RETELLING

PARAPHRASING
SUMMARIZING

DAY ONE

RETELLING
oral event something you verbally tell / speak to another person
readers often use the authors words and phrases in the original text to retell
More frequently used to retell fiction vs. nonfiction when you retell fiction
text, you should make sure you tell about all of the story elements (setting,
character, plot)

PARAPHRASING
Paraphrasing is restating a text (someone elses words) into your own
words so it sounds like you wrote/said it, versus someone else
Paraphrasing is NOT the same as retelling! In retelling its OK to use
some of the same words/sentences from the original passage (like
telling a story).
When paraphrasing, you use your own familiar words and phrases to
translate the material into your OWN WAY of saying it so it sounds
more like you.
When paraphrasing, you should make connections to ideas that you
already know about the topic (prior knowledge). This will make it easier
to tell the details of what an author wrote about in your own words.

Purpose of Paraphrasing
o Used to rewrite the text in
your own words
o Used to clarify meaning
o Used to shorten a longer
statement but keep the
main ideas
o Used to avoid
PLAGIARISM.

How does paraphrasing help you to

comprehend what you are reading?
Paraphrasing allows you to monitor your
understanding of text as you are reading.
You should pause and reflect after reading
sections of a text and ask yourself
What is the main idea the author is trying
to tell me?
AND
What are the most important details I need
to understand?

PARAphrase It!
Put the text in your own words
Avoid copying the text
Rearrange similar text
Ask yourself if you included all the
important points

Paraphrasing is NOT simply changing or leaving out a few words. Paraphrasing is

putting the entire text into your own words.

Is this paraphrased or plagiarized?

Original Text

Although he was born in a poor family, Ben Franklin made a

fortune as a printer in Philadelphia. By the age of 42, Franklin
was one of the richest men in the colonies. He chose to retire
from business and become a gentleman. He began to pursue
philosophical studies and amusements. He was especially
curious about electricity, and his experiments made him famous.

Appleby, Joyce. Ph.D., et. al. The American Journey. Columbus: McGraw-Hill, 2009

Student Sample Paraphase

He was born in a poor family but Ben Franklin made a lot of

money as a printer in Philadelphia. By the age of 42, Franklin
was one of the wealthiest men in the colonies. He chose to
retire from business and become a gentleman. He began to
pursue philosophical studies and amusements. He was
especially interested in electricity, and his experiments made
him well-known.

HIGHLIGHT ANY WORDS

YOU FIND THAT ARE IN
THE ORGINAL TEXT AND
THE STUDENT
PARAPHRASING SAMPLE.

Is this paraphrased or plagiarized?

He was born in a poor family but Ben Franklin made
a lot of money as a printer in Philadelphia. By the
age of 42, Franklin was one of the wealthiest men
in the colonies. He chose to retire from business
and become a gentleman. He began to pursue
philosophical studies and amusements. He was
especially interested in electricity, and his
experiments made him well-known.
After highlighting, we can see that this text has not been
rewritten at all! The author of the sample has only changed
and/or left out a few words.

What is NOT Paraphrasing

-Changing a couple of words.

-Deleting a couple words or phrases.

-Rearranging the order of the words.

Is this paraphrased or plagiarized?

Original Text

Although he was born in a poor family, Ben Franklin made a

fortune as a printer in Philadelphia. By the age of 42, Franklin
was one of the richest men in the colonies. He chose to retire
from business and become a gentleman. He began to pursue
philosophical studies and amusements. He was especially
curious about electricity, and his experiments made him famous.

Appleby, Joyce. Ph.D., et. al. The American Journey. Columbus: McGraw-Hill, 2009

Student Sample Paraphrase

Ben Franklin is well-known as both a businessman and a

scientist. Franklins successful printing business in Philadelphia
led him to become one of the most wealthy men in the area.
When he was only 42, he decided to retire from business and
spend more time doing things he loved, such as electrical
experiments and philosophical studies.

HIGHLIGHT ANY WORDS

YOU FIND THAT ARE IN
THE ORGINAL TEXT AND
THE STUDENT
PARAPHRASING SAMPLE.

Is this paraphrased or plagiarized?

Ben Franklin is well-known as both a businessman
and a scientist. Franklins successful printing
business in Philadelphia led him to become one of
the most wealthy men in the area. When he was
only 42, he decided to retire from business and
spend more time doing things he loved, such as
electrical experiments and philosophical studies.

Notice that some words are still the same as the original text, especially proper nouns
and specific dates and times. Even though some words are the same, this is an
acceptable paraphrase.

