compared to the original work. And just like paraphrasing, you should cite the original text as a reference.

When should you summarize?

The main purpose of summarizing is to reduce a passage or other text to fewer words while ensuring that everything important is covered.

Summaries are useful when you want to cut to the chase and lay down the most important points from a piece of text or convey the entire message in fewer words. You should summarize when you have to write a short essay about a larger piece of text, such as writing a book review.

You can also summarize when you want to provide background information about something without taking up too much space.

How to summarize effectively

Follow these steps to summarize any prose effectively:

• Read the text to fully understand it. It helps to read it a few times instead of just going through it once.
• Pay attention to the larger theme of the text rather than trying to rewrite it sentence for sentence.
• Understand how all the main ideas are linked and piece them together to form an overview.
• Remove all the information that’s not crucial to the main ideas or theme. Remember, summaries must only include the most essential points and information.
• Edit your overview to ensure that the information is organized logically and follows the correct chronology where applicable.
• Review and edit the summary again to make it clearer, ensure that it’s accurate, and make it even more concise where you can.
• Ensure that you cite the original text.

Example of summarization

You can summarize any text into a shorter version. For example, this entire article can be summarized in just a few sentences as follows:

• Summary:  The article discusses paraphrasing vs. summarizing by explaining the two concepts. It specifies when you should use paraphrasing and when you should summarize a piece of text and describes the process of each. It ends with examples of both paraphrasing and summarizing to provide a better understanding to the reader.

Paraphrasing vs. summarizing has been a long-standing point of confusion for writers of all levels, whether you’re writing a college essay or reviewing a research paper or book. The above tips and examples can help you identify when to use paraphrasing or summarizing and how to go about them effectively.

Inside this article

Fact checked: Content is rigorously reviewed by a team of qualified and experienced fact checkers. Fact checkers review articles for factual accuracy, relevance, and timeliness. Learn more.

About the author

Dalia Y.: Dalia is an English Major and linguistics expert with an additional degree in Psychology. Dalia has featured articles on Forbes, Inc, Fast Company, Grammarly, and many more. She covers English, ESL, and all things grammar on GrammarBrain.

Core lessons

• Abstract Noun
• Accusative Case
• Active Sentence
• Alliteration
• Adjective Clause
• Adjective Phrase
• Adverbial Clause
• Appositive Phrase
• Body Paragraph
• Compound Adjective
• Complex Sentence
• Compound Words
• Compound Predicate
• Common Noun
• Comparative Adjective
• Comparative and Superlative
• Compound Noun
• Compound Subject
• Compound Sentence
• Copular Verb
• Collective Noun
• Colloquialism
• Conciseness
• Conditional
• Concrete Noun
• Conjunction
• Conjugation
• Conditional Sentence
• Comma Splice
• Correlative Conjunction
• Coordinating Conjunction
• Coordinate Adjective
• Cumulative Adjective
• Dative Case
• Declarative Statement
• Direct Object Pronoun
• Direct Object
• Dangling Modifier
• Demonstrative Pronoun
• Demonstrative Adjective
• Direct Characterization
• Definite Article
• Doublespeak
• Equivocation Fallacy
• Future Perfect Progressive
• Future Simple
• Future Perfect Continuous
• Future Perfect
• First Conditional
• Gerund Phrase
• Genitive Case
• Helping Verb
• Irregular Adjective
• Irregular Verb
• Imperative Sentence
• Indefinite Article
• Intransitive Verb
• Introductory Phrase
• Indefinite Pronoun
• Indirect Characterization
• Interrogative Sentence
• Intensive Pronoun
• Inanimate Object
• Indefinite Tense
• Infinitive Phrase
• Interjection
• Intensifier
• Indicative Mood
• Juxtaposition
• Linking Verb
• Misplaced Modifier
• Nominative Case
• Noun Adjective
• Object Pronoun
• Object Complement
• Order of Adjectives
• Parallelism
• Prepositional Phrase
• Past Simple Tense
• Past Continuous Tense
• Past Perfect Tense
• Past Progressive Tense
• Present Simple Tense
• Present Perfect Tense
• Personal Pronoun
• Personification
• Persuasive Writing
• Parallel Structure
• Phrasal Verb
• Predicate Adjective
• Predicate Nominative
• Phonetic Language
• Plural Noun
• Punctuation
• Punctuation Marks
• Preposition
• Preposition of Place
• Parts of Speech
• Possessive Adjective
• Possessive Determiner
• Possessive Case
• Possessive Noun
• Proper Adjective
• Proper Noun
• Present Participle
• Quotation Marks
• Relative Pronoun
• Reflexive Pronoun
• Reciprocal Pronoun
• Subordinating Conjunction
• Simple Future Tense
• Stative Verb
• Subjunctive
• Subject Complement
• Subject of a Sentence
• Sentence Variety
• Second Conditional
• Superlative Adjective
• Slash Symbol
• Topic Sentence
• Types of Nouns
• Types of Sentences
• Uncountable Noun
• Vowels and Consonants

Popular lessons

Stay awhile. Your weekly dose of grammar and English fun.

The world's best online resource for learning English. Understand words, phrases, slang terms, and all other variations of the English language.

• Abbreviations
• Editorial Policy

How it works

For Business

Join Mind Tools

Article • 12 min read

How to Paraphrase and Summarize Work

Summing up key ideas in your own words.

By the Mind Tools Content Team

Imagine you're preparing a presentation for your CEO. You asked everyone in your team to contribute, and they all had plenty to say!

But now you have a dozen reports, all in different styles, and your CEO says that she can spare only 10 minutes to read the final version. What do you do?

The solution is to paraphrase and summarize the reports, so your boss gets only the key information that she needs, in a form that she can process quickly.

In this article, we explain how to paraphrase and how to summarize, and how to apply these techniques to text and the spoken word. We also explore the differences between the two skills, and point out the pitfalls to avoid.

What Is Paraphrasing?

When you paraphrase, you use your own words to express something that was written or said by another person.

Putting it into your own words can clarify the message, make it more relevant to your audience , or give it greater impact.

You might use paraphrased material to support your own argument or viewpoint. Or, if you're putting together a report , presentation or speech , you can use paraphrasing to maintain a consistent style, and to avoid lengthy quotations from the original text or conversation.

Paraphrased material should keep its original meaning and (approximate) length, but you can use it to pick out a single point from a longer discussion.

What Is Summarizing?

In contrast, a summary is a brief overview of an entire discussion or argument. You might summarize a whole research paper or conversation in a single paragraph, for example, or with a series of bullet points, using your own words and style.

People often summarize when the original material is long, or to emphasize key facts or points. Summaries leave out detail or examples that may distract the reader from the most important information, and they simplify complex arguments, grammar and vocabulary.

Used correctly, summarizing and paraphrasing can save time, increase understanding, and give authority and credibility to your work. Both tools are useful when the precise wording of the original communication is less important than its overall meaning.

How to Paraphrase Text

To paraphrase text, follow these four steps:

1. Read and Make Notes

Carefully read the text that you want to paraphrase. Highlight, underline or note down important terms and phrases that you need to remember.

2. Find Different Terms

Find equivalent words or phrases (synonyms) to use in place of the ones that you've picked out. A dictionary, thesaurus or online search can be useful here, but take care to preserve the meaning of the original text, particularly if you're dealing with technical or scientific terms.

3. Put the Text into Your Own Words

Rewrite the original text, line by line. Simplify the grammar and vocabulary, adjust the order of the words and sentences, and replace "passive" expressions with "active" ones (for example, you could change "The new supplier was contacted by Nusrat" to "Nusrat contacted the new supplier").

Remove complex clauses, and break longer sentences into shorter ones. All of this will make your new version easier to understand .

4. Check Your Work

Check your work by comparing it to the original. Your paraphrase should be clear and simple, and written in your own words. It may be shorter, but it should include all of the necessary detail.

Paraphrasing: an Example

Despite the undoubted fact that everyone's vision of what constitutes success is different, one should spend one's time establishing and finalizing one's personal vision of it. Otherwise, how can you possibly understand what your final destination might be, or whether or not your decisions are assisting you in moving in the direction of the goals which you've set yourself?

The two kinds of statement – mission and vision – can be invaluable to your approach, aiding you, as they do, in focusing on your primary goal, and quickly identifying possibilities that you might wish to exploit and explore.

We all have different ideas about success. What's important is that you spend time defining your version of success. That way, you'll understand what you should be working toward. You'll also know if your decisions are helping you to move toward your goals.

Used as part of your personal approach to goal-setting, mission and vision statements are useful for bringing sharp focus to your most important goal, and for helping you to quickly identify which opportunities you should pursue.

How to Paraphrase Speech

In a conversation – a meeting or coaching session, for example – paraphrasing is a good way to make sure that you have correctly understood what the other person has said.

This requires two additional skills: active listening and asking the right questions .

Useful questions include:

• If I hear you correctly, you're saying that…?
• So you mean that…? Is that right?
• Did I understand you when you said that…?

You can use questions like these to repeat the speaker's words back to them. For instance, if the person says, "We just don't have the funds available for these projects," you could reply: "If I understand you correctly, you're saying that our organization can't afford to pay for my team's projects?"

This may seem repetitive, but it gives the speaker the opportunity to highlight any misunderstandings, or to clarify their position.

When you're paraphrasing conversations in this way, take care not to introduce new ideas or information, and not to make judgments on what the other person has said, or to "spin" their words toward what you want to hear. Instead, simply restate their position as you understand it.

Sometimes, you may need to paraphrase a speech or a presentation. Perhaps you want to report back to your team, or write about it in a company blog, for example.

In these cases it's a good idea to make summary notes as you listen, and to work them up into a paraphrase later. (See How to Summarize Text or Speech, below.)

How to Summarize Text or Speech

Follow steps 1-5 below to summarize text. To summarize spoken material – a speech, a meeting, or a presentation, for example – start at step three.

1. Get a General Idea of the Original

First, speed read the text that you're summarizing to get a general impression of its content. Pay particular attention to the title, introduction, conclusion, and the headings and subheadings.

2. Check Your Understanding

Build your comprehension of the text by reading it again more carefully. Check that your initial interpretation of the content was correct.

3. Make Notes

Take notes on what you're reading or listening to. Use bullet points, and introduce each bullet with a key word or idea. Write down only one point or idea for each bullet.

If you're summarizing spoken material, you may not have much time on each point before the speaker moves on. If you can, obtain a meeting agenda, a copy of the presentation, or a transcript of the speech in advance, so you know what's coming.

Make sure your notes are concise, well-ordered, and include only the points that really matter.

The Cornell Note-Taking System is an effective way to organize your notes as you write them, so that you can easily identify key points and actions later. Our article, Writing Meeting Notes , also contains plenty of useful advice.

4. Write Your Summary

Bullet points or numbered lists are often an acceptable format for summaries – for example, on presentation slides, in the minutes of a meeting, or in Key Points sections like the one at the end of this article.

However, don't just use the bulleted notes that you took in step 3. They'll likely need editing or "polishing" if you want other people to understand them.

Some summaries, such as research paper abstracts, press releases, and marketing copy, require continuous prose. If this is the case, write your summary as a paragraph, turning each bullet point into a full sentence.

Aim to use only your own notes, and refer to original documents or recordings only if you really need to. This helps to ensure that you use your own words.

If you're summarizing speech, do so as soon as possible after the event, while it's still fresh in your mind.

5. Check Your Work

Your summary should be a brief but informative outline of the original. Check that you've expressed all of the most important points in your own words, and that you've left out any unnecessary detail.

Summarizing: an Example

So how do you go about identifying your strengths and weaknesses, and analyzing the opportunities and threats that flow from them? SWOT Analysis is a useful technique that helps you to do this.

What makes SWOT especially powerful is that, with a little thought, it can help you to uncover opportunities that you would not otherwise have spotted. And by understanding your weaknesses, you can manage and eliminate threats that might otherwise hurt your ability to move forward in your role.

