DXJAKD2
Academic skills course
Blanka Pojslová
Lesson 7

Using other sources
•Discuss the differences between:
•Quotations
–copy writer’s statements exactly
•Summarising
–restates briefly the main idea of a passage or an article
•Paraphrasing
–presents not only its main points, but also reflects its tone and emphasis

Quotations
•match the source word for word
•are usually a brief segment of the text
•appear between quotation marks
•must be attributed to the original source

Summaries
•should
•condense lengthy sources in a concise form
•express the main idea of the source
•convey a sense of the entire passage, not just a part of it
•use your own language and phrasing
•be always much shorter than the original
•not include your opinion

Paraphrases
•should
•change the wording, so they are significantly different from the original source, without changing
meaning
•convey precisely both the key ideas and the emphasis of the source
•use your original language and phrasing
•not include your opinions or interpretations

Summaries – Task 1
1.Read the original text carefully and check any new or difficult vocabulary.
    c
2.Mark the key points by underlining or
highlighting.                                                             d
3.Make notes of the key points, paraphrasing where
possible.                                                        b
4.Write the summary from your notes, reorganising the structure if needed.                   a
5.Check the summary to ensure it is accurate and nothing important has been changed or lost.     e
•

Summaries – Task 2
•c
•b
•a

Summaries – Task 4
i.Falling levels of fertility have generally been found as countries become richer.
ii.In some, number of children born fell below replacement rate.
iii.Two results: smaller populations and larger numbers of elderly needing assistance.
iv.Recent research claims that a new situation may be developing.
v.Comparison of HDI  (human development index) (life expectancy, income and education) with
fertility found that in most highly rated (+0.9) countries,  fertility is
rising.
vi.

Model summary – Task 5
•Falling level of fertility have generally been found as countries become richer. In some, the
number of children born has fallen below the replacement rate. There are two likely results:
smaller populations and larger numbers of elderly needing assistance. But recent research claims
that this pattern may be changing. A comparison of HDI (human development index) (life expectancy,
income and education) with fertility found that in the most highly rated countries, fertility is
rising.

Model summary – Task 6
•Research suggests that the long-term decline in human fertility may be reversing in some of the
most advanced societies.

Paraphrase
•attempts to restate relevant information
•There has been much debate about the reasons for the Industrial Revolution happening in
eighteenth-century Britain, rather than in France or Germany.
ØParaphrase
•Why the Industrial Revolution occurred in the UK in the eighteenth century, instead of on the
continent, has been the subject of considerable discussion.
•
•Discuss what an effective paraphrase should be like?

Effective paraphrase
•has a different structure to the original
•has mainly different vocabulary
•retains the same meaning
•keeps some phrases from the original that are in common use (Industrial Revolution, eighteenth
century)

Paraphrasing – Task 1
a)Quite good, but lack of precision (at that time) and unsuitable register (bosses)
b)The best, with all main points included and a significantly different structure
c)A poor one, with only a few words changed and extra and inaccurate information added (Britain was
the only country …)

Techniques for paraphrasing
•Using the paraphrases from the Task 1, try to figure out techniques for paraphrasing.
•changing vocabulary by using synonyms
•changing word class
•changing word order
•

Task 2 - 1
•It is frequently claimed that governments can create jobs and cut carbon emissions by investing in
renewable energy schemes.
•These so-called ‘green jobs’ have the attraction  of also helping to fight global warming while
lowering a nation’s dependence on imported fuels.
•

Task 2 - 2
•But there are claims by critics of these schemes that the benefits are less than they seem.
•Firstly, spending the money on other projects such as road-building would also allow the creation
of jobs.

Task 2 - 3
•Secondly, the taxpayer has to finance higher government borrowing to pay for the investment, and
all business borrowing may eventually be affected.
•In addition, the price of electricity for consumers may be raised by subsidising solar and wind
power, which are relatively inefficient sources of energy.