Module 14: Summarizing and Documenting Information

Question 1

Why Do I Need to Know How to Sum Up Information?

Answer 1

Summarizing is a fundamental learning and retention skill.

Question 2

Learning how to sum up or synthesize information enables you to:

Answer 2

Clarify the meaning for yourself

Retain the information

Apply the information in multiple contexts—personally, academically, professionally

When you summarize data accurately, you capture the meaning.

Question 3

How Do I Sum Up Information?

Answer 3

Look for meaning, then create a synopsis, paraphrase, or précis

Question 4

paraphrase

Answer 4

you put information into your own words while maintaining the meaning and the approximate length of the original

Question 5

précis (precis)

Answer 5

When you both paraphrase and summarize information

Question 6

How Do I Use My Research?

Answer 6

Use sources strategically; integrate them seamlessly; credit them correctly.

Question 7

Researching includes

Answer 7

(1) using relevant information to support your point of view,
(2) incorporating that information so that it fits seamlessly into your story
(3) crediting the source of the information with citations and documentation.

Question 8

Citation

Answer 8

means attributing an idea, quote, paraphrase, or précis to its original source.

Question 9

Documentation

Answer 9

means providing the bibliographic information (in an APA References page or a MLA Works Cited page) your readers need to find the original source.

Question 10

Why Must I Document My Sources?

Answer 10

Citing your sources of information protects you from charges of plagiarism, demonstrates your honesty, and enhances your credibility.

Question 11

How Should I Document My Sources?

Answer 11

Use your organization’s preferred format, or APA or MLA format.

Question 12

Summarize

Answer 12

you condense the data you’re hearing or reading. You include only details that capture the meaning.

Question 13

For long quotations:

Answer 13

Indent long quotations on the left and right to set them off from your text. Indented quotations do not need quotation marks; the indentation shows the reader that the passage is a quotation.

Question 14

When you summarize and/or translate other’s ideas or words, make sure that the rephrasing

Answer 14

Fits seamlessly into the sentence

Demonstrates, reinforces or proves the point you are making

Gives credit to the originator (St. Francis Xavier University, 2012a)

Question 15

Using a variety of authoritative sources

Answer 15

Suggests alternative points of view that lead to new insights

Provides you with the evidence you need to develop and prove your point of view

Question 16

Suggests alternative points of view that lead to new insights

Provides you with the evidence you need to develop and prove your point of view:

Answer 16

American Psychological Association (APA)

Modern Language Association (MLA).

Question 17

plagiarism

Answer 17

the conscious or unconscious theft of others’ work.

Question 18

Copyright laws

Answer 18

protect people’s creative output; you are legally responsible for attributing intellectual property to its owner.