If you look at yourself using the SWOT framework, you can start to separate yourself from your peers, and further develop the specialized talents and abilities that you need in order to advance your career and to help you achieve your personal goals.

SWOT Analysis is a technique that helps you identify strengths, weakness, opportunities, and threats. Understanding and managing these factors helps you to develop the abilities you need to achieve your goals and progress in your career.

Permission and Citations

If you intend to publish or circulate your document, it's important to seek permission from the copyright holder of the material that you've paraphrased or summarized. Failure to do so can leave you open to allegations of plagiarism, or even legal action.

It's good practice to cite your sources with a footnote, or with a reference in the text to a list of sources at the end of your document. There are several standard citation styles – choose one and apply it consistently, or follow your organization's house style guidelines.

As well as acknowledging the original author, citations tell you, the reader, that you're reading paraphrased or summarized material. This enables you to check the original source if you think that someone else's words may have been misused or misinterpreted.

Some writers might use others' ideas to prop up their own, but include only what suits them, for instance. Others may have misunderstood the original arguments, or "twisted" them by adding their own material.

If you're wary, or you find problems with the work, you may prefer to seek more reliable sources of information. (See our article, How to Spot Real and Fake News , for more on this.)

Paraphrasing means rephrasing text or speech in your own words, without changing its meaning. Summarizing means cutting it down to its bare essentials. You can use both techniques to clarify and simplify complex information or ideas.

To paraphrase text:

• Read and make notes.
• Find different terms.
• Put the text into your own words.
• Check your work.

You can also use paraphrasing in a meeting or conversation, by listening carefully to what's being said and repeating it back to the speaker to check that you have understood it correctly.

To summarize text or speech:

• Get a general idea of the original.
• Check your understanding.
• Make notes.
• Write your summary.

Seek permission for any copyrighted material that you use, and cite it appropriately.

You've accessed 1 of your 2 free resources.

Get unlimited access

Discover more content

Team building exercises – strategy and planning.

Engaging Ways to Build Core Skills

Eight Steps to Effective Business Continuity Management

Eight Steps to Help Organiaztions Confront and Survive Potential Disasters

Add comment

Comments (0)

Be the first to comment!

Sign-up to our newsletter

Subscribing to the Mind Tools newsletter will keep you up-to-date with our latest updates and newest resources.

Subscribe now

Business Skills

Personal Development

Leadership and Management

Member Extras

Most Popular

Latest Updates

Using Mediation To Resolve Conflict

Mind Tools Store

About Mind Tools Content

Discover something new today

Resolving workplace conflict through mediation.

Managing Disputes Informally

Personal SWOT Analysis

Making the Most of Your Talents and Opportunities

How Emotionally Intelligent Are You?

Boosting Your People Skills

Self-Assessment

What's Your Leadership Style?

Learn About the Strengths and Weaknesses of the Way You Like to Lead

Recommended for you

Pain points podcast - connecting to mission.

Linking Remote Teams to Organizational Purpose

Business Operations and Process Management

Strategy Tools

Customer Service

Business Ethics and Values

Handling Information and Data

Project Management

Knowledge Management

Self-Development and Goal Setting

Time Management

Presentation Skills

Learning Skills

Career Skills

Communication Skills

Negotiation, Persuasion and Influence

Working With Others

Difficult Conversations

Creativity Tools

Self-Management

Work-Life Balance

Stress Management and Wellbeing

Coaching and Mentoring

Change Management

Team Management

Managing Conflict

Delegation and Empowerment

Performance Management

Leadership Skills

Developing Your Team

Talent Management

Problem Solving

Decision Making

Member Podcast

Reflecting and Paraphrasing

Part of the ‘art of listening’ is making sure that the client knows their story is being listened to.

This is achieved by the helper/counsellor repeating back to the client parts of their story. This known as paraphrasing .

Reflecting is showing the client that you have ‘heard’ not only what is being said, but also what feelings and emotions the client is experiencing when sharing their story with you .

This is sometimes known in counselling ‘speak ‘as the music behind the words .

2 FREE Downloads - Get your overview documents that describe reflection and paraphrasing and how they are used in counselling.

Free handout download.

Click here to download your Reflection in Counselling handout

Click here to download your Paraphrasing in Counselling handout

It is like holding up a mirror to the client; repeating what they have said shows the client they have your full attention. It also allows the client to make sure you fully understood them; if not, they can correct you.

Reflecting and paraphrasing should not only contain what is being said but what emotion or feeling the client is expressing.

Let’s look at an example:

Client (Mohammed): My ex-wife phoned me yesterday; she told me that our daughter Nafiza (who is only 9) is very ill after a car accident. I am feeling very scared for her. They live in France, so I am going to have to travel to see her, and now I have been made redundant, I don’t know how I can afford to go.

Counsellor: So, Mohammed, you have had some bad news about your little girl, who has been involved in an accident. You are frightened for her and also have worries over money now you have lost your job.

Client: Yes, yes ... that’s right.

Notice that the counsellor does not offer advice or start asking how long Mohammed and his wife have been separated, but reflects the emotion of what is said : ‘frightened' and 'worries'.

Reflecting and paraphrasing are the first skills we learn as helpers, and they remain the most useful.

To build a trusting relationship with a helper, the client needs not only to be ‘listened to' but also to be heard and valued as a person.

"Reflecting and paraphrasing should not only contain what is being said but what emotion or feeling the client is expressing."

Definition of Reflection in Counselling

Reflection in counselling is like holding up a mirror: repeating the client’s words back to them exactly as they said them.

You might reflect back the whole sentence, or you might select a few words – or even one single word – from what the client has brought.

I often refer to reflection as ‘the lost skill’ because when I watch counselling students doing simulated skill sessions, or listen to their recordings from placement (where clients have consented to this), I seldom see reflection being used as a skill. This is a pity, as reflection can be very powerful.

When we use the skill of reflection, we are looking to match the tone, the feeling of the words, and the client’s facial expression or body language as they spoke .

For example, they might have hunched their shoulders as they said, ‘I was so scared; I didn’t know what to do.’

We might reflect that back by hunching our own shoulders, mirroring their body language while also saying ‘I felt so scared; I didn’t know what to do.’

Using Reflection to Clarify Our Understanding

We can also use reflection to clarify our understanding, instead of using a question.

For example, suppose the client says:

‘My husband and my father are fighting. I’m really angry with him.’

For me to be in the client’s frame of reference, I need to know whether ‘him’ refers to the husband or the father. So I might reflect back the word ‘ him ’  with a quizzical look.

The client might then respond:

‘Yeah, my dad. He really gets to me when he is non-accepting.’

So you can get clarification in this way. You can adjust where you are to make sure that the empathic bond is strong and that you are truly within the client’s frame of reference.

"When we use the skill of reflection, we are looking to match the tone, the feeling of the words, and the client’s facial expression or body language as they spoke".

Definition of Paraphrasing in Counselling

Paraphrasing is repeating back your understanding of the material that has been brought by the client, using your own words.

A paraphrase reflects the essence of what has been said .

We all use paraphrasing in our everyday lives. If you look at your studies to become a counsellor or psychotherapist, you paraphrase in class.

Maybe your lecturer brings a body of work, and you listen and make notes: you’re paraphrasing as you distill this down to what you feel is important.

How Paraphrasing Builds Empathy

How does paraphrasing affect the client-counsellor relationship?

First of all, it helps the client to feel both heard and understood. The client brings their material, daring to share that with you.

And you show that you’re listening by giving them a little portion of that back – the part that feels the most important. You paraphrase it down.

And if you do that accurately and correctly, and it matches where the client is, the client is going to recognise that and to feel heard: ‘ Finally, somebody is there really listening, really understanding what it is that I am bringing.’

This keys right into empathy, because it’s about building that empathic relationship with the client. And empathy is not a one-way transaction .

..."Empathy [is] the ability to ‘perceive the internal frame of reference of another with accuracy and with the emotional components and meanings which pertain thereto as if one were the person, but without ever losing the 'as if' conditions." Carl Rogers (1959, pp. 210–211)

In other words, we walk in somebody’s shoes as if their reality is our reality – but of course it’s not our reality, and that’s where the ‘as if’ comes in.

I’ve heard this rather aptly described as ‘walking in the client’s shoes, but keeping our socks on’!

Empathy is a two-way transaction – that is, it’s not enough for us to be 100% in the client’s frame of reference , understanding their true feelings; the client must also perceive that we understand .

When the client feels at some level that they have been understood, then the empathy circle is complete.

Spotted out-of-date info or broken links? Kindly let us know the page where you found them. Email: [email protected]

1 thought on “Reflecting and Paraphrasing”

Pingback: Paraphrasing In Counseling [Updated]

Comments are closed.

• Join Mind Tools

Paraphrasing and Summarizing

Summing up key ideas in your own words.

© GettyImages Foxys_forest_manufacture

Make complex information easier to digest!

Imagine you're preparing a presentation for your CEO. You asked everyone in your team to contribute, and they all had plenty to say!

But now you have a dozen reports, all in different styles, and your CEO says that she can spare only 10 minutes to read the final version. What do you do?

The solution is to paraphrase and summarize the reports, so your boss gets only the key information that she needs, in a form that she can process quickly.

In this article, we explain how to paraphrase and how to summarize, and how to apply these techniques to text and the spoken word. We also explore the differences between the two skills, and point out the pitfalls to avoid.

What Is Paraphrasing?

When you paraphrase, you use your own words to express something that was written or said by another person.

Putting it into your own words can clarify the message, make it more relevant to your audience   , or give it greater impact.

You might use paraphrased material to support your own argument or viewpoint. Or, if you're putting together a report   , presentation   or speech   , you can use paraphrasing to maintain a consistent style, and to avoid lengthy quotations from the original text or conversation.

Paraphrased material should keep its original meaning and (approximate) length, but you can use it to pick out a single point from a longer discussion.

What Is Summarizing?

In contrast, a summary is a brief overview of an entire discussion or argument. You might summarize a whole research paper or conversation in a single paragraph, for example, or with a series of bullet points, using your own words and style.

People often summarize when the original material is long, or to emphasize key facts or points. Summaries leave out detail or examples that may distract the reader from the most important information, and they simplify complex arguments, grammar and vocabulary.

Used correctly, summarizing and paraphrasing can save time, increase understanding, and give authority and credibility to your work. Both tools are useful when the precise wording of the original communication is less important than its overall meaning.

How to Paraphrase Text

To paraphrase text, follow these four steps:

1. Read and Make Notes

Carefully read the text that you want to paraphrase. Highlight, underline or note down important terms and phrases that you need to remember.

2. Find Different Terms

Find equivalent words or phrases (synonyms) to use in place of the ones that you've picked out. A dictionary, thesaurus or online search can be useful here, but take care to preserve the meaning of the original text, particularly if you're dealing with technical or scientific terms.

3. Put the Text into Your Own Words

Rewrite the original text, line by line. Simplify   the grammar and vocabulary, adjust the order of the words and sentences, and replace "passive" expressions with "active" ones (for example, you could change "The new supplier was contacted by Nusrat" to "Nusrat contacted the new supplier").

Remove complex clauses, and break longer sentences into shorter ones. All of this will make your new version easier to understand   .

4. Check Your Work

Check your work by comparing it to the original. Your paraphrase should be clear and simple, and written in your own words. It may be shorter, but it should include all of the necessary detail.

Paraphrasing: an Example

Despite the undoubted fact that everyone's vision of what constitutes success is different, one should spend one's time establishing and finalizing one's personal vision of it. Otherwise, how can you possibly understand what your final destination might be, or whether or not your decisions are assisting you in moving in the direction of the goals which you've set yourself?

The two kinds of statement – mission and vision – can be invaluable to your approach, aiding you, as they do, in focusing on your primary goal, and quickly identifying possibilities that you might wish to exploit and explore.

