Q. What is the difference between paraphrasing and summarizing when writing?

Summarizing is condensing information whereas paraphrasing is rewriting information.

Paraphrasing means that you are rewriting a sentence into another sentence by using your own words.  For example, if the quote is, "75% of higher education students are retained", you could paraphrase (or rewrite it) by saying, "3 out of 4 college students stay in school".  You will still need to cite this information because you found this information from a source.

Summarizing means that you are condensing a lot of information into a sentence. This means that you are converting a lot of information such as the whole article, a couple of paragraphs, or several sentences into one sentence.  Because this information came from a source, you will need to cite it. 

*If you need help with finding information on learning how to paraphrase, summarize, or cite a source, please contact a CNM Librarian. 

*If you need help with paraphrasing, summarizing, or citation help for a specific source or sources for your homework assignment, we recommend contacting CNM's TLCc.