ENGLISH · LESSON 09 OF 20
Paraphrase and summarise without changing the claim
What this lesson helps you do
Restate a source accurately and distinguish a short summary from a close paraphrase.
Before this lesson
This lesson builds on:
The explanation
A paraphrase restates a particular idea in a new structure while preserving its meaning. A summary selects the main points of a longer passage and leaves out less important detail. Replacing individual words with synonyms is unreliable: it can retain the original structure too closely or change the meaning of a technical term.
Read until the idea is clear, note its essential meaning, then write without following the original sentence word by word. Compare your version with the source afterwards. Check who did what, which group was involved, the time period, numerical values and qualifications. Retain a necessary technical term when a synonym would be inaccurate.
Paraphrasing does not remove the need to acknowledge someone else’s ideas. Use the citation style required for real assignments and keep enough source information to locate the original. The passage below is an invented teaching example, not a research publication. Its label identifies that status rather than inventing an author or journal.
Language pattern
- Pattern
- Source attribution + accurate restatement + original limits.
- What it does
- Change the expression while preserving the claim.
- Limits
- Do not fabricate bibliographic details; a real citation must point to a real source.
A first worked example
A close paraphrase
Situation. Training passage A: “In a voluntary survey of 40 students, 26 preferred receiving written instructions before a workshop. The survey did not measure their performance.”
Training passage A reports that 26 of 40 volunteers favoured getting instructions in writing before the workshop; it provides no measurement of how well they performed.
Why it works
- The participant count and preference count are unchanged.
- Volunteers preserves the sampling condition.
- The final clause keeps the distinction between preference and performance.
What it shows: A preference survey cannot be rewritten as evidence that a method improves grades.
A second worked example
A shorter summary
Situation. Summarise the same invented passage without every numerical detail.
Most respondents preferred advance written instructions, but the survey did not assess performance.
Why it works
- Most is supported because 26 is more than half of 40.
- The details are compressed into the main finding.
- The limitation remains because it affects the interpretation.
What it shows: A short summary can omit a number when the numerical detail is not essential to its purpose.
Common mistakes
Draft (not correct): The study proved that written instructions made everyone perform better.
Revision: The survey reported a majority preference and did not measure performance.
The revision removes invented causation and an invented universal result.
Draft (not correct): Changing a few words means the idea needs no citation.
Revision: Acknowledge borrowed ideas even when the wording is your own.
Expression and intellectual origin are separate matters.
Keep in mind
- Understand before rewriting.
- Preserve qualifiers and numbers.
- Cite genuine sources accurately.
Foundation lesson; not an official syllabus, accredited CEFR placement, or score prediction.
Next: Ask for clarification professionally. Write a short message that gives context and makes a specific request.
Original Bayt Al-Fuad teaching text and invented examples; not publisher lesson text. Aligned with: Official Guide publisher introduction excerpt, ISBN 9781009672368 · English Composition — Joel Gonzaga · University Success level differentiation. Sources and credits.