We all have different ideas about success. What's important is that you spend time defining your version of success. That way, you'll understand what you should be working toward. You'll also know if your decisions are helping you to move toward your goals.

Used as part of your personal approach to goal-setting, mission and vision statements are useful for bringing sharp focus to your most important goal, and for helping you to quickly identify which opportunities you should pursue.

How to Paraphrase Speech

In a conversation – a meeting or coaching session, for example – paraphrasing is a good way to make sure that you have correctly understood what the other person has said.

This requires two additional skills: active listening   and asking the right questions   .

Useful questions include:

• If I hear you correctly, you're saying that…?
• So you mean that…? Is that right?
• Did I understand you when you said that…?

You can use questions like these to repeat the speaker's words back to them. For instance, if the person says, "We just don't have the funds available for these projects," you could reply: "If I understand you correctly, you're saying that our organization can't afford to pay for my team's projects?"

This may seem repetitive, but it gives the speaker the opportunity to highlight any misunderstandings, or to clarify their position.

When you're paraphrasing conversations in this way, take care not to introduce new ideas or information, and not to make judgements on what the other person has said, or to "spin" their words toward what you want to hear. Instead, simply restate their position as you understand it.

Sometimes, you may need to paraphrase a speech or a presentation. Perhaps you want to report back to your team, or write about it in a company blog, for example.

In these cases it's a good idea to make summary notes as you listen, and to work them up into a paraphrase later. (See How to Summarize Text or Speech, below.)

How to Summarize Text or Speech

Follow steps 1-5 below to summarize text. To summarize spoken material – a speech, a meeting, or a presentation, for example – start at step 3.

Finding This Article Useful?

You can learn another 151 communication skills, like this, by joining the Mind Tools Club.

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Receive new career skills every week, plus get our latest offers and a free downloadable Personal Development Plan workbook.

1. Get a General Idea of the Original

First, speed read   the text that you're summarizing to get a general impression of its content. Pay particular attention to the title, introduction, conclusion, and the headings and subheadings.

2. Check Your Understanding

Build your comprehension of the text by reading it again more carefully. Check that your initial interpretation of the content was correct.

3. Make Notes

Take notes on what you're reading or listening to. Use bullet points, and introduce each bullet with a key word or idea. Write down only one point or idea for each bullet.

If you're summarizing spoken material, you may not have much time on each point before the speaker moves on. If you can, obtain a meeting agenda, a copy of the presentation, or a transcript of the speech in advance, so you know what's coming.

Make sure your notes are concise, well-ordered, and include only the points that really matter.

The Cornell Note-Taking System   is an effective way to organize your notes as you write them, so that you can easily identify key points and actions later. Our article, Writing Meeting Notes   , also contains plenty of useful advice.

4. Write Your Summary

Bullet points or numbered lists are often an acceptable format for summaries – for example, on presentation slides, in the minutes of a meeting, or in Key Points sections like the one at the end of this article.

However, don't just use the bulleted notes that you took in step 3. They'll likely need editing or "polishing" if you want other people to understand them.

Some summaries, such as research paper abstracts, press releases, and marketing copy, require continuous prose. If this is the case, write your summary as a paragraph, turning each bullet point into a full sentence.

Aim to use only your own notes, and refer to original documents or recordings only if you really need to. This helps to ensure that you use your own words.

If you're summarizing speech, do so as soon as possible after the event, while it's still fresh in your mind.

5. Check Your Work

Your summary should be a brief but informative outline of the original. Check that you've expressed all of the most important points in your own words, and that you've left out any unnecessary detail.

Summarizing: an Example

So how do you go about identifying your strengths and weaknesses, and analyzing the opportunities and threats that flow from them? SWOT Analysis is a useful technique that helps you to do this.

What makes SWOT especially powerful is that, with a little thought, it can help you to uncover opportunities that you would not otherwise have spotted. And by understanding your weaknesses, you can manage and eliminate threats that might otherwise hurt your ability to move forward in your role.

If you look at yourself using the SWOT framework, you can start to separate yourself from your peers, and further develop the specialized talents and abilities that you need in order to advance your career and to help you achieve your personal goals.

SWOT Analysis is a technique that helps you identify strengths, weakness, opportunities, and threats. Understanding and managing these factors helps you to develop the abilities you need to achieve your goals and progress in your career.

Permission and Citations

If you intend to publish or circulate your document, it's important to seek permission from the copyright holder of the material that you've paraphrased or summarized. Failure to do so can leave you open to allegations of plagiarism, or even legal action.

It's good practice to cite your sources with a footnote, or with a reference in the text to a list of sources at the end of your document. There are several standard citation styles – choose one and apply it consistently, or follow your organization's house style guidelines.

As well as acknowledging the original author, citations tell you, the reader, that you're reading paraphrased or summarized material. This enables you to check the original source if you think that someone else's words may have been misused or misinterpreted.

Some writers might use others' ideas to prop up their own, but include only what suits them, for instance. Others may have misunderstood the original arguments, or "twisted" them by adding their own material.

If you're wary, or you find problems with the work, you may prefer to seek more reliable sources of information. (See our article, How to Spot Real and Fake News   , for more on this.)

Paraphrasing means rephrasing text or speech in your own words, without changing its meaning. Summarizing means cutting it down to its bare essentials. You can use both techniques to clarify and simplify complex information or ideas.

To paraphrase text:

• Read and make notes.
• Find different terms.
• Put the text into your own words.
• Check your work.

You can also use paraphrasing in a meeting or conversation, by listening carefully to what's being said and repeating it back to the speaker to check that you have understood it correctly.

To summarize text or speech:

• Get a general idea of the original.
• Check your understanding.
• Make notes.
• Write your summary.

Seek permission for any copyrighted material that you use, and cite it appropriately.

This site teaches you the skills you need for a happy and successful career; and this is just one of many tools and resources that you'll find here at Mind Tools. Subscribe to our free newsletter , or join the Mind Tools Club and really supercharge your career!

Rate this resource

The Mind Tools Club gives you exclusive tips and tools to boost your career - plus a friendly community and support from our career coaches! 

Comments (10)

• Over a month ago Midgie wrote Hi sahibaMehry, My view is that we paraphrase the meaning and essence of what has been said, rather than sentence by sentence or word for word. If you are to use the exact words, that would be 'quoting' someone. Hope that helps. Midgie Mind Tools Team
• Over a month ago sahibaMehry wrote Hello could you please answer my question do we need to paraphrase sentences in summarizing or not we should summarize it word to word?
• Over a month ago Michele wrote Hi SabrinaSeo, You are most welcome. We hope the information in the article was helpful. Michele Mind Tools Team

Please wait...

Summarizing and Paraphrasing in Academic Writing

“It’s none of their business that you have to learn to write. Let them think you were born that way.” – Ernest Hemingway

Plato considers art (and therefore writing) as being mimetic in nature. Writing in all forms and for all kinds of audience involves thorough research. Often, there is a grim possibility that an idea you considered novel has already been adequately explored; however, this also means there are multiple perspectives to explore now and thereby to learn from.

Being inspired by another’s idea opens up a world of possibilities and thus several ways to incorporate and assimilate them in writing, namely, paraphrasing , summarizing, and quoting . However, mere incorporation does not bring writing alive and make it appealing to readers . The incorporation of various ideas must reflect the writer’s understanding and interpretation of them as well.

What is Quoting, Paraphrasing, and Summarizing in Academic Writing?

Purdue OWL defines these devices of representation quite succinctly:

Therefore, paraphrasing and summarizing consider broader segments of the main text, while quotations are brief segments of a source. Further, paraphrasing involves expressing the ideas presented from a particular part of a source (mostly a passage) in a condensed manner, while summarizing involves selecting a broader part of a source (for example, a chapter in a book or an entire play) and stating the key points. In spite of subtle variations in representation, all three devices when employed must be attributed to the source to avoid plagiarism .

Related: Finished drafting your manuscript? Check these resources to avoid plagiarism now!

Why is it Important to Quote, Paraphrase, and Summarize?

Quotations, paraphrases, and summaries serve the purpose of providing evidence to sources of your manuscript. It is important to quote, paraphrase, and summarize for the following reasons:

• It adds credibility to your writing
• It helps in tracking the original source of your research
• Delivers several perspectives on your research subject

Quotations/Quoting

Quotations are exact representations of a source, which can either be a written one or spoken words. Quotes imbue writing with an authoritative tone and can provide reliable and strong evidence. However, quoting should be employed sparingly to support and not replace one’s writing.

How Do You Quote?

• Ensure that direct quotes are provided within quotation marks and properly cited
• A Long quote of three or more lines can be set-off as a blockquote (this often has more impact)
• Short quotes usually flow better when integrated within a sentence

Paraphrasing

Paraphrasing is the manner of presenting a text by altering certain words and phrases of a source while ensuring that the paraphrase reflects proper understanding of the source. It can be useful for personal understanding of complex concepts and explaining information present in charts, figures , and tables .

How Do You Paraphrase?

• While aligning the representation with your own style (that is, using synonyms of certain words and phrases), ensure that the author’s intention is not changed as this may express an incorrect interpretation of the source ideas
• Use quotation marks if you intend to retain key concepts or phrases to effectively paraphrase
• Use paraphrasing as an alternative to the abundant usage of direct quotes in your writing

Summarizing

Summarizing involves presenting an overview of a source by omitting superfluous details and retaining only the key essence of the ideas conveyed.

How Do You Summarize?

• Note key points while going through a source text
• Provide a consolidated view without digressions for a concrete and comprehensive summary of a source
• Provide relevant examples from a source to substantiate the argument being presented

“Nature creates similarities. One need only think of mimicry. The highest capacity for producing similarities, however, is man’s. His gift of seeing resemblances is nothing other than a rudiment of the powerful compulsion in former times to become and behave like something else.” –Walter Benjamin

Quoting vs Paraphrasing vs Summarizing

Research thrives as a result of inspiration from and assimilation of novel concepts. However, do ensure that when developing and enriching your own research, proper credit is provided to the origin . This can be achieved by using plagiarism checker tool and giving due credit in case you have missed it earlier.

Source: https://student.unsw.edu.au/paraphrasing-summarising-and-quoting

Amazing blog actually! a lot of information is contained and i have really learnt a lot. Thank you for sharing such educative article.

hi, I enjoyed the article. It’s very informative so that I could use it in my writings! thanks a lot.

hi You are really doing a good job keep up the good work

Great job! Keep on.

nice work and useful advises… thank you for being with students

Rate this article Cancel Reply

Your email address will not be published.

Enago Academy's Most Popular Articles

• Language & Grammar
• Reporting Research

Best Plagiarism Checker Tool for Researchers — Top 4 to choose from!

While common writing issues like language enhancement, punctuation errors, grammatical errors, etc. can be dealt…

How to Use Synonyms Effectively in a Sentence? — A way to avoid plagiarism!

Do you remember those school days when memorizing synonyms and antonyms played a major role…

• Manuscripts & Grants

Reliable and Affordable Plagiarism Detector for Students in 2022

Did you know? Our senior has received a rejection from a reputed journal! The journal…

• Publishing Research
• Submitting Manuscripts

3 Effective Tips to Make the Most Out of Your iThenticate Similarity Report

This guest post is drafted by an expert from iThenticate, a plagiarism checker trusted by the world’s…

How Can Researchers Avoid Plagiarism While Ensuring the Originality of Their Manuscript?

Ten Reasons Why Elsevier Journals Reject Your Article

Sign-up to read more

Subscribe for free to get unrestricted access to all our resources on research writing and academic publishing including:

• 2000+ blog articles
• 50+ Webinars
• 10+ Expert podcasts
• 50+ Infographics
• 10+ Checklists
• Research Guides

We hate spam too. We promise to protect your privacy and never spam you.

I am looking for Editing/ Proofreading services for my manuscript Tentative date of next journal submission:

As a researcher, what do you consider most when choosing an image manipulation detector?

