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DEPARTAMENTO DE LINGÜÍSTICA
INGLÉS IV – 2023

WRITING
ACADEMIC WRITING
SUMMARIZING AND PARAPHRASING

KEY IDEAS

• Summarizing: to reduce information to a suitable length, allowing the writer to condense lengthy sources into a
concise form
• Paraphrasing: changing the wording of a text so that it is significantly different from the original source, without
changing the meaning.

These two skills are needed in your academic life.

SUMMARIZING

Write a short description of one of the topics below in no more than 20 words.
(a) A book you have enjoyed
(b) A town or city you know well
(c) A film you have recently watched

▪ What makes a good summary?

Generally, a summary focuses on the main ideas and excludes examples or supporting information. Here is a list of
the common steps this activity involves:

(a) Read the original text carefully and check any new or difficult vocabulary.
(b) Mark the key points by underlining or highlighting them.
(c) Make notes of the key points, paraphrasing where possible.
(d) Write the summary from your notes, reorganizing the structure if needed.
(e) Check the summary to ensure it is accurate and nothing important has been changed or lost.

Adapted from: Bailey, Stephen. Academic Writing. A Handbook for International Students. Fourth. NY: Routledge, 2015. Print.
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▪ Practice
I. Read the following text and the summaries presented below. Which is the best?

MECHANICAL PICKERS

Although harvesting cereal crops such as wheat and barley has been done for many years by large machines known
as combine harvesters, mechanizing the picking of fruit crops such as tomatoes or apples has proved more difficult.
Farmers have generally relied on human labor to harvest these, but in wealthy countries it has become increasingly
difficult to find people willing to work for the wages farmers are able to pay. This is partly because the demand for
labor is seasonal, usually in the autumn, and also because the work is hard. As a result, in areas such as California
part of the fruit harvest is often unpicked and left to rot.

There are several obvious reasons why developing mechanical pickers is challenging. Fruit such as grapes or
strawberries comes in a variety of shapes and does not always ripen at the same time. Outdoors, the ground
conditions can vary from dry to muddy, and wind may move branches around. Clearly each crop requires its own
solution: machines may be towed through orchards by tractors or move around by themselves, using sensors to
detect the ripest fruit.

This new generation of fruit harvesters is possible due to advances in computing power and sensing ability. Such
devices will inevitably be expensive but will save farmers from the difficulty of managing a labor force. In addition,
the more intelligent pickers should be able to develop a database of information on the health of each individual
plant, enabling the grower to provide it with fertilizer and water to maintain its maximum productivity.

a) Fruit crops have usually been picked by hand, as it is difficult to mechanise the process. But in rich countries it
has become hard to find affordable pickers at the right time, so fruit is often wasted. Therefore, intelligent
machines have been developed that can overcome the technical problems involved, and also provide farmers
with useful data about the plants.

b) Developing machines that can pick fruit such as tomatoes or apples is a challenging task, due to the complexity
of locating ripe fruit in an unpredictable outdoor environment, where difficult conditions can be produced by
wind or water. But recent developments in computing ability mean that growers can now automate this
process, which should save them money and increase their profits.

c) Strawberries and grapes are the kind of crops that have always been hand-picked. But many farmers, for
example in California, now find it increasingly difficult to attract enough pickers when the fruit is ripe. However,
computing advances have produced a solution to this problem that will save farmers from worrying about the
pickers, and also collect vital data.

Adapted from: Bailey, Stephen. Academic Writing. A Handbook for International Students. Fourth. NY: Routledge, 2015. Print.
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II. Read the following text and underline the key points.

WEALTH AND FERTILITY

For most of the past century an inverse correlation between human fertility and economic development has been
found. This means that as a country got richer, the average number of children born to each woman got smaller.
While in the poorest countries women often have eight children, the rate fell as low as 1.3 children per woman in
some European countries such as Italy, which is below the replacement rate. Such a low rate has two likely negative
consequences: the population will fall in the long-term, and a growing number of old people will have to be
supported by a shrinking number of young.

But a recent study by researchers from Pennsylvania University suggests that this pattern may be changing. They
related a country’s fertility rates to its human development index (HDI), a figure with a maximum value of 1.0 which
assesses life expectancy, average income and education level. Over 20 countries now have an HDI of more than 0.9,
and in a majority of these the fertility rate has started to increase, and in some is approaching two children per
woman. Although there are exceptions such as Japan, it appears that rising levels of wealth and education eventually
translate into a desire for more children.

Complete the notes of the key points below.

i. Falling levels of fertility have generally been found ___________________________

ii. In some, number of children born ___________________________________________
iii. Two results: smaller populations and ________________________________________
iv. Recent research claims that _________________________________________________
v. Comparison of HDI (human development index: life expectancy/income/education) with fertility rate found that
in most highly rated (+ 0.9) countries,
________________________________________________________________________________

Join the notes together and expand them to make the final summary. Check that the meaning is clear and no
important points have been left out. Find a suitable title.

______________________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________________

Summarize the summary in no more than 20 words.

