LawProse Lesson #430: Paraphrasing vs. Summarizing vs. Quoting Obscurities

LawProse Lesson #430: Paraphrasing vs. Summarizing vs. Quoting Obscurities

What’s the difference between paraphrasing and summarizing? To paraphrase is to recast a passage mostly in your own words; to summarize is to capture the essence of a message almost entirely in your own words, and in a much shorter statement. A paraphrase is about the same length as the original, perhaps a little shorter; a summary is significantly more concise. Paraphrasing and summarizing are especially helpful when you’re dealing with a diffuse passage in which the essential message is opaque.

Consider:

Original

The Fourteenth Amendment is a part of a Constitution generally designed to allocate governing authority among the Branches of the Federal Government and between that Government and the States, and to secure certain individual rights against both State and Federal Government. When dealing with a claim that such a document creates a right in prisoners to sue a government official because he negligently created an unsafe condition in the prison, the Court bears in mind Chief Justice Marshall’s admonition that “we must never forget, that it is a constitution we are expounding,” McCulloch v. Maryland, 4 Wheat. 316, 407 (1819) (emphasis in original). Our Constitution deals with the large concerns of the governors and the governed, but it does not purport to supplant traditional tort law in laying down rules of conduct to regulate liability for injuries that attend living together in society. [143 words]

Paraphrase

The Fourteenth Amendment is a part of a Constitution that (1) allocates governing authority among the branches of the federal government and between that government and the states, and (2) secures individual rights against those governments. When such a document gives prisoners a right to sue a government official who negligently creates an unsafe prison condition, we heed Chief Justice Marshall’s warning that “we must never forget, that it is a constitution we are expounding.” McCulloch v. Maryland, 4 Wheat. 316, 407 (1819) (emphasis in original). The Constitution treats the large concerns of the governors and the governed, but it does not replace traditional tort law, which regulates liability for injuries that inevitably occur in society. [119 words]

Summary

The Fourteenth Amendment secures certain individual rights against both federal and state governments. The claim before the Court involved prisoners’ rights to sue government officials who negligently create unsafe conditions in prison. Yet nowhere does the Constitution suggest that it overrides traditional tort law, which regulates liability for injuries. [49 words]          

Paraphrasing and summarizing are tools for coming to understand a difficult or diffuse passage. By translating someone else’s language into your own, you clarify what you understand and identify what you don’t. But they’re more than self-help tools: they allow you to get ideas across to your readers with maximal efficiency.

Paraphrasing and summarizing are therefore tools for (1) learning a subject, and (2) communicating it effectively. 

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Additional reading:

  • Bryan A. Garner, “The Art of Boiling Down,” in Garner on Language and Writing 195–207 (ABA, 2009).
  • Bryan A. Garner, The Winning Brief 251–55, 508–11 (3d ed. 2014).
  • Antonin Scalia & Bryan A. Garner, Making Your Case: The Art of Persuading Judges 22–25 (2008).

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