Short Quotations
You can introduce the quotation with a signal phrase that includes the author's last name followed by the date of publication in parentheses.
Example:
According to Jones (1998), "students often had difficulty using APA style, especially when it was their first time" (p. 199).
Jones (1998) found "students often had difficulty using APA style" (p. 199); what implications does this have for teachers?
Example:
If you do not include the author’s name in the text of the sentence, place the author's last name, the year of publication, and the page number in parentheses after the quotation.
She stated, "Students often had difficulty using APA style" (Jones, 1998, p. 199), but she did not offer an explanation as to why.
Long Quotations |
Quotations longer than 40 words are formatted as block quotations: Block quotation with parenthetical citation: Researchers have studied how people talk to themselves: Inner speech is a paradoxical phenomenon. It is an experience that is central to many people’s everyday lives, and yet it presents considerable challenges to any effort to study it scientifically. Nevertheless, a wide range of methodologies and approaches have combined to shed light on the subjective experience of inner speech and its cognitive and neural underpinnings. (Alderson-Day & Fernyhough, 2015, p. 957) Block quotation with narrative citation: Flores et al. (2018) described how they addressed potential researcher bias when working with an intersectional community of transgender people of color: Everyone on the research team belonged to a stigmatized group but also held privileged identities. Throughout the research process, we attended to the ways in which our privileged and oppressed identities may have influenced the research process, findings, and presentation of results. (p. 311) |
Paraphrasing & Summarizing Sources
Paraphrasing |
Paraphrasing involves expressing the ideas of a source in your own words, while a summary provides a condensed overview of a source. Unlike a summary, a paraphrase maintains the original source's level of detail, making it generally comparable in length to the source material. Authors: Smith and Johnson, 2023 Original Source: Many students struggle with citing sources due to a lack of experience in academic writing conventions. Inexperienced writers may find it challenging to navigate the intricate rules and formats associated with citations, leading to errors and inconsistencies. The unfamiliarity with citation styles, such as APA or MLA, can be a significant hurdle for students who have limited exposure to scholarly writing. Paraphrase example: Smith and Johnson (2023) found that many students struggle with citing sources due to a lack of familiarity with academic writing conventions, leading to errors and inconsistencies. New writers may find it challenging to grasp the intricate rules and formats associated with citations, especially if they have limited exposure to styles like APA or MLA. |
Summarizing |
Summarizing involves condensing an author's key points, ranging from a few sentences to a longer version based on the text's complexity. In your paper, summarizing is essential when introducing a source, allowing readers to grasp its argument, main ideas, or plot before presenting your own analysis or response. Authors: Smith and Johnson, 2023 Original Source: It was observed that students faced challenges in forming accurate citations. The research delved into the complexities students encountered during the citation process, shedding light on the common difficulties faced in academic writing. Summarizing example: Smith and Johnson's (2023) study revealed significant difficulties among students in accurately forming citations. The research highlighted common challenges faced in the academic writing process, emphasizing the need for interventions to improve citation skills. |
Signal phrases let your reader know that you are quoting or summarizing from another source.
Verbs in signal phrases:
acknowledges | comments | endorses | reasons |
adds | compares | grants | refutes |
admits | confirms | illustrates | rejects |
agrees | contends | implies | reports |
argues | declares | insists | responds |
asserts | denies | notes | suggests |
believes | disputes | observes | thinks |
claims | emphasizes | points out | writes |
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When you write a research paper, you’re required to include evidence from scholarly sources in order to prove your thesis. In this post, we discuss the three most common ways to include source material in your research paper: quoting, paraphrasing, and summarizing.
When you quote, you use exact words from a source in between quotation marks. You may want to quote directly from a source when the information is particularly complex or when the quote expresses an idea or point in a way that perfectly captures the situation, concept, or thought.
If you’re using a quote that is more than four lines, you should include the material as a block quote. To learn more about how to quote, take a look at our tips for integrating quotes into a research paper. Always include an in-text citation after the quoted material.
When you paraphrase, you re-write borrowed material in your own words. Paraphrasing requires you to change the words of the quote without changing their meaning.
Paraphrases are typically shorter than the quotes that they restate and always require an in-text citation that credits the original source material.
A summary provides an overview of an idea or topic. You might wish to summarize parts of a source if you’re writing a literature review as part of a longer research paper.
Summarizing requires you to sum up the key points of a text, argument, or idea. A summary will be shorter than the original material. Even if you’re not using any of the source’s exact words in your summary, you still need to include an in-text citation.
Quotes, paraphrases, and summaries are simply different ways of presenting borrowed information. However, there are definitely situations in which one mode may be better than another.
