Paraphrasing and summarizing are both important techniques for content writers. If you are planning on starting your journey as a content writer, you must know how to balance both of these techniques in your content.
Here in this article, we are going to explain paraphrasing, summarizing, and the key difference between them. You would also find about modern online paraphrasing tools and summarizing tools, which can assist you in the automatic generation of summaries and paraphrased content.
What is Paraphrasing & Summarizing?
It is important to understand what paraphrasing and summarizing are to integrate them into your writing effectively. If you have no prior knowledge about these concepts, read this section:
Paraphrasing:
Paraphrasing refers to rewriting already explained ideas or content in your own words. While paraphrasing you have to ensure that you explain the content in the same level of detail and ideally in the same length as the original post.
Moreover, you have to make sure that you keep intact the original context in your version. You can add/subtract details or change the outline of your version.
Summarizing:
Summarizing is another important skill in modern-day content writing. It refers to rewriting something in your own words but at a shorter length.
While writing a summary you have to make sure that you only state the main ideas or the supporting points without which the message would be incomplete. A summary can be as short as one sentence or it can be longer depending on what kind of idea/draft you are summarizing.
How to Paraphrase or Summarize Content Manually?
You don’t have to join technical writing classes or waste your time watching online tutorials anymore. Here we have discussed some basic steps that can help you rewrite or summarize content without any hassle:
Step 1: Skim/Understand the Source
It doesn’t matter whether you are paraphrasing or summarizing content; the first and most important step is skimming the original content or ideas.
You have to ensure you read the original draft multiple times, as it would help you understand its context and the key points. Once you understand the main ideas, you can explain them in your own words.
Step 2: Note Down Key Points
Before you paraphrase content or create a summary, you have to make sure that you take point-form notes. For paraphrasing, you would have to take more detailed notes as you have to discuss all important points at the same length.
Whereas for a summary, you can take short notes as you only have to write down the main idea. Either way, taking notes is important and would help you a lot when you are writing your version.
Step 3: Put Away the Source & Analyze
Once you have taken notes, you must close or put away the source and analyze your points or notes. Analyzing the key points would help you plan your version.
At this stage, it is best that you create an outline especially if you are paraphrasing a complete article.
Step 4: Turn Your Notes in Your Version
Step four is the main game. In this step, you have to turn your point form notes into sentences or passages depending on the nature of your work.
You can write down a single point in one sentence when summarizing content. Still, in paraphrasing, you must explain each point somewhat to make your version more understandable and straightforward than the original one.
Step 5: Check for Plagiarism and Human Errors
Once you have written your summary or rephrased content, you must check it for plagiarism and quality issues. You can use an online plagiarism checker tool to find any similarities in your version with the original one.
Your version should be unique and different from the original one. Also, make sure that your content doesn’t have any quality issues. Make changes or improvements if you find any blunders.
Paraphrasing or Summarizing? Choose the Right Technique
It doesn’t matter whether you follow the manual steps or use an online summarizer or paraphrasing tool. You must know which one to choose. Below we have explained how to balance them:
-
You must always choose paraphrasing instead of summarizing when you have to explain specific details in your content.
-
The paraphrasing technique allows you to focus on ideas instead of using the same words as the original author.
-
It also allows you to simplify and further explain ideas in your own words and state your own opinions.
-
Simply put, you must choose to paraphrase when you need to write an in-depth and understandable draft for readers.
-
You should choose to summarize instead of paraphrasing when you only need to give a brief overview of ideas explained in a post.
In summary, you only have to condense the original material and state the main points. You don’t have to simplify or explain anything to the readers.
Make sure that you cite the reference sources whenever you are writing a summary or paraphrasing an idea.
What is a Paraphrasing Tool & Article Summarizer?
If you don’t know anything about paraphrase tools or text summarizer tools, read on:
Paraphrasing Tool:
A paraphrasing tool is an online-based resource that rephrases content you upload in different words and a unique style. All you have to do is open the best paraphrasing tool on your browser and upload the text you want to rephrase.
After inserting the text in the input box, select your desired rewriting mode and hit “Paraphrase.” The tool would rewrite input text in less than seconds. There are many paraphrase tools available on the web, but you must use the most reliable resources so that you always get 100% unique and error-free content.
The paraphrasetool.ai is a trusted option that you can consider for content paraphrasing. This paraphrase tool uses AI and advanced machine learning algorithms, so the content generated/recomposed by the tool is always human-like!
Summarizer Tool:
An article summarizer is also an online tool that as the name tells us, can help you generate summaries. You have to enter content in the input box of the summary generator and click on the “Summarize” button.
The tool would analyze content, pick the main idea and create a summary for you. The summarized text would be crispy, clear, and human-like and have no human errors.
Final Thoughts
Here in this guide, we have explained paraphrasing and summarizing and how you can practice both of these techniques manually. We have also briefly explained which technique you should choose when writing content.
In addition to this, we have discussed online paraphrase tools and article summarizer utilities. By using online tools, writers can save a lot of their time, energy, and resources which are otherwise wasted in the manual method!
You must be logged in to post a comment.