Question

When putting the central idea of a text in your own words and presenting a shorter, more general recap of that text, you are_____.

A). adapting
B). paraphrasing
C). retelling
D). summarizing

Answer 1

Putting the central idea of a text into your own words and presenting a condensed version is called summarizing, which retains the main ideas of the text while being shorter.

Step-by-step explanation:

When you put the central idea of a text in your own words and present a shorter, more general recap of that text, you are summarizing. Summarizing involves condensing the words of someone else into a shorter form while still retaining the main point and major details. In contrast, paraphrasing means rewording the text without drastically altering its length, being more faithful to the original idea. Quoting directly means using the exact language of the original text. Regardless of whether you are summarizing, paraphrasing, or quoting, it is important to provide formatted information about the original source for proper citation and to avoid plagiarism.