Sign up for your FREE e-newsletter

You’ll regularly recieve powerful strategies for personal development, tips to improve the growth of your counselling practice, the latest industry news and much more.

We’ll keep your information private and never sell, rent, trade or share it with any other organisation. And you can cancel anytime.

Encouragers, Paraphrasing and Summarising

A counsellor can encourage a client to continue to talk, open up more freely and explore issues in greater depth by providing accurate responses through encouraging, paraphrasing and summarising. Responding in this way informs the client that the counsellor has accurately heard what they have been saying. Encouragers, paraphrases and summaries are basic to helping a client feel understood.

Encouragers, also known as intentional listening , involve fully attending to the client, thus allowing them to explore their feelings and thoughts more completely. Paraphrasing and summarising are more active ways of communicating to the client that they have been listened to. Summarising is particularly useful to help clients organise their thinking.

The diagram below shows how encouragers, paraphrases and summaries are on different points of a continuum, each building on more of the information provided by the client to accurately assess issues and events.

Encouragers – Encouragers are a variety of verbal and non-verbal ways of prompting clients to continue talking.

Types of encouragers include:

• Non-verbal minimal responses such as a nod of the head or positive facial expressions
• Verbal minimal responses such as “Uh-huh” and “I hear what you’re saying”
• Brief invitations to continue such as “Tell me more”

Encouragers simply encourage the client to keep talking. For a counsellor to have more influence on the direction of client progress they would need to make use of other techniques.

Paraphrases – To paraphrase, the counsellor chooses the most important details of what the client has just said and reflects them back to the client. Paraphrases can be just a few words or one or two brief sentences.

Paraphrasing is not a matter of simply repeating or parroting what the client has stated. Rather it is capturing the essence of what the client is saying, through rephrasing. When the counsellor has captured what the client is saying, often the client will say, “That’s right” or offer some other form of confirmation.

Example: I have just broken up with Jason. The way he was treating me was just too much to bear. Every time I tried to touch on the subject with him he would just clam up. I feel so much better now. Paraphrase: You feel much better after breaking up with Jason.

Summaries – Summaries are brief statements of longer excerpts from the counselling session. In summarising, the counsellor attends to verbal and non-verbal comments from the client over a period of time, and then pulls together key parts of the extended communication, restating them for the client as accurately as possible.

A check-out, phrased at the end of the summary, is an important component of the statement, enabling a check of the accuracy of the counsellor’s response. Summaries are similar to paraphrasing, except they are used less frequently and encompass more information.

• July 21, 2009
• Communication , Counselling Process , Encouraging , Microskills , Paraphrasing
• Counselling Theory & Process

Comments: 23

Yeah,must say i like the simple way these basic counselling skills are explained in this article. More of same would be most welcome as it helps give a better understanding of the counselling process and the methods and techniques used within the counselling arena

I really find this information helpful as a refresher in my studies and work. Please keep up the excellent work of ‘educating’ us on being a better counsellor. Thank you!

Wonderfully helpful posting. Many thanks!

Thankyou so much. I am doing a assignment at uni about scitzophrenia and needed to clarify what paraphrasing truly meant. Cheers

So helpful to me as a counselor.

Thankx so much for these post. I’m doing Counselling and Community Services and I need to clarify what summarising and paraphrasing really meant. Once again thank you, this information it’s really helpful

Hello Antoinette friend and doing guidance and counselling need uo help about this question With relevent examples explain the following concepts as used in communicating to clients. (I;listening to verbal messages and using encouraged minimal prompts. 2)making use of non verbal communication and exhibiting attending behaviours using Gerald Eganis macro skill SOLER/ROLES. 3.paraphrasing 4.identifying and reflecting feelings and emotions from the clients story 5.summarizing 6.confrotation 7.counsellor self disclosure 8.asking open and close open ended concept 9.answering questions 10.clarifying

thanks I am doing a counselling community services at careers Australia

Really love the explanations given to the active listening techniques it was really useful and helpful good work done.

Helpful. Thanks!

I really like hw u explain everything in to simple terms for my understanding.

Hai ,thanks for being here .Am a student social worker,i need help an an able to listen to get the implied massages from the client.and to bring questions to explore with them .I love to do this work .What shall I do.how do i train my self in listening.

really appreciate.

You explanation of these three basic intentional listening are very helpful. Thank you for remained us.

very helpful indeed in making the client more open and exploring the issues more deeply

Very important cues.thanks

the article was helpful .thank you for explaining it in more clear and simple words.appreciate it alot .

I need to write about what counselling words mean ie I understand summarising and paraphrasing any more would be useful as I’m near the end of my course

I have a role play exam tomorrow on counselling and find above explanation very useful. thanks for sharing.

This explanation is clear and precise. Very easy to understanding than the expensive textbook. Please keep posting as this helps a lot. Thanks and God bless.

Pingback: Summarising In Counseling (a Comprehensive Overview) | OptimistMinds

One of the simple and memorable descriptions of this I’ve read, thanks so much!

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Active Listening Techniques for Psychologists

Active listening means being fully engaged in what a speaker is trying to communicate to you. Active listening is important in building relationships, empathizing with others, and solving problems. It is particularly important to those pursuing psychology careers—understanding clients, developing trusting relationships with them, and helping them resolve their issues are essential aspects of psychology. Understanding active listening and its benefits and learning useful active listening techniques can help you navigate relationships in both your personal and professional life.

Benefits of Active Listening

Anyone can benefit from sharpening their active listening skills, but those pursuing psychology careers may find that being a good active listener is indispensable. Active listening comes with myriad perks that span well beyond the psychologist’s office, however. For example, it can:

• Establish trust. When you use active listening techniques, the person speaking sees that you are interested in what they are saying and feeling. When you show that you are trying to understand someone’s issues, trust will naturally build between you. In psychology careers, this can help you get an open, honest line of communication with your client. Trust is an incredibly valuable asset in fields like child psychology , family therapy , and behavioral psychology .
• Keep people talking. When people feel like the person listening to them doesn’t care or is not engaged in what they are saying, they may be more likely to stop talking. For psychologists, it’s important to make your clients feel comfortable when they are opening up and elaborating on their feelings.
• Help you understand others’ issues. Listening for the meaning behind someone’s words can help you get a stronger, more nuanced understanding of their feelings and issues.
• Allow for reflection. Because active listening involves checking for understanding, both the speaker and the listener need to have opportunities to hear and process what is being said. Many psychology fields, such as clinical psychology , depend on moments of reflection to paint a holistic picture of their clients and their issues.

11 Tips for Improving Active Listening Skills

Paraphrasing, summarizing, clarifying, and reflecting aren’t the only active listening exercises that you can practice. The following simple, actionable techniques can help you become a better listener, whether you’re a psychology professional or not.

• Focus on what’s important. Listen for the main points, rather than nitpick at minor details that could derail the speaker’s thoughts.
• Choose to be interested. Not everyone is going to talk about things that interest you all the time, but switching your mindset and telling yourself, “I will be interested and engaged because I care about this person,” can help you practice active listening, even when you might not feel like listening at all.
• Ask thoughtful questions. Asking meaningful questions shows the speaker that you care about what they are saying, and are listening to their words.
• Be okay with silences. Letting silences rest gives you time to process what has been said and gives the speaker time to work through their thoughts and figure out how to proceed.
• Listen for meaning. Active listening means analyzing more than just the speaker’s words. Listening for the impact of the specific words chosen and the context of those words can add layers of meaning and understanding.
• Don’t interrupt. Interrupting can indicate that you are more interested in talking than listening, and can discourage the speaker from continuing or make them feel uncomfortable.
• Watch their nonverbal behavior. Pay attention to the speaker’s body language. Their words may not tell the whole story and may even contrast with their body language. Noticing this can help you react and proceed as an empathetic listener.
• Ignore your internal voice/avoid daydreaming. If you are busy with your own thoughts, it’s impossible to be fully engaged in what the speaker is saying. If the speaker notices that you aren’t paying attention, they may close themselves off.
• Withhold judgment. The purpose of active listening is to gain understanding, not to critique or problem-solve. Being open and nonjudgmental allows for more open communication and compassion.
• Demonstrate positive body language that shows you’re listening—this could include eye contact, nodding, smiling, ignoring your phone or the clock, and appearing relaxed. Positive body language can encourage the speaker to continue talking. It’s important that these physical gestures are sincere and authentic.
• Avoid distractions. To be an effective active listener, you should be fully engaged in the discussion. Avoiding distractions can help you stay engaged in the conversation and show the speaker that you are interested in hearing them.

The Best Active Listening Techniques to Communicate Effectively

Mastering active listening takes practice, but once you get the hang of it, it can become second nature. Practicing the four primary active listening techniques—that is, to paraphrase, summarize, clarify, and reflect—can help you hone your skills and start communicating more effectively in professional counseling settings, as well as in day-to-day interactions.

Paraphrasing involves boiling down the essential meaning behind what the speaker has just said and stating it back to them in your own words. The speaker can then clarify or confirm that the meaning you gathered was what they were trying to convey. When paraphrasing, you should strive to withhold judgment and keep your statements neutral and concise. This allows the speaker to hear whether or not you have perceived their words as they intended, without them feeling like they are being attacked, critiqued, or analyzed.

When summarizing, the listener picks out the key points of the discussion and relays them back to the speaker. In a psychology setting, this may occur at the end of your session with a client. Summarizing should be concise and should help you and the speaker connect thoughts and ideas. It can highlight the points that seem most important to the speaker, and give them the chance to confirm the significance of those points, and reflect on their recurrence. Summarizing can also help both you and the speaker see if there are any themes or connecting threads between the main points that could be explored further, and it can be a useful tool for tracking progress between sessions.

Clarifying helps the listener understand what was said and gives the speaker an opportunity to elaborate and assess their thoughts and feelings more precisely. It also shows the speaker that the listener is invested in understanding them, which can encourage the speaker to continue talking further. To clarify successfully, you should strive to ask open-ended questions—closed yes-or-no questions can shut down a conversation quickly. It’s also important that clarifying questions remain neutral and nonjudgmental, using phrases such as “I’m not sure I understand.” Give the speaker time to work through their thoughts and provide more information.

Reflecting involves rephrasing words or sentences to let the client check and clarify the impact of their words. This helps the speaker make sense of the situation and their feelings about it and helps you better understand those feelings. For instance, if a client says, “It made me sad,” you might reflect the perceived meaning of those words by saying, “It made you upset?” Then the speaker could clarify with, “No, not upset, but defeated.” In this way, both you and the speaker reach a more nuanced and precise understanding of the situation. Communication may be eased when both the speaker and the listener have a more solid grasp on the situations and feelings being discussed, and resolutions may be easier to come by.

• {{ program.Name }}

• school Campus Bookshelves
• menu_book Bookshelves
• perm_media Learning Objects
• login Login
• how_to_reg Request Instructor Account
• hub Instructor Commons

Margin Size

• Download Page (PDF)
• Download Full Book (PDF)
• Periodic Table
• Physics Constants
• Scientific Calculator
• Reference & Cite
• Tools expand_more
• Readability

selected template will load here

This action is not available.