______________________________________________________________________________________________

Adapted from: Bailey, Stephen. Academic Writing. A Handbook for International Students. Fourth. NY: Routledge, 2015. Print.
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PARAPHRASING

An effective paraphrase
• has a different structure to the original
• has mainly different vocabulary
• retains the same meaning
• keeps some phrases from the original that are in common use

Look at this sentence:

There has been much debate about the reasons for the Industrial Revolution happening in eighteenth-century
Britain, rather than in France or Germany.

Now look at a paraphrase of it:

Why the Industrial Revolution occurred in Britain in the eighteenth century, instead of on the continent, has been
the subject of considerable discussion.

→ Does the paraphrase meet the requirements above?

To successfully paraphrase you must:

- change vocabulary by using synonyms (but keep in mind that some words do not have an exact synonym)
- change word class (e.g. noun—verb)
- change clause and sentence order

▪ Practice
Read the text below and then rank the three paraphrases according to accuracy and clarity.

THE CAUSES OF THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION

Allen (2009) argues that the best explanation for the British location of the Industrial Revolution is found by studying
demand factors. By the early eighteenth century, high wages and cheap energy were both features of the British
economy. Consequently, the mechanization of industry through such inventions as the steam engine and mechanical
spinning was profitable because employers were able to economize on labor by spending on coal. At that time, no
other country had this particular combination of expensive labor and abundant fuel.

(a) A focus on demand may help to explain the UK origin of the industrial revolution. At that time, workers’ pay was
high, but energy from coal was inexpensive. This encouraged the development of mechanical inventions based
on steam power, which enabled bosses to save money by mechanizing production (Allen, 2009).

(b) The reason why Britain was the birthplace of the industrial revolution can be understood by analyzing demand
in the early 1700s, according to Allen (2009). He maintains that, uniquely, Britain had the critical combination of
cheap energy from coal and high labor costs. This encouraged the adoption of steam power to mechanize
production, thus saving on wages and increasing profitability.

(c) Allen (2009) claims that the clearest explanation for the UK location of the Industrial Revolution is seen by
examining demand factors. By the eighteenth century, cheap energy and high wages were both aspects of the
British economy. As a result, the mechanization of industry through inventions such as the steam engine and
mechanical spinning was profitable because employers were able to save money on employees by spending on
coal. At that time, Britain was the only country with significant deposits of coal.

Adapted from: Bailey, Stephen. Academic Writing. A Handbook for International Students. Fourth. NY: Routledge, 2015. Print.
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III. Read the following text.

BRAINS AND SEX

It is widely agreed that men and women think and act in different ways. Women appear to have better memories,
better social skills and are more competent at multitasking. Men, in contrast, seem to focus better on issues and
have superior motor and spatial skills, although clearly many people are exceptions to these patterns.

These differences have been explained as behaviour adopted thousands of years ago, when the men went hunting
while the women stayed at home and cared for their children. But another approach is to see the behaviour as a
result of the way our brains function.

Recent research by Ragini Verma’s team at the University of Pennsylvania has used brain scans to compare 428 men
and 521 women. They tracked the pathways of water molecules around the brain area, and found fascinating
differences.

The top half of the brain is called the cerebrum, and it is divided into a left and a right half. The left hemisphere is
thought to be the home of logic and the right is the centre of intuition. Dr Verma found that with women most of
the pathways went between the two halves, while with men they stayed inside the hemispheres. She believes that
these results explain the gender differences in ability, such as women’s social competence compared to men’s more
intense focus.

Find synonyms for the words underlined. Rewrite the paragraph using these.

It is widely agreed that men and women think and act in different ways. Women appear to have better
memories, better social skills and are more competent at multi-tasking. Men, in contrast, seem to focus better
on issues and have superior motor and spatial skills, although clearly many people are exceptions to these
patterns.

______________________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________________

Change the word class of the underlined words. Rewrite the paragraph using the changes.

These differences have been explained as behaviour adopted thousands of years ago, when the men went
hunting while the women stayed at home and cared for their children. But another approach is to see the
behaviour as a result of the way our brains function.

Adapted from: Bailey, Stephen. Academic Writing. A Handbook for International Students. Fourth. NY: Routledge, 2015. Print.
 6

______________________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________________

Change the word order of these sentences, rewriting the paragraph so that the meaning stays the same.

Recent research into brain functioning by Ragini Verma’s team at the University of Pennsylvania has used
brain scans to compare 428 men and 521 women. They tracked the pathways of water molecules around the
brain area, and found fascinating differences.

______________________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________________

Combine all three techniques to paraphrase the final paragraph.

The top half of the brain is called the cerebrum, and it is divided into a left and a right half. The left
hemisphere is thought to be the home of logic and the right is the centre of intuition. Dr Verma found that
with women most of the pathways went between the two halves, while with men they stayed inside the
hemispheres. She believes that these results explain the gender differences in abilities, such as women’s
social competence compared to men’s more intense focus on a limited area.

______________________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________________

Adapted from: Bailey, Stephen. Academic Writing. A Handbook for International Students. Fourth. NY: Routledge, 2015. Print.