A summary is a condensed version of the main ideas of all or part of a source, written in your own words.
A paraphrase is a rewording of a particular point in a source.
You can be accused of PLAGIARISM if you only change a few words of the original source and use that as your summary or paraphrase. Instead, you should work carefully to use your own words and sentences.
To write a summary or paraphrase, first read and reread your source until you understand exactly what it is saying. Then put the source and any notes away. Write down the relevant information from the source. At this point you may still be using phrasing and language from the source. So next, rewrite this information into your own words and sentences so it becomes a coherent part of your paper written in your own style.
Remember, do not include your own ideas or commentary in the body of the summary or paraphrase. Your own ideas should come after the summary or paraphrase. You don't want your reader to become confused about which information is yours and which is the source's. And you always have to document summaries and paraphrases since the ideas are not your own.
Two sample summary and paraphrase exercises are included in the writing center, one in which the exercise (EXERCISE 8) is to distinguish between summaries and paraphrases and one in which you're asked to write a summary or paraphrase for (EXERCISE 9).