What is a paraphrase?

A paraphrase is a reconstruction of a text using new words but maintaining the same meaning as the original. Basically, it is about expressing the same idea, but with different words. Paraphrasing is done with the purpose of explaining in another way something that has already been said before.

What is a summary?

A summary is a brief representation of the content of a text. It is about identifying the main ideas and eliminate everything that is not relevant. The summary is made with the purpose of presenting all the information in a text in a summarized manner.

Difference between paraphrase and summary

The main difference between a paraphrase and a summary is that a paraphrase uses new words to say the same thing that has already been said before. On the other hand, the summary eliminates irrelevant details to capture only the main ideas of the text.

Uses of paraphrase

• Explain an idea in another way
• Clarify terms that are difficult to understand
• Improve understanding of a text

Uses of the summary

• Present information in a summarized manner for an audience that does not have time to read the full text
• Facilitate the study
• Organize relevant information from a long text

In summary: Paraphrasing uses new words to express something that has already been said, while summarizing eliminates irrelevant details to present only the main ideas of a text. Both have their own functions and can be very useful to improve understanding of a topic or present information in a summarized way.

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