Paraphrasing is the taking of information from one or more sources and putting it down using your own words.
Original Text:
The word “soil,” like many common words, has several meanings. In its traditional meaning, soil is the natural medium for the growth of land plants, whether or not it has discernible soil horizons.
Paraphrased Text:
In its traditional sense, soil is the natural medium for the growth of land plants, whether or not it has discernible soil horizons. Like many common words, "soil" has multiple meanings (United States Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service, 1999).
Reference:
United States Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service. (1999). Soil taxonomy a basic system of soil classification for making and interpreting soil surveys (2nd ed.). https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/sites/default/files/2022-06/Soil%20Taxonomy.pdf
Summarizing is used when dealing with a large quantity of information and bringing it down to a sentence or two.
Original Text:
About 1870, a new concept of soil was introduced by the Russian school led by Dokuchaiev (Glinka, 1927). Soils were conceived to be independent natural bodies, each with a unique morphology resulting from a unique combination of climate, living matter, earthy parent materials, relief, and age of landforms. The morphology of each soil, as expressed by a vertical section through the differing horizons, reflects the combined effects of the particular set of genetic factors responsible for its development.
This was a revolutionary concept. One did not need to depend wholly on inferences from the underlying rocks, the climate, or other environmental factors, considered singly or collectively; rather, the soil scientist could go directly to the soil itself and see the integrated expression of all these in its morphology. This concept made it not only possible but also necessary to consider all soil characteristics collectively, in terms of a complete, integrated, natural body, rather than individually. Thus, the effect of any one characteristic or a difference in any one depends on the others in the combination. Experience has shown that no useful generalizations about single characteristics can be made for all soils. Characteristics are given weight according to the knowledge gained through research and experience in soil genesis and the responses of soil to management or manipulation. Both research in genesis and the responses of soils have vital roles, but they are themselves one step removed from the taxonomy of the soil, which is based on combinations of soil characteristics. In short, the new concept made pedology possible.
Summarized Text:
The Russian soil scientist, Dokuchaiev, after studying landscapes, taking note of an area's climate, geology, devised a methodology that would collectively classify soils based on common characteristics that could be used to differentiate one soil type from another (United States Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service, 1999).
Reference
United States Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service. (1999). Soil taxonomy a basic system of soil classification for making and interpreting soil surveys (2nd ed.). https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/sites/default/files/2022-06/Soil%20Taxonomy.pdf