While it’s a myth that you should avoid using quotes as much as possible in a research paper, you do need to ensure that you are using them effectively. Turning in a paper full quotes is certainly not a good idea, but quotes can be useful if:
Paraphrasing allows you to confirm that you fully understand a quote’s meaning and to explain that content in your own words. There may be several reasons why you would choose to paraphrase a passage, rather than quote it. You might use paraphrase if:
Summary allows you to synthesize a larger amount of information from a single source or multiple sources. An effective summary will highlight the key points of a text in a concise manner. In a research paper, you’ll primarily use summary in the literature review or state-of-the-field section.
Quoting example.
When you quote, you should always try to “sandwich” the quote in your own words. You can also break up longer quotes with ellipses, or with snippets like “Smith explains.” For instance, in the example below, the writer uses her own words to lead into, and out of, the quotes.
Jenna Lay claims that “Catholic women resisted any easy demarcation between a Catholic medieval past and a Protestant, reformed present in both their religious practices and their print and manuscript books,” an argument that can be extended to include entire Catholic families (16). However, despite the fact that scholars such as Patton, Lay, and Jennifer Summit have argued that “we stand to learn much when we determine […] whether the early modern collector of a medieval devotional book was a Catholic or Protestant,” few studies have explored in any depth how Catholics used their books in the post-Reformation period.
In the example below, the writer succinctly paraphrases one of the main points of a book chapter. Even though there are no direct quotes, she still includes an in-text, parenthetical citation at the end of the paraphrase.
Elizabeth Patton, in her research on Catholic women’s bookscapes, contends that the staunchest Catholic families maintained textual networks in which they circulated books that were banned in Protestant England, including copies of medieval devotional manuscripts (117).
In the following summary, the writer uses her own words to provide a concise, yet thorough, summary of an article’s purpose and use of evidence. Again, although no direct quotes are included, the writer adds an in-text citation at the end of the example.
To establish the importance of this main point, Raghavan and Pargman firstly explore two related paradigms in sustainable HCI research: sustainable computing and computing for sustainability. The latter, they argue, has been simultaneously under- and overdeveloped and offers little in the way of practical solutions for how computing can lessen humans’ ecological impact. As a result, they focus on computing for sustainability and explore how disintermediation can catalyze solutions across several key categories, including value, class, labor, and social control. Importantly, they note that policy solutions have failed to fully address the relationship between computing and sustainability (1-2).
Whether you’re quoting exact words from a text, paraphrasing a quote in your own words, or summarizing someone else’s work, you’ll need to include in-text citations for any borrowed material.
You can use BibGuru to create in-text citations in MLA , APA , or any major citation style . Most in-text citations are in the form of parenthetical citations . It’s always a good idea to consult your assignment guidelines, or your instructor, to find out which citation style is required for your paper.
When you quote, you use exact words from a source in between quotation marks. When you paraphrase, you re-write borrowed material in your own words.
Paraphrasing requires you to change the words of the quote without changing their meaning.
Summarizing requires you to sum up the key points of a text, argument, or idea. A summary will be shorter than the original material. Even if you’re not using any of the author’s exact words in your summary, you still need to include an in-text citation.
When you quote, you should always try to “sandwich” the quote in your own words. You can also break up longer quotes with ellipses or with snippets like “Smith explains.” For instance, in the example below, the writer uses her owd words to lead into, and out of, the quote.
Paraphrasing allows you to confirm that you fully understand a quote’s meaning and to explain that content in your own words.
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For students and teachers.
Quoting means using exact words taken from another author/source.
Paraphrasing means restating ideas from an outside source in precise detail , using your own words .
Summarizing means restating major ideas or conclusions from an outside source as concisely as possible in your own words .
Quoting a source means taking exact words from that source and using them in your own writing .
Any time you quote another author, you need to format the quote in a way that makes it absolutely clear where the words taken from your source begin and end. This is usually accomplished by putting quotation marks around the other author’s words, as in this example:
The opening words of Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, “Four score and seven years ago,” are so famous that Google Docs is programmed to autofill them as soon as one types the phrase “four score.”
It’s essential to use quotation marks any time you include words from an author in your own writing, even if the quotation is just a word or two long. There’s only one significant exception to this rule: with longer quotations, it’s sometimes appropriate to set the author’s words off in a block quote. For example:
In the opening of the Gettysburg Address, Lincoln places the end of the Civil War into the broader context of American History,
Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure.
Some documentation systems still require writers to use quotation marks for block quotes, but others, such as MLA Style, do not require this.
Most formal documentation systems require writers to include some kind of indicator at the end of each quotation, usually a parenthetical note or a footnote, that tells readers exactly where those words came from. We haven’t included such an indicator in the examples above because the source is clearly identified before the quote, and we consulted an online version of the Gettysburg Address, so there are no page numbers to cite. In such situations, MLA Style does not require a parenthetical note, but this might change in a formal class setting, depending on your instructor’s preferences and the documentation system they wish you to use.