1.8: Paraphrasing and Summarizing

• Last updated
• Save as PDF
• Page ID 124367

• Gabriel Winer & Elizabeth Wadell
• Berkeley City College & Laney College via ASCCC Open Educational Resources Initiative (OERI)

\( \newcommand{\vecs}[1]{\overset { \scriptstyle \rightharpoonup} {\mathbf{#1}} } \)

\( \newcommand{\vecd}[1]{\overset{-\!-\!\rightharpoonup}{\vphantom{a}\smash {#1}}} \)

\( \newcommand{\id}{\mathrm{id}}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\)

( \newcommand{\kernel}{\mathrm{null}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\range}{\mathrm{range}\,}\)

\( \newcommand{\RealPart}{\mathrm{Re}}\) \( \newcommand{\ImaginaryPart}{\mathrm{Im}}\)

\( \newcommand{\Argument}{\mathrm{Arg}}\) \( \newcommand{\norm}[1]{\| #1 \|}\)

\( \newcommand{\inner}[2]{\langle #1, #2 \rangle}\)

\( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\)

\( \newcommand{\id}{\mathrm{id}}\)

\( \newcommand{\kernel}{\mathrm{null}\,}\)

\( \newcommand{\range}{\mathrm{range}\,}\)

\( \newcommand{\RealPart}{\mathrm{Re}}\)

\( \newcommand{\ImaginaryPart}{\mathrm{Im}}\)

\( \newcommand{\Argument}{\mathrm{Arg}}\)

\( \newcommand{\norm}[1]{\| #1 \|}\)

\( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\) \( \newcommand{\AA}{\unicode[.8,0]{x212B}}\)

\( \newcommand{\vectorA}[1]{\vec{#1}}      % arrow\)

\( \newcommand{\vectorAt}[1]{\vec{\text{#1}}}      % arrow\)

\( \newcommand{\vectorB}[1]{\overset { \scriptstyle \rightharpoonup} {\mathbf{#1}} } \)

\( \newcommand{\vectorC}[1]{\textbf{#1}} \)

\( \newcommand{\vectorD}[1]{\overrightarrow{#1}} \)

\( \newcommand{\vectorDt}[1]{\overrightarrow{\text{#1}}} \)

\( \newcommand{\vectE}[1]{\overset{-\!-\!\rightharpoonup}{\vphantom{a}\smash{\mathbf {#1}}}} \)

Exploring paraphrasing and summarizing

Let's explore paraphrasing and summarizing in an article about DACA recipients or "Dreamers". Figure 1.8.1 shows a young woman protesting in support of DACA.

Look at the example quotation, paraphrase, and summary from the article “What the Supreme Court’s DACA Ruling Means for Undocumented Students and the Colleges and Universities They Attend, Today” in Table 1.8.1 below. What similarities do you notice between the quotation, paraphrase, and summary? What differences do you observe?

Now, check the following list. Did you observe all the similarities and differences?

Similarities:

• Quotations, paraphrases, and summaries all use reporting words to refer to the source.
• Quotations, paraphrases, and summaries all report ideas from the original text.
• Paraphrases and summaries both report ideas from the original text, but change the words and sentence structure.

Differences:

• Quotations use the same exact words from the original text, unlike paraphrases and summaries.
• Quotations use quotation marks "..." to show which words are copied directly.
• Summaries are shorter than the original passage, while quotations and paraphrases are closer to the same length as the original. 

Paraphrasing

We can paraphrase a passage to show our comprehension and the meaning of a text. In essays, we might use a paraphrase to provide support for the point we are making. When we paraphrase, we capture what the text says.

With a paraphrase we:

• Keep the length similar to the text we are paraphrasing
• Use our own words - they should be different from the text (unless a key term is of essence)
• Keep the meaning the same as the original text - we do not include our opinion
• Use a different sentence structure - change up the grammar!
• Need to reference the writer’s name and title of the text.

Summarizing

We can also demonstrate our understanding of a text by writing a summary. A summary can be short or long, but it is always significantly shorter than the original text. We might be asked to summarize a whole text or a particular point in a text, and we may have to summarize a text or passage in a sentence, a paragraph, a page, or even a whole essay.

Examine the elements of a strong summary:

• Starts with an introductory sentence that lists the title of the text, author and the main idea (thesis) restated in your own words

Example: In “Title,” author states that.... (or choose a different verb, for example, claims, explains, defends, insists, asserts, compares, warns, observes, condemns, suggests, refutes, shows, or acknowledges. See the Chapter 4 Language Toolkit to learn more about reporting verbs).

• Uses your own words to express
• Condenses the text: it is significantly shorter than the original text
• Gives an overview of the text
• Accurately captures the key/main points of the original text and ignores most of the details, examples, illustrations or explanations.
• Only contains the ideas of the original text (not our own opinion)
• Uses academic conventions (e.g., avoid *you,* contractions such as isn’t - use is not instead - and qualifiers like really / very) + use the writer’s last name after you’ve introduced them by their full name
• Looks like a paragraph
• Makes sense - connect points with transition words, for instance

To summarize, consider doing the following:

• Preview the text
• Annotate it
• Look for the main idea (thesis)
• Write a 1-sentence summary for each paragraph in your own words
• Write a sentence that summarizes the whole text in your own words
• Order key points in a way that makes sense
• Connect the points with transition words
• Avoid repetition

Summarizing to help you read

Let's try summarizing an article from this chapter.

• Choose a text from this chapter, for example, “Undocumented Immigrants May Actually Make American Communities Safer – Not More dangerous – New Study Finds” by Robert M. Adelman and Lesley Reid in 1.4.
• Author and title: 
• 1-3 supporting details:    
• Use your notes to write a summary in 5 sentences or less.
• Compare your summary to your classmates What similarities and/or differences do you notice?
• As a fun challenge, try to condense your summary to 25 words (not including author’s name and title). You can do this individually or as a whole group.
• Reflect on the experience condensing an article to 25 words. Was this hard to do? Why or why not?

Licenses and Attribution

Cc licensed content: original.

Authored by Marit ter Mate-Martinsen, Santa Barbara City College. License: CC BY NC.

Want to create or adapt books like this? Learn more about how Pressbooks supports open publishing practices.

Part Two: Clarifying Arguments

Chapter Three: A Framework for Clarifying

Everything that can be thought at all can be thought clearly. Everything that can be said can be said clearly. —Ludwig Wittgenstein, Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus

Duchess: Do, as a concession to my poor wits, Lord Darlington, just explain to me what you really mean. Lord Darlington: I think I had better not; nowadays, to be intelligible is to be found out. —Oscar Wilde, Lady Windermere’s Fan

• The Process of Clarifying
• The Principle of Loyalty
• The Principle of Charity
• The Straw Man Fallacy

Clear arguments are arguments that can be evaluated. But arguments in everyday life are often lacking in clarity; so before you evaluate an argument, you will be asked to engage in the process of clarifying. This chapter is concerned with the clarifying process and with two principles that regulate it, the principle of loyalty and the principle of charity.

3.1 The Process of Clarifying

If you are preparing to evaluate an argument, the first order of business is clarifying . This means you should make sure the argument is expressed as clearly as possible, so that it is as easy as possible to tell whether the premises are true, whether the logic is good, and whether the argument is relevant to the conversation. Clarifying requires two procedures, performed at the same time: outlining the argument in standard format and paraphrasing the argument.

3.1.1 Standard Clarifying Format

As we saw in Chapter 2, when an argument is expressed in ordinary English it is not always obvious which statement is the conclusion and which statements are the premises. The standard clarifying format that we use in this text provides a simple way of making it obvious which is which. When an argument is outlined in this format, the premises (including any premises that may also serve as subconclusions) are numbered and listed immediately above their conclusion, while the main conclusion is indicated not by a number, but by C, for Conclusion. (This provides a simple way of referring to the elements of the argument in your evaluation.) All conclusions—including subconclusions if the argument is complex—are preceded by ∴ in the left margin. [1] Implicit statements are enclosed in square brackets, but otherwise treated like all other statements in the argument.

Standard Clarifying Format

• Premises numbered above their conclusion.
• Main conclusion identified as C.
• All conclusions (main conclusion and subconclusions) preceded by ∴ in the left margin.
• Implicit statements in brackets.

Consider this modest argument from the Miami Herald:

Dade County, which includes Miami, is the best place in America to be a criminal. It has the nation’s worst crime rate and does the laziest job of putting criminals behind bars.

Once we have identified the conclusion (the first sentence) and the premises (each half of the second sentence), it can be painlessly put into standard clarifying format, as follows:

• Dade County has the nation’s worst crime rate.
• Dade County does the laziest job of putting criminals behind bars.
• ∴ Dade County is the best place in America to be a criminal.

That’s all there is to it.

Let’s take a slightly more complicated example. Can subliminal messages in rock music have an effect on the listener? Anthony Pellicano, a forensic audio specialist, testified for CBS Records in the case against rock band Judas Priest. He gave this argument:

The volume at which alleged auditory subliminal sounds are produced is not loud enough to cause the eardrum to vibrate. If the eardrum does not vibrate then the message cannot be sent to the brain. “The subliminal argument has absolutely no basis in fact,” Pellicano concluded.

Here is the argument in standard clarifying format (with minimal paraphrasing).

• The volume at which alleged auditory subliminal sounds are produced is not loud enough to cause the eardrum to vibrate.
• If the eardrum does not vibrate then the message cannot be sent to the brain.
• ∴ The subliminal argument has absolutely no basis in fact.

This outline makes plain which statements are the premises—1 and 2—and which is the main conclusion— C .

Suppose Pellicano, the forensic audio specialist, had finished his remarks with the following additional assertion:

So Judas Priest is innocent.

We would then outline the entire passage as a complex argument, as follows:

• If the eardrum does not vibrate, then the message cannot be sent to the brain.
• ∴ Judas Priest is innocent.

The revisions are highlighted. Note that 3 is now a subconclusion; as such, it is not only the conclusion to 1 and 2, but it is also the premise for the new main conclusion, C.

This does not completely clarify the argument. Note that the arguer clearly is inferring from premises 1 and 2 that the message cannot be sent to the brain —and that this is the immediate reason for his assertion that the subliminal argument has no basis on fact. If we include that implicit statement—as a subconclusion—the outline takes the following form.

• ∴ [The message cannot be sent to the brain.]

Revisions are again highlighted. There are other implicit premises in the argument (you might think for yourself about what might be implicitly assumed between 3 and 4), but this is enough to illustrate the format. This format sets the stage for evaluation of the argument, which should follow.

EXERCISES Chapter 3, set (a)

Outline each of the following arguments in standard format. There is no need, at this point, to attempt to paraphrase or supply implicit statements. Don’t assume that every sentence in each passage is a premise or conclusion.

Sample exercise. “For a scrapbook of the Truman senatorial campaign, Fred Canfill kept clipping the local papers along the way. One item dated August 3, from an unidentified paper, acknowledged that Judge Truman was no orator, but then this was an argument in his favor since there was already too much oratory in the United States Senate.”—David McCullough, Truman

Sample answer.

• Judge Truman was no orator.
• There was already too much oratory in the United States Senate.
• ∴ Judge Truman was the better candidate in the senatorial campaign. (Paraphrased from the expression “in his favor”)
• “When, at the time of the moon landing, a woman in rural Texas was interviewed about the event, she very sensibly refused to believe that the television pictures she had seen had come all the way from the moon, on the grounds that with her antenna she couldn’t even get Dallas.” —Richard Lewontin, New York Review of Books (Stick to clarifying here—resist the urge to evaluate this as a good or bad argument.)
• “‘The real object of sports writing’, says a friend of mine who does it, ‘is to keep readers away from the horrors in the rest of the paper.’ Thus sports continues its rounds as the Magnificent Evasion, since it also keeps us away from the bad news at home and in one’s own psyche.”—Wilfred Sheed, Harper’s (Look for more than one premise here—inference indicators are there to help you.)
• “Japanese still tend to think in terms of personal relationships and subjective circumstances in their business dealings. Thus an agreement between a Japanese and a foreign businessman should be reduced to its basic elements, and each point thoroughly discussed, to make sure each side understands and actually does agree to what the other side is saying.”—Boyne De Mente, The Japanese Way of Doing Business
• “Says Buntrock of Chem Waste, ‘We’re waste managers, so we have to help our customers manage their waste. So if the business moves from a quantity function to more services and processing, we’ll move with it.’”— Forbes

3.1.2 Paraphrasing the Argument

It is usually necessary for you to paraphrase the argument at the same time you are organizing it into standard clarifying format. This means that, to achieve clarity, you must reword the argument, highlighting what matters most in determining the merits of the argument—in determining whether the premises are true, the argument is logical, and the argument is conversationally relevant. Why is this usually required? There are at least two reasons. First, arguers often find it hard to make themselves understood, despite the best of intentions. And, second, their intentions are almost always to do more than merely to make it easy to evaluate their reasoning. They almost always have a rhetorical purpose as well; that is, they intend to persuade.

