Though not elaborate, these notes were recently prepared to clarify, for myself, the differences between summary and paraphrasis. The chart contrasts summary and paraphrase with the original text in terms of the basic components of expository prose (from the grading rubric).

Both summary and paraphrase condense the original thoughts without commentary and without using much of the original language; using the same word choice constitutes plagarism, as does using the sentence structure, though I have seen the latter breach in nonetheless respectable work.

You may also be interested in my material on paraphrasing poetry.

The chart is orignal material based on the following references:

Beene, Lynn, and Kopple, William Vande (1992). The Riverside handbook, (instructor’s edition). Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, pp. 706–709.

Hacker, Diana (1992). A writer’s reference, (second edition). Boston: Bedford Books of St. Martin’s Press, pp. 214–217.