Paraphrasing a source means restating ideas from that source fully, in precise detail, using your own words . Paraphrasing is useful when you want to explore or engage the content of your source at length, but for some reason the original language would be difficult for your readers to understand. This might happen, for example, if your source includes a great deal of discipline-specific terminology and you’re writing to a general audience, or if the grammar of the original makes it difficult to integrate the author’s words coherently into your writing.
As with quotations, it’s important to let your readers know exactly when you begin and end a paraphrase. This can usually be accomplished by including a clear transition at the beginning of the paraphrase and a parenthetical note at the end. (See Example 2a below)
A good paraphrase will usually take roughly the same number of words as the original author did to express the same points. However, since a paraphrase is technically your writing, you cannot use words or phrases that come directly from your source. Thus, to write a paraphrase, you need to find a way to capture the complete meaning of your original source, using exclusively your own words.
There are only two significant exceptions to this rule, and both relate to the use of terminology:
Exception 1: When, in the passage you’re paraphrasing, an author uses specific terminology that is common and easily recognizable to your readers , and rephrasing it would alter the meaning of a passage (e.g. referring to a correlation as “statistically significant”), then it’s generally acceptable to use the author’s terminology in your paraphrase without placing it in quotation marks.
Exception 2: When, in the passage you’re paraphrasing, an author uses specific terminology of their own invention that it’s important for your readers to know or that it would be difficult to paraphrase without using, you can use the original author’s term in your paraphrase. Depending on the citation system you’re using and the preferences of your instructor, you may or may not need to put quotation marks around these terms the first time you use them. Either way, though, it should be absolutely clear from the context of your writing when you introduce a term from another author’s writing. (See Example 2b below)
Summarizing means concisely restating the major ideas from a source in your own words . A good summary will convey the ideas from the source in as few words as possible without distorting those ideas or leaving out crucial information from the original context. Summaries are useful when you want to introduce substantial ideas or conclusions from another author into your own writing, but you don’t intend to engage those ideas or conclusions in depth.
Summaries generally present less of a challenge for writers than paraphrases, because they do not require you to restate the details and nuances of the original author’s ideas. However, writing summaries does create a certain amount of responsibility, as you’ll need to decide which ideas from your source should be included in your summary and which ideas can be left out. To be effective, a summary needs to present the source’s ideas in a way that serves the piece you are writing. To be ethical , though, a summary also needs to present these ideas without distorting or altering the original’s author’s meaning or leaving out essential pieces of context.
Once again, it’s essential for a writer to indicate when a summary begins and ends, as well as to clearly identify the source being summarized. The methods for this are the same as with a paraphrase: include a clear transition at the beginning of the summary and either a notation or another clear transition at the end. (See Example 3a below.)
The rules for using terminology in a summary are the same as with a paraphrase: Whenever possible, a summary should be written entirely with your own words. However, if an author uses common terminology that is integral to the ideas you’re summarizing and that you anticipate your readers will be familiar with, it’s okay to use those terms in your summary without quotation marks . Conversely, when an author uses terms of their own invention that are integral to the ideas you’re summarizing, then you may use those terms as well, as long as you clearly indicate with your language (and, if your instructor requires it, with quotation marks) which terms come directly from your author.
Quotation examples.
Note: We’ve alternated between MLA and APA styles in the examples below because these are two of the most common documentation systems used in academic writing and also the easiest to reproduce on a webpage. They are far from the only systems, though, so make sure to follow the rules for the citation system assigned by your instructor for a given assignment.
“As efforts are focused on curbing the spread of COVID-19, essential services such as access to sexual and reproductive health services have been disrupted. According to preliminary data, in Zimbabwe, the number of caesarean sections performed decreased by 42% between January and April 2020 compared with the same period in 2019. The number of live births in health facilities fell by 21%, while new clients on combined birth control pills dropped by 90%. In Burundi, initial statistics show that births with skilled attendants fell to 4749 in April 2020 from 30, 826 in April 2019.” From the article “ WHO Concerned Over COVID-19 Impact on Women, Girls in Africa ,” published by the World Health Organization on June 18, 2020.
The COVID-19 pandemic significantly affected reproductive health care in parts of Africa. For example, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), “in Zimbabwe, the number of caesarean sections performed decreased by 42% between January and April 2020 compared with the same period in 2019. The number of live births in health facilities fell by 21%, while new clients on combined birth control pills dropped by 90%.”
In the paragraph above, the author clearly indicates when their ideas end and the quote begins. Note that, since they identify the source of the quote beforehand and this is an online source with no page numbers, MLA style does not require any kind of parenthetical note at the end of the quotation.
In Africa, the COVID-19 pandemic made it more difficult for many women to access basic medical care. The World Health Organization noted on their website in June of 2020, “As efforts are focused on curbing the spread of COVID, essential services such as access to sexual and reproductive health services have been disrupted” (WHO, 2020).