Rhetoric is aptly defined by W. V. Quine in Quiddities as “the literary technology of persuasion.” It can help or hurt the argument’s clarity. It helps when it is used to make good arguments easy to accept on their own merits. But it hurts when, as Quine puts it, those who use it place “the goal of persuasion above the goal of truth . . . , disregarding every discrepancy while regarding every crepancy.” In this chapter and the next three, you will find dozens of examples of the use (and misuse) of rhetoric. Your aim in paraphrasing should be to get rid of what is incomprehensible or misleading, whether intentional or not, so that the only thing that could be persuasive about the argument is the quality of the reasoning.

Procedures in the Clarifying Process

• Outline in standard clarifying format.
• Paraphrase for greater clarity.

3.2 The Principle of Loyalty

When clarifying an argument it is essential that you be guided by the principle of loyalty , which says that your clarification should aim to remain true to the arguer’s intent. This principle does not say that you should feel fondness for the arguer or that you have any obligation to try to defend the argument. It applies before you decide how much you like the argument; its point is strictly to ensure that the clarified argument you go on to evaluate is the arguer’s argument.

Let’s look at a simple example in which a paraphrase achieves greater clarity, but at the same time violates the principle of loyalty. Forbes magazine describes a group of New York University economists who set out to find out how our spending patterns would be affected if we had absolutely no way of knowing what our income would be or what the interest rates on our credit cards would be. The economists argued for the following conclusion:

If the income and interest rate processes are sufficiently stochastic, then consumption eventually grows without bound.

For those of us who are not professional economists, this needs some clarification. Forbes lightheartedly chides the economists for their obscure writing and suggests that their conclusion really amounts to the simple truism,

The more you have the more you spend.

The Forbes paraphrase is definitely clearer. No doubt about it. But there is a new problem: it isn’t the authors’ conclusion any more. Stochastic, as used by the economists, means unpredictable. So, despite the obscurity of their prose, you can see that they are not talking about consumers who have more and more income, but consumers who don’t know what their income will be. A more loyal paraphrase, then, is this:

The more uncertain you are of how much you have, the more you spend.

This, too, is clearer than the original. But it has the additional virtue of capturing what the economists seem to have had in mind. It is their conclusion, and thus accords with the principle of loyalty. In sum: it is a good idea to paraphrase when it clarifies the point—but not in such a way that it changes the point.

3.2.1 The Arguer over Your Shoulder

A useful book on writing style by Robert Graves and Alan Hodge is titled The Reader over Your Shoulder. Its guiding principle is this: always write as though the reader were peering over your shoulder, insisting that everything you write be easily understood. We can adapt this advice for our purposes: when you clarify, always imagine the arguer over your shoulder. That is, clarify as though the arguer is always there, looking over your shoulder, insisting that you stick with the point, ready to say, “No, no, that’s not at all what I had in mind.”

When you fail to do this, the results can be uncomfortable. Note this retort from one of the great philosophers of our time, W. V. Quine, to a lengthy critique of some of his views by one of the great linguists of our time, Noam Chomsky:

Chomsky’s remarks leave me with feelings at once of reassurance and frustration. What I find reassuring is that he nowhere clearly disagrees with my position. What I find frustrating is that he expresses much disagreement with what he thinks to be my position.

Of course, when arguers are unclear they must bear some of the blame for a disloyal rendering of their views. Still, we must do our best to ensure that the argument we are evaluating is indeed the arguer’s. Imagining that you are under the watchful eye of the arguer can serve to keep you in line.

3.2.2 Consider Both What the Arguer Says and What the Arguer Does Not Say.

An obvious way to find out the arguer’s intent is to note carefully what the arguer says. This focuses your attention on logical implication , or what we sometimes informally call the literal meaning of the sentence. The logical implications of a statement are those things that absolutely must be true if the statement is true; if they were not true, there would be no imaginable way in which the statement could itself be true. Suppose you call me on the telephone and I almost immediately say to you, “I’m already very late for a meeting on another part of campus.” Some of the things logically implied by this remark are:

I’m already very late for a meeting on another part of campus. I’m on campus. The campus has more than one part. The other meeting is scheduled to have already started.

These are simply part of what I mean by the words I have used.

There are, however, many related things that could be false even if the statement is true; thus, they are not logically implied. These include:

The meeting has actually already started. (Everyone could be late, for example, or the building could be locked.) I plan to attend the meeting. (I could be late even if I intend to be absent.) I am expected at the meeting. (It could be open to everyone on campus, and thus perhaps no one would miss me.)

Logical implication surely does not cover all that I intend to communicate to you by my remark. This leads to a less obvious piece of advice: note carefully what the arguer does not say. This focuses your attention on conversational implication —what I want you to believe, over and above the literal meanings of my words, when I express a sentence. You draw these implications on the basis of broader customs that we all follow that govern the use of certain sorts of expressions under certain circumstances. Normally if I say to you when you call, “I’m already very late for a meeting on another part of campus,” what I’m most concerned about letting you know is,

I can’t talk to you right now.

This is no part of the literal meaning of the terms I have used—that is, it is not logically implied. Rather, it is conversationally implied. Based on your experience in a lifetime of conversations, you realize that I would normally have no reason to tell you that I was late for a meeting unless I wanted you to understand that I could not talk to you right now.

Suppose, to provide another example, I recommend that you write a friend of mine to ask her advice about a job. You ask for her address and I reply, “It’s somewhere in Dallas.” You immediately understand that I intend to communicate the following:

I do not know her exact address.

This is not a logical implication; it does not follow from the meanings of the terms I have used. But you instinctively understand that, under these conditions, I surely would have given you the exact address had I known it. My reason for not giving it to you must be that I did not know it.

Note that conversation is used here broadly to mean an interchange of ideas, whether spoken, written, or thought. Obviously, something I say to you in a face-to-face dialogue is part of a conversation. But in the larger sense of conversation, something I write in this book is also a part of a conversation, since it is aimed at a certain audience that I hope will understand it and react to it in certain ways.

To provide an example of written conversational implication, in the 1920s newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst was out to make the mayor of New York look bad. So Hearst planted a reporter for his New York newspaper, The New York American, to slyly ask this question at a mayoral press conference: “Mr. Mayor, Mr. Hearst wants to know if you have a corrupt motive in supporting the Remsen Gas Bill?” The angry mayor ejected the reporter, and was further enraged to see this headline in the next day’s New York American:

Mayor Does Not Deny That He Has A Corrupt Motive In Supporting The Remsen Gas Bill.

The headline is literally true and does not logically imply anything that is false. But the conversational implication is that the mayor admits that he has a corrupt motive in supporting the Remsen Gas bill. And this is indeed false. Note that since conversational implication is another means of communicating, it is another means of lying.

Figures of speech—rhetorical devices—are especially noteworthy in considering conversational implication. They include cases in which conversational and logical implications actually conflict with one another, and conversational implication wins. (It must always win, since what you are clarifying is always the use of a sentence in a particular conversational setting—and the broader conversational context is what I, as the speaker or writer, use to indicate my intentions in using that sentence.) If I say, “Her mind is a steel trap,” one of the logical implications is that her mind is a mechanism made out of steel that opens and closes and is designed for catching animals and not for thinking. In most conversational contexts (except for, perhaps, a bizarre piece of science fiction) this is so obviously false that you instinctively realize that I could not intend it, but that my real, unspoken, intent must be to draw attention to important similarities between her mind and a steel trap. So, in cases of metaphor such as this, it is only the conversational—and not the logical—implications that capture my intentions.

In Chapter 2 we covered sentences that are not in statement form—questions, commands, or even fragments, for example—but that nevertheless function as statements. Oh to be at the beach this afternoon ! for example, though in the form of an exclamation, in many contexts also serves that same function as the declarative I want to go to the beach this afternoon . This is a further example of conversational implication. We understand that they are intended as statements, even if their form does not logically mark them as such. Likewise with implicit statements in arguments; sometimes they are logically implied, but usually the implication is conversational. When, for example, the daughter says to her father, “We’ve been waiting for a windy day to fly the kite, so we should go fly it now,” her implicit premise is “Today is a windy day.” This premise isn’t logically implied by anything she says; rather, it is part of what she intends to communicate over and above the literal meanings of the statements she expresses. It is conversationally implied.

Unfortunately, we are not infallible interpreters of conversational implications. During much of my career as a student I worked as a waiter. I learned quickly that when a customer asked for a steak raw, the customer really meant extremely rare —until the day came when I delivered a very rare steak to a customer who complained, “But this steak isn’t raw; it’s been on the grill.” And so it had. I now saw that I should, in this case, have been concerned only with the logical implications of his order. It did not take long to properly prepare his new steak.

Types of Implications

• Logical implication —the literal meanings of the words.
• Conversational implication —what is intended above and beyond the literal meanings of the words.

3.2.3 Consider the Broader Context of the Argument

Almost every argument has a broader context, and the more you know about its broader context the more likely you are to correctly understand the intent of the arguer. Perhaps you can discover the circumstances under which the argument was offered, thereby better understanding its conversational implications. Perhaps you are able to examine a larger chunk of the passage in which it was written or listen to a larger portion of the conversation in which it was spoken. Perhaps you are able to learn more about the argument’s author. Sometimes, of course, little such information is available. But when it is, you should take full advantage of it.

EXERCISES Chapter 3, set (b)

Identify the given implications in each of the exercises below as either logical or conversational. Come up with a reasonable example of the other kind of implication in each case.

Sample exercise . Shopper to a store clerk: “I can’t find your orange juice.” Implication: Shopper is interested in buying orange juice.

Sample answer. This is a conversational implication. One logical implication of the shopper’s statement is that the shopper can’t find any fresh orange juice (since that would be included in the broader category of orange juice).

• Instructor to student: “You cannot pass this class unless you turn in your final paper.” Implication: The final paper is a class requirement.
• Narrator on television documentary: “This series would not have been possible without the generous assistance of the Brady Corporation.” Implication: The corporation funded the documentary.
• Character in film, to his on-screen romantic interest: “I couldn’t live without you.” Implication: He loves her.
• Politician to journalist: “I have never done anything illegal while in office.” Implication: He could have done something illegal before he was in office.
• Customer to car salesman: “This car is great, but it’s overpriced by at least $2,000.” Implication: Customer would be willing to make a deal at a lower price.

EXERCISES Chapter 3, set (c)

State a conversational implication ( not a logical implication) of each expression below. Assume that the circumstances in each case are not unusual. In some cases you might imagine more than one conversational implication.

Sample exercise.  From a review of a musical performance:

Miss X produced a series of sounds which corresponded closely with the score of “Home Sweet Home.”—from a lecture by philosopher Paul Grice

Sample answer.  Miss X did not sing well.

• In a letter of recommendation for a student who is looking for a job in philosophy, the only evaluative comment is this: “I’ve never had a student who made fewer mistakes in spelling or grammar.”
• Said to a waiter in a restaurant, hungrily pointing to another table that was just served: “Our party got here before they did.”
• After your rich friend refuses to lend you some money, you say: “You’re the sort of friend I can depend on.”
• In a textbook: The answers to the exercises are in the back of the book. (Hint: What does this conversationally imply about whether they are also at the end of each chapter?)
• In response to your request for a phone number, I say: “I’ve got her email address right here.”
• After the first mate went on a binge, he found the next day that the captain had written in the ship’s log, “The first mate was drunk tonight.” When challenged by the first mate, the captain said that he entered it in the log “because it was true.” The next day the captain saw that the first mate had made the following entry in the log: “The captain was not drunk tonight.”
• Q. Did you ever stay all night with this man in New York? A. I refuse to answer that question. Q. Did you ever stay all night with this man in Chicago? A. I refuse to answer that question. Q. Did you ever stay all night with this man in Miami? A. No. — Humor in the Court, Mary Louise Gilman

3.3 The Principle of Charity

The other important principle guiding the clarifying process is the principle of charity , which requires that you adopt the paraphrase that makes the arguer as reasonable as possible.