Paraphrasing Strategy: RAP

o

Read the passage carefully

Ask
o What are the main ideas of the
passage?
o Answer this question with this
statement: The paragraph is about
________.

o What are the most important

details?

Put the main points in your own

words.

PARAPHRASE
ME!

Paraphase Task Card 1

Paraphraser and Transcriber read
passage silently and then aloud:
Elizabeth Blackwell was the first woman
to earn a medical degree in the United
States. After being rejected by several
schools, Blackwell was finally admitted
to Geneva Medical School in New York in
1847. In 1849, she graduated first in

After reading passage twice:

Paraphrasers job writing
Transcribers job - writing
questions

key words

Elizabeth Blackwell

Who was Elizabeth Blackwell?

What kind of degree did she earn?

What were 2 things she was first in?

When and where did she get her degree?

Medical degree

Rejected

Geneva Medical School

Appleby, Joyce. Ph.D., et. al. The American Journey. Columbus: McGraw-Hill, 2009

First woman

New York

1847

1889

United States

PUT TEXT AWAY AND DONT LOOK AT IT!

PARAPHRASER SHOULD PARAPHRASE THE TEXT ORALLY TO
THE TRANSCRIBER USING KEY WORDS TO HELP
THE TRANSCRIBER WRITES DOWN WHAT THE PARAPHRASER
SAYS
IF THE PARAPHRASER MISSES AN IMPORTANT DETAIL THE
TRANSCRIBER CAN USE ONE OF HIS/HER QUESTIONS TO HELP

Original Text

Elizabeth Blackwell was the first woman to earn a medical

degree in the United States. After being rejected by several
schools, Blackwell was finally admitted to Geneva Medical
School in New York in 1847. In 1849, she graduated first in her
class.

Appleby, Joyce. Ph.D., et. al. The American Journey. Columbus: McGraw-Hill, 2009

Paraphrased

The first woman to get a medical degree in the United States

was Elizabeth Blackwell. She got rejected from many medical
schools. Eventually, in 1847, she was accepted into the Geneva
Medical School in New York City. In 1849, she was the first in her
graduating class.

DAY TWO

SUMMARIZING
In order to write a summary, you must first read the entire text
and absorb a through understanding of the meaning of the
text.
You should read the text twice to get a full understanding of it.
A summary helps a reader better comprehend and remember
text.
It includes the main idea and only the MOST important details.
It omits minor, unimportant details in the text.

SUMMARIZE IT!
Shorter version of original text
same structure (examples of structures: compare/contrast, chronological order,
cause/effect)
same order

Use your own words

Main ideas and important details are included

Signal Words to Determine

What is Important
o
o
o
o
o
o

Who (subject)
What (action)
Where (location)
When (time)
Why (reason)
How (process)

A Summary answers these

questions

1. What does the text say?

2. What does the text mean?
3. Why does it matter?

Steps to Remember When

Writing a Summary
Step 1: Cross out any information that is not necessary
to understand the text.
Step 2: Cross out words/sentences that are redundant
(repeat information)
Step 3: Replace lists of things with words that
describes the things in the lists (example: flowers for
daisies tulips, and roses).
Step 4: Find a topic sentence (main idea sentence). If
you cannot find one, write one. Remember that every
topic sentence has two parts (subject + authors claim).

How are retelling, paraphrasing and

summarizing different?
RETELLING
Orally restates what is
remembered from the
text
Can use exact words and
phrases from the text

PARAPHRASING
Restating ideas from a
text in a new way to
demonstrate your
understanding of the
ideas
Must be entirely in your
own words.
Used often when writing
research papers

SUMMARIZING
A shortened version of an
original text.
It includes all of the main
ideas and details of the
text
The summary must be
written in the same
structure and order as the
original text.
Requires the reader to get
a global picture of the
text.
Not commonly used to
write research papers
unless the work is the
subject of the paper (like
the plot of a book)

Sources
Website: Im running on fumes.
Summarizing, Paraphrasing, and Retelling Skills for Better Reading, Writing, and Test Taking. Emily
Kissner, Heinemann, Portsmouth, NH, 2006.
Kletzien., S. Paraphrasing: An Effective Comprehension Strategy. The Reading Teacher, 63(1), p. 7377. 2009
Diaz, T., A Notable Process: Teaching Critical Reading via Notetaking (making). Library Media
Connection, January/February 2014
www.Rachel-Lynette.com, Paraphrase It! Task Cards by Rachel Lynete, 2014
www.Rachel-Lynette.com, Summarize It! Task Cards by Rachel Lynete, 2014