Paraphrasing:
* Focus: Rephrasing a passage or sentence in your own words while maintaining the original meaning.
* Length: Usually the same length as the original text, sometimes slightly longer.
* Detail: Includes all the original information but reworded.
* Purpose: To clarify meaning, make a text easier to understand, or avoid plagiarism.
Summarizing:
* Focus: Condensing a text into a shorter version that captures the main points and ideas.
* Length: Significantly shorter than the original text.
* Detail: Omits less important details and focuses on the essential information.
* Purpose: To provide a brief overview of the main points, to quickly understand the key information, or to make a long text more manageable.
Here's an example:
Original text:
> The cat sat on the mat, patiently waiting for the mouse to appear. It had been hours since it last ate, and its stomach was rumbling.
Paraphrased text:
> The feline was perched on the floor covering, calmly anticipating the rodent's arrival. It had been a long time since its last meal, and its hunger was growing.
Summarized text:
> The hungry cat waited on the mat for a mouse to catch.
In a nutshell:
* Paraphrasing is like rewriting a text in your own words.
* Summarizing is like condensing a text to its most important points.
Important Note: Both paraphrasing and summarizing require you to cite the original source to avoid plagiarism.