It is often easy to interpret an argument in a way that makes it an obviously bad argument. But it may be possible to interpret the same argument in another way that is much more reasonable. When the history professor mentions “Columbus’s voyage of 1942, ” should you call it a gross error or forgive it as a slip of the tongue? When the newly elected senator claims she received 60 percent of the vote when the exact figure is 59.8 percent, should you charge her with distortion or interpret her as meaning roughly 60 percent? The principle of charity says to adopt in each case the second interpretation—the one that makes the speaker more reasonable.

This principle has a single purpose: to enable you to be loyal to the arguer’s intent. Most people are fairly reasonable most of the time. So you are more likely to get it right if you choose the more reasonable interpretation. There is a chance, of course, that you will get it wrong. If you do get it wrong because you were being too charitable, the result is not so bad. The arguer might wish to thank you for improving on the original argument. And you can benefit from evaluating a better argument.

3.3.1 The Golden Rule of Clarifying

There is a fairly straightforward way of applying the principle of charity. Imagine yourself in the same circumstances as the arguer, and imagine that you have spoken or written the same unclear words. What are you likely to have intended by them? How would you want to be understood? We might term this the golden rule of clarifying: paraphrase others as you would have them paraphrase you.

Consider the simple instructions on the back of an ordinary bottle of shampoo:

Wet hair, lather, rinse, repeat.

At first glance this seems clear enough. But think about it for a moment. Are you really being told that after you wet your hair, lather, and rinse the first time you must then repeat all three steps ? Suddenly the instructions aren’t so clear. But you know what they mean—after all, you might quite reasonably say exactly the same thing, and you know what you would mean if you said it. You would mean this:

Wet hair, lather, rinse, then lather again—your hair is already wet now—and then rinse again.

In addition, you know that you don’t repeat the repeat step and perform the procedure endlessly! (Much of this is a matter of conversational implication.) The words weren’t perfectly clear, but you were instinctively able to clarify by using the principle of charity.

Notice that usually (but not always) applying this principle results in selecting the interpretation that is most likely to make the argument sound. When you see that there are two plausible interpretations of an argument, one with good logic and one with faulty logic, charity will normally point toward the one with good logic. Likewise, when one of the premises could be understood in a way that makes it true or in a way that makes it false, charity will normally point toward the paraphrase that is true.

But this is not always the case. In many circumstances a perfectly reasonable person might offer an unsound argument. Consider, for example, the following excerpt adapted from the writings of William Emerson, an 18th century disciple of Sir Isaac Newton’s:

Unlike those who went before him, Newton admits nothing but what he gains from experiments and accurate observations. It is a mere joke to talk of Newton’s philosophy being overthrown. He will always, therefore, be regarded as the greatest scientist of all.

Look only at the highlighted sentence, which serves as a premise for the final sentence. Surely Emerson does not mean that it is literally a joke to talk of Newton’s philosophy being overthrown; this claim would make the premise obviously false. Let us, therefore, charitably allow that Emerson’s real point (which follows by conversational implication) is this:

Newton’s philosophy will never be overthrown.

But notice that this paraphrase is still false, for fundamental elements of Newton’s “philosophy” have indeed been overthrown—by Einstein’s. But it was not unreasonable for Emerson to hold to this view; if I had been in the same circumstances—two centuries before Einstein and amazed at Newton’s brilliant successes—this is what I would have meant had I written the same sentence. So it is a charitable paraphrase, even though clearly false.

You will not always be able to arrive at the arguer’s true intent by this technique. You may be stymied for any of several reasons. The arguer might simply express the argument too badly. The arguer might not know the arguer’s own true intent. Or it might be that there isn’t enough context available to be confident of the arguer’s intent. In addition, even when it is possible to arrive at the arguer’s true intent, there may be several equally good ways of clearly paraphrasing it. Newton will remain preeminent in the field of natural philosophy or No scientist will ever disprove Newton’s philosophy would also be acceptable paraphrases of Emerson’s statement above, for example.

Thus, there is seldom a single correct way of paraphrasing an argument, all others being wrong. It does not follow, however, that anything goes. It is usually possible to determine what is likely to be closer and what is likely to be farther from the arguer’s intent, and what is a clearer and what is a more obscure way of expressing it.

EXERCISES Chapter 3, set (d)

There is a problem in interpreting each of the following passages. Explain the problem and indicate the more charitable interpretation. The difficulty is highlighted.

Sample exercise.  “Noziere was a self-confessed young murderess of the thirties whose case became notorious largely because, having killed her father, she then complained of incest. Since she was almost certainly not his daughter, this seems rather hard cheese.”—Derek Malcolm, Manchester Guardian

Sample answer.  Appears to be contradictory—she is almost certainly not her father’s daughter. Presumably the reviewer means that she killed her purported father, but was almost certainly not his real daughter.

• Advertisement: AUTO REPAIR SERVICE. Free pick-up and delivery. Try us once and you’ll never go anywhere again.
• “An accomplished swimmer who has only one hand was disqualified from a local swimming event because he failed to touch the end of the pool with both hands. Greg Hammond, 16, placed second in a men’s 100-meter race at swimming championships last weekend in Narooma. . . . But officials reluctantly disqualified him after an appeal was lodged pointing out that international rules specify that swimmers must finish by touching the pool with both hands. Hammond was born with a right arm that ends just below his elbow.”— Los Angeles Times (This has to do with charity toward those who wrote the law, not toward the swimmer—though in the end each produces the same result.)
• “It was Feshbach who, two years ago, first disclosed an increase in Soviet infant morality. ”— Daily Herald of Wausau-Merrill, Wisconsin
• “St. Luke tells of the shepherds going to the manager. ”—from the program for a Christmas candlelight service at Connecticut College
• Advertisement: And now, the Superstore—unequaled in size, unmatched in variety, unrivaled inconvenience.
• In a Paris hotel elevator: Please leave your values at the front desk.
• “The logical man is always self-righteous and therefore inhuman and therefore wrong, while the reasonable man suspects that perhaps he is wrong and is therefore always right.”—Lin Yutang, The Importance of Living

3.4 The Straw Man Fallacy

It can be very tempting to interpret an argument so as to make it an easy target. But, unless the bad argument is clearly what the arguer intends, this is contrary to the principles of loyalty and charity. Yielding to this temptation results in a well-known fallacy. Fallacies will be mentioned often throughout this text; they are defined simply as the easiest-to-make types of intellectual mistakes. The easy-to-make mistake, in this case, is the straw man fallacy . This fallacy is so named because a straw man is a lightweight construction of one’s own devising, much easier to knock down than a real man.

In an article from Creation/Science titled “The Impossible Voyage of Noah’s Ark,” Robert Moore argues against creationists who defend the literal truth of the biblical account of Noah’s ark. His central point against them is this:

Nearly every defender of the Noah story argues that the interior of the ark could have held literally hundreds of standard-sized railroad stock cars and thus was quite roomy. But they ignore the federal law which requires a train on a long haul to stop every 28 hours, to unload the stock, to feed and water them, and to give them a five-hour rest period. This may be just a minor inconvenience to American ranchers, but it would have been quite impossible for Noah. The fact that every creationist has triumphantly trotted out his train statistics, yet overlooked this decisive flaw, demonstrates once again the sloppiness of creationists’ research.

At first glance, Moore seems to be saying that the creationist account must be mistaken because their account would put Noah in violation of federal law —surely an unacceptable infringement for such a godly man as Noah! In standard clarifying format, it might look like this.

• If the story of Noah’s ark were true, then Noah would’ve had to violate federal law.
• Noah would not have violated federal law.
• ∴ The story of Noah’s ark is not true.

We can defend this paraphrase—after all, doesn’t Moore say that the “decisive flaw” is that “they ignore the federal law”? And it would be fun to critique that premise by reminding Moore that, to the best of our knowledge, that particular federal law was not in place in the year 3000 b.c.—thus, premise 1 is obviously false.

But because it is so easy to knock it down, we should ask whether we might have missed the point. What else might Moore mean by his words, however clumsily he has put it? How would we want to be interpreted had we written those words? Probably as saying that the creationist account must be mistaken because the very factors that later gave rise to the federal law would have made Noah’s voyage impracticable and perhaps even cruel. This is a harder point to dispute, makes the argument more interesting, and is almost certainly what Moore has in mind. The improved—more charitable and thus more loyal—outline might look like this:

• If the story of Noah’s ark were true, then Noah would’ve had to treat the animals in a way that was cruel and probably fatal.
• Noah would not have treated the animals in a way that was cruel and probably fatal.

The straw man fallacy is a fallacy that has to do with conversational relevance. Suppose I adopted the “straw man” version of Moore’s argument. My own argument against his first premise would be sound: my premise (that no federal law was in place in 3000 b.c.) would be true and my conclusion (that Noah, thus, did not violate federal law) would logically follow. But my argument would nevertheless be defective for the simple reason that it would be conversationally irrelevant. It would miss the point. It would be offered in the context of evaluating Moore’s argument but would actually be an evaluation of another argument, not Moore’s.

Arguments that commit the straw man fallacy miss the point in a very specific way—they miss it by making the target easier than it really is. They form a species of a broader sort of fallacy of missing the point , traditionally termed the fallacy of ignoratio elenchi. This broader fallacy, which includes the straw man fallacy, consists in this: apparently addressing the question at issue while actually addressing some other question. ( Elenchi is from a Greek term for cross-examination ; so this might be said to be the fallacy of ignoring— ignoratio —the question that is being asked—the elenchi ).

Many arguments occur in a context where there is a definite question being considered. Perhaps the arguer has set out an explicit agenda or—perhaps there is a dialogue between two arguers. When the argument you are evaluating occurs in such a context, you should be prepared to consider in your evaluation not only whether it is sound, but also whether it commits a fallacy of conversational relevance.

The procedure of clarifying and evaluating, as elaborated in this book, is usually part of a dialogue with the arguer and thus usually occurs in such a context. (Sometimes the dialogue is nothing more than an internal dialogue with yourself, as you reason alone about answers to your own questions.) Be especially careful that you do not commit this fallacy as you attempt to clarify the argument you intend to evaluate.

EXERCISES Chapter 3, set (e)

Outline each of these arguments in standard clarifying format. Where appropriate, paraphrase in accordance with the principles of loyalty and charity.

• “Paleontologist R. Bakker presented evidence, based on the stride and leg length of some dinosaurs, that their walking speed averaged about 3 miles per hour—about four times as fast as that of present-day lizards and turtles, and comparable to the speeds of moose, deer, bull and other warm-blooded animals. Because the average cruising speed reflects an animal’s metabolism, Bakker argues that many dinosaurs were warm-blooded.”— Science News
• It is said that Socrates had his character read by one of the first professional physiognomists, Zopyrus. As the story goes, Zopyrus described Socrates, that wisest of men, as “stupid and thick-witted because he had not got hollows in the neck above the collarbone” and added that he was, among other vices, addicted to women.
• “Psychics can perform as readily across the Atlantic as they can over the dinner table. To a physicist like Einstein this was most surprising. Accordingly, he wrote to a correspondent in 1946, ‘but I find it suspicious . . . that the distance of the subject from the cards or from the “sender” has no influence on the result. This is, a priori, improbable to the highest degree, consequently the result is doubtful.’”—Derek Gjertsen, Science and Philosophy (Outline Einstein’s argument.)
• “Acheson and Senator Robert Taft were both members of the governing body of Yale University. An important difference of opinion arose over the question of whether all undergraduate students should be required to take a course in mathematics. When Senator Taft argued that he had never taken a course in mathematics and, therefore, saw no reason for others to do so, Acheson quietly said: ‘The defense rests.’”—Paul H. Nitze, Tension between Opposites (Outline the argument that Acheson seems to have in mind.)
• “Ocean temperature is now virtually the same as it was in the 1940s. Since two-thirds of the buildup of CO2 has taken place since 1940, the MIT data blow all of the global warming forecasts into a cocked hat.”— Forbes

3.5 Summary of Chapter Three

An argument must be clarified before it is evaluated. This process requires that you do two things concurrently: that you outline the argument in standard format, so that it is clear exactly which statements are premises and which are conclusions; and that you paraphrase it, so that any negative effects of rhetoric and other distracting language are minimized. The point is to express the argument as clearly as possible so it is as easy as possible to tell whether the premises are true and whether the logic is good.

