PARAPHRASING SUMMARIZING AND MAIN IDEA Objective Students will

PARAPHRASING, SUMMARIZING, AND MAIN IDEA Objective: Students will be able to identify the difference between paraphrasing and summarizing. Students will be able to identify main idea. Students will be able to write an effective summary, paraphrase, and main idea.

Quoting, paraphrasing, and summarizing are writing techniques that allow you to use another author’s work in your paper. Citing others’ works adds credibility to your work and provides support for your ideas.

To begin, let’s read the following short article titled “Tattoo, Bling Craze Raises Hiring Issues” found in the April 2006 issue of USA Today Magazine on page 10; there is no mentioned author.

Using Quotations You must use quotation marks if you are taking something directly (word for word) from the information source. Quotations must be attributed to the original author. From the article, you like the sentence that says “However, body art is going mainstream and growing in popularity, particularly among young people. ”

You decided you will incorporate that sentence into your paper. The first paragraph of your paper will then read: Tattoos and body piercings are becoming more and more acceptable. In fact, if a person is standing on a city corner in any city in the United States, they are likely to see numerous visible tattoos and body piercings on people walking by. According to an article found in the USA Today Magazine, “…body art is going mainstream and growing in popularity, especially among young people. ” (“Tattoo Bling Craze Raises Hiring Issues. ” USA Today Magazine April 2006: 10. Print). It’s the young people , those who may be more inclined to get a tattoo, that will eventually be the CEO’s and managers of top-name business; but will their tattoo cause others to judge. Not according to Challenger, who noted, “Some employers are already having trouble finding skilled workers-they ate not going to let some body art get on the way of hiring the best qualified candidate. Plus…employers recognize…the benefits of diversity…and are embracing the unique attributes that make people stand out from the crowd. ” (“Tattoo Bling Craze Raises Hiring Issues. ” USA Today Magazine April 2006: 10. Print). CITATION: OWL PURDUE ONLINE WRITING LAB MLA: Author(s). "Title of Article. " Title of Periodical Day Month Year: pages. Medium of publication.

Using Paraphrasing means putting information from a source into your own words. A paraphrase is generally the same length or slightly shorter than the original source. For this example, the following section has been paraphrased.

Paraphrase Just 10 years ago, people in charge of hiring would have placed resumes of people with visible tattoos and body piercings in the discard pile. Today, that policy has changed. A significant percentage of younger generation employees have tattoos or other body marks. (“Tattoo Bling Craze Raises Hiring Issues. ” USA Today Magazine April 2006: 10. Print). Notice that you’ve put the thoughts from the original snippet into your own words. Using the same words and phrases and just rearranging them is plagiarism and a serious offense.

Direct Plagiarism Ten years ago, most job search authorities would have said that tattoos would have eliminated you from possible contention for a position. Times have changed. More than one-third of the younger generation now sport tattoos. This is direct plagiarism. The text in red has been taken directly from the article.

Summarizing means to restate the main points of a text in your own words. When you summarize you condense the information from the text into a few sentences. (length varies)

Summary B-M-E B: About 10 years ago, if a person applied for a job with noticeable tattoos or piercings it was highly unlikely that person would be hired, but times have changed because employers are finding it difficult to find good workers, let alone good workers without tattoos. M: More and more young persons are getting tattoos; a small percentage have between three and five tattoos, and about half have piercings other than the earlobes. Some tattoos and piercings cannot be covered by clothing. E: Even though it is more acceptable, some businesses, due to the type of business, still shun away from visible tattoos. If a person really wants to work at an establishment, he or she will probably need to find a way to conceal the tattoo or remove the piercing. It is suggested to ask a employee or the secretary if visible tattoos are or are not acceptable.

Summing Up Quoting, paraphrasing, and summarizing are all important skills to use when writing papers. Using other people’s information provides support and credibility to your writing. Use quotation marks if you are copying word for word. Use paraphrasing to put the thoughts of the author into your own words. Use a summary to describe the main points from an information source.