Once again, the author clearly indicates where their words and and the words from their source begin. Since they’re using APA style, they also include a parenthetical note at the end, indicating the author of their source and the year it was published.
In June of 2020, the World Health Organization called the world’s attention to a crisis in Africa, arguing that, “essential services… have been disrupted.”
In the quotation above, the author uses a handful of words taken out of context to imply conclusions that are not in the original article. The WHO article never calls the health care situation in Africa a “crisis” or anything similar, but the author’s introduction to the quote suggests that it does. Furthermore, the article focuses exclusively on services related to reproductive health care, but the author has deliberately cut out any words indicating this, which makes it appear that all essential services have been disrupted. This may or may not be true, but either way it’s not a conclusion this article supports.
In June of 2020, the World Health Organization reported that access to sexual and reproductive health services had been disrupted in parts of Africa. “According to preliminary data, in Zimbabwe, the number of caesarean sections performed decreased by 42% between January and April 2020 compared with the same period in 2019” (WHO, 2020).
In the quotation above the author uses language directly from the original article (“access to sexual and reproductive health services have been disrupted”) without putting these words in quotation marks. This means that the author has not fully documented the WHO article’s contribution to their essay.
In June of 2020, it was reported that “access to sexual and reproductive health services have been disrupted” in parts of Africa.
In this case, the author puts all words from the original in quotation marks, but does not clearly identify the source. Readers therefore know that these words come from another author, but do not know who the author is (no pun intended).
Original Text:
From “ A Modest Proposal… ” by Jonathan Swift (1729), reprinted by Project Gutenberg
“It is a melancholy object to those, who walk through this great town, or travel in the country, when they see the streets, the roads, and cabbin-doors crowded with beggars of the female sex, followed by three, four, or six children, all in rags, and importuning every passenger for an alms. These mothers, instead of being able to work for their honest livelihood, are forced to employ all their time in stroling to beg sustenance for their helpless infants who, as they grow up, either turn thieves for want of work, or leave their dear native country, to fight for the Pretender in Spain, or sell themselves to the Barbadoes.” From “ A Modest Proposal… ” by Jonathan Swift (1729), reprinted by Project Gutenberg
In the first paragraph of his satirical essay, “A Modest Proposal…,” Jonathan Swift seems to affirm the sensibilities of his upper-class London readers: Swift’s narrator notes how sad it is for people to walk through London or journey through rural areas to see women who are surrounded by multiple children and begging every passerby for money. The narrator goes on to lament that these women are forced to spend their time begging, rather than getting more respectable employment, in order to feed their children. The narrator speculates that this same lack of jobs will affect the children as they get older, forcing them to become thieves or to leave England all together, possibly joining the rebel forces of King James or emigrating to the Americas. By engaging his readers on their own terms in this way, Swift accomplishes several things…
In this example, the author clearly identifies the source they’ll be paraphrasing in the opening clause, and they use a colon to indicate exactly where the paraphrase begins. The paraphrase itself rephrases Swift’s opening paragraph in close detail, using almost as many words as the original passage. However, by expressing Swift’s ideas in more modern language, the reader makes the passage more accessible to readers who might have trouble understanding Swift’s dense eighteenth-century writing style.
Once again, note that since the author identifies their source fully before the paraphrase, and the text they’re using is an online version with no page numbers, MLA Style does not require any kind of parenthetical note at the end of the paraphrase. However, the author’s transitional phrase (“By engaging his readers on their own terms…”) serves as a clear signal that the paraphrase is over and the author has moved on to their own analysis of Swift’s writing.
Swift opens his satirical essay, “A Modest Proposal…” by seeming to affirm the sensibilities of his upper-class London readers: Swift’s narrator notes how sad it is for people to walk through London or journey through rural areas to see “beggars of the female sex” who are surrounded by multiple children and begging every passesby for money. The narrator goes on to lament that these women are forced to spend their time begging, rather than pursuing an “honest livelihood,” to feed their children. The narrator speculates that this same lack of jobs will affect the children as they get older, forcing them to become thieves or to leave England all together, possibly joining the rebel forces of King James or or emigrating to the Americas (Swift, 1729).
This paraphrase is almost identical to Example 2a, but in this case the author has used a few of Swift’s own phrases in their paraphrase, using quotation marks to indicate which words come straight from the original source. This gives modern readers some sense of Swift’s distinct writing style and the way he engages the sensibilities of the readers in his time, while still making the passage accessible to modern readers. Also, note that in this case, the author has used an APA Style parenthetical note to indicate where the paraphrase ends.
At the beginning of “A Modest Proposal,” Jonathan Swift’s narrator describes the melancholy sight of seeing women begging throughout