Two general principles regulate clarifying. The principle of loyalty requires that your paraphrase remain true to the arguer’s intent; this can be aided by imagining the arguer watching over your shoulder. And the principle of charity, which is a way of getting at the arguer’s intent when the context is not helpful, requires that your paraphrase always assumes that the arguer is as reasonable as possible. One way of doing this is to consider how you would want to be paraphrased if you had said the same thing under similar circumstances.

“If you fail to be loyal and charitable, you may yourself be committing a specific sort of fallacy of relevance known as the fallacy of missing the point (more technically known as the fallacy of ignoratio elenchi ). You commit this fallacy when the argument you evaluate is not the arguer’s argument. The straw man fallacy is a certain sort of missing the point—the fallacy of setting up a version of the argument that is easy to knock down.

3.6 Guidelines for Chapter Three

• Outline each argument in standard clarifying format.
• Paraphrase each argument for greater clarity as you are outlining it in standard clarifying format.
• In your clarification, remain true to the arguer’s intent.
• Imagine that the arguer is looking over your shoulder to ensure that your clarification is true to the arguer’s intent.
• Look for indications of the arguer’s intent both in what is said and in what is not said—that is, in both the logical implications and the conversational implications.
• Look for indications of the arguer’s intent in the broader context.
• Assume the interpretation that makes the arguer as reasonable as possible.
• Ask what you probably would have meant had you expressed the same words under similar circumstances.
• Ask whether your paraphrase makes the argument too easy to attack. If it does, then you are violating the principle of charity and committing the straw man fallacy (which is a version of the fallacy of missing the point).

3.7 Glossary for Chapter Three

Clarifying —ensuring that the argument is expressed as clearly as possible so it is as easy as possible to tell whether the premises are true, whether the logic is good, and whether the argument is relevant to the conversation.

Conversational implication —what the speaker or writer wants the audience to believe, over and above the literal meanings of the words that are expressed. These implications are drawn on the basis of broader customs that we all follow that govern the use of certain sorts of expressions under certain circumstances.

Fallacy —an easy-to-make type of intellectual mistake.

Fallacy of missing the point —conversational fallacy that errs by answering the wrong question. Also known as the fallacy of ignoratio elenchi. Elenchi is from a Greek term for cross-examination ; this might be said to be the fallacy of ignoring ( ignoratio ) the question that is being asked (the elenchi ).

Logical implication —those things that must be true if the statement is true; if they were not true, there would be no imaginable way in which the statement could be true. Logical implications have to do with the literal meaning of the statement.

Principle of charity —requires that you adopt the paraphrase that makes the arguer as reasonable as possible. This principle provides a way of aiming for the arguer’s intentions when the context is unhelpful and thus is subordinate to the principle of loyalty.

Principle of loyalty —requires that your clarification aim to remain true to the arguer’s intent. Imagine that the arguer is looking over your shoulder.

Rhetoric —the art of of persuasive writing or speaking. Rhetoric can help or hurt the argument’s clarity. It helps when it is used to make good arguments easy to accept on their own merits .

Straw man fallacy —uncharitably representing an argument or position in a way that makes it too easy to attack. This is a variety of the fallacy of missing the point. This fallacy is so named because a straw man is a lightweight construction of one’s own devising, much easier to knock down than a real man.

• Another common way of designating a conclusion is to draw a horizontal line between the last premise and the conclusion. This leaves no simple and clear way, however, of indicating subconclusions if the argument is complex. ↵

Ensuring that the argument is expressed as clearly as possible so it is as easy as possible to tell whether the premises are true, whether the logic is good, and whether the argument is relevant to the conversation.

Principles of persuasive writing or speaking. Rhetoric can help or hurt the argument’s clarity. It helps when it is used to make good arguments easy to accept on their own merits.

Requires that your clarification aim to remain true to the arguer’s intent. Imagine that the arguer is looking over your shoulder.

Those things that must be true if the statement is true; if they were not true, there would be no imaginable way in which the statement could be true. Logical implications have to do with the literal meaning of the statement.

What the speaker or writer wants the audience to believe, over and above the literal meanings of the words that are expressed. These implications are drawn on the basis of broader customs that we all follow that govern the use of certain sorts of expressions under certain circumstances.

Requires that you adopt the paraphrase that makes the arguer as reasonable as possible. This principle provides a way of aiming for the arguer’s intentions when the context is unhelpful and thus is subordinate to the principle of loyalty.

An easy-to-make type of intellectual mistake.

Uncharitably representing an argument or position in a way that makes it too easy to attack. This is a variety of the fallacy of missing the point. This fallacy is so named because a straw man is a lightweight construction of one’s own devising, much easier to knock down than a real man.

Conversational fallacy that errs by answering the wrong question. Also known as the fallacy of ignoratio elenchi. Elenchi is from a Greek term for cross-examination; this might be said to be the fallacy of ignoring (ignoratio) the question that is being asked (the elenchi).

A Guide to Good Reasoning: Cultivating Intellectual Virtues Copyright © 2020 by David Carl Wilson is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

Share This Book

The Science and Art of Reflecting, Summarising and Paraphrasing

Reflecting, summarising and paraphrasing in a coaching conversation is an important skill that a coach needs to learn. It’s not just the skill itself that is important, it can often be more about when to do it, and indeed ‘if’ to do it (the art) than what and how to do ‘it’ (the science). What I notice in early day coaches is that this skill is often overused in terms of what is reflected, summarised or paraphrased and is perhaps not always truly in service of the client, as it being used as a learned behaviour to demonstrate ‘hearing’.

In this blog I will look at all three of these coaching interventions and explore when the times are that they might be most useful for our clients. In addition, the main competency these three are found in, is CC6 Listens Actively. The definition of which is that the coach: ‘ Focuses on what the client is and is not saying to fully understand what is being communicated in the context of the client systems and to support client self-expression.’

Let’s take each in turn…

Reflecting in coaching, as the word implies, is the equivalent of holding up a mirror to the client. This allows the client to hear back what they said, and sometimes how they said it. ‘Reflecting back’, could be a whole sentence, some of the words used or even a single word.

What therefore might the purpose of reflecting? It could be simply to ensure clarity and understanding of what is being said, it could also be used as a form of challenge– again to check for understanding, rather than use a question.

For example, suppose the client says:

“My teammate and manager are fighting. I’m really angry with him”.

’ For the coach to be in their client’s frame of reference, they may need to know whether ‘him’ refers to the manager or the teammate.  The coach might simply reflect back the word  ‘ him ’  with an expression of inquiry.

The client might then respond:

“Yeah, my colleague. It puts me in an awkward position that I don’t know how to handle.”

It might also be that a coach reflects words they have heard that seem to have more of an important meaning for the client. The client may repeat a certain word a number of times or place emphasis and it may be useful to enquire, simply by restating the words as a reflection.

The coach gets clarity and remains in the client’s context and frame of reference without getting too much into, possibly irrelevant, data. The client also gets to hear what they are saying and even how they are saying it, which may give rise to a new insight.

Summarising

Summarising is the art of playing back to the client what you have specifically heard, in the clients’ words but in a shortened form.

It’s important to summarise only what you’ve heard, without interpretation, addition or judgement which is why using the client words becomes vital. At the end of a summary, it can be helpful to ask the client if you have heard them correctly. This provides the coach with clarity and the client to be sure they have said what they intended.

Summarising can be very useful when working with clients to discover and uncover what the work is that needs to be explored in the coaching session. We know clients have sometimes not yet synthesised what they want to work on and playing back in a summary can be helpful, especially when it seems there might be several pieces to look at. Having gained that clarity, it then is helpful to ask a forward-thinking question to initiate the exploration.

Summarising, using the client’s own words, may also support them to gain an insight which is why a forward-thinking question to follow can be really helpful at this point.

What I notice with newer coaches, is that they may play back a summary every time the client pauses and start with ‘what I am hearing is…”. The question that comes to me here is: ‘who is this summary in service of?’ Sometimes, summarising like this is used as a way for the coach to create a pause to think about what to ask next. With clients who are very talkative, this can just mean the client will tell even more of the story, unless a forward-thinking question follows the summary. It is not always necessary to use words like: ‘what I am hearing’. It can simply be a summary.

While summarising is a useful skill, when overused it can mean that the coach is doing the work for the client, as opposed to the client doing the work. I would offer that, as the coaching session moves nearer the action points, then it is the client who needs to provide the summaries and not the coach. This enables the coach to also understand what is important to the client and what they are taking from the session. If the coach summarises, for example the action points, it could focus on what the coach thinks the client ‘should’ do rather than hearing what the client actually is going to do or take away. (See CC 8.6 ‘partners with the client to summarise learning and insight…..)

Paraphrasing

Paraphrasing is the art of reflecting ‘the essence’ of what is being said and is said using the coaches own words and without changing the original source or intention of the clients’ words. Paraphrasing really helps the client know that they have been truly heard.  Summarising is playing their own words back; paraphrasing is playing back what the coach believes he hears is the meaning of the client’s words in the context of the conversation. It enables the client to potentially know they have been heard and understood. When done well, it enhances empathy and trust. It doesn’t matter if the coach has drawn a different meaning, as the client may realise they haven’t conveyed their thinking sufficiently and can evoke new thoughts, additions or nuances to what they wish to share.

The science and art of Reflection, Summarising and Paraphrasing is largely found in the competency of Listens Actively (CC6).  Sub-competency 6.2 explicitly talks about ‘ Reflects or summarises what the client communicated to ensure clarity and understanding’ .  However, when you look deeper into that Core Competency, 6.3: ‘Recognises and inquires when there is more to what the client is communicating’ (using paraphrasing perhaps) and 6.5: ‘Integrates the client’s words, tone of voice and body language to determine the full meaning of what is communicated’ (summarising and reflecting perhaps) you will also see these skills reflected.

These skills can also be found in the other core competencies, and I would offer that it is a skill which, done well, really emphasises the partnership between coach and client that is so vital to support and facilitate the client’s development and growth.

A couple of question for you to reflect upon…

• Where are your strengths in the Science and Art of these important coaching skills?
• Where might you over- or under-do the skill of reflection, summary and paraphrasing?

Hilary Oliver is a Master Certified Coach (MCC) with the International Coaching Federation (ICF). She is also a trained Coaching Supervisor and Mentor Coach. Hilary trains coaches and works with managers and leaders to develop their coaching capability. She works as an International Corporate Executive and Board Level Coach, a leadership development designer and facilitator working with a wide range of organisations. Hilary also specialises in working with organisations to support them develop coaching culture. She has been the President of the UK ICF Chapter and is a Past Chair of the ICF Global Board.

Share This Post!

• Coach Development (75)
• Coaching in Conversation (3)
• Coaching in Organisations (38)
• Coaching with Conscience (3)
• Testimonial (11)
• Uncategorized (2)

Sign up for additional resources, opportunities and updates!

Delivered straight to your inbox.

Snapsolve any problem by taking a picture. Try it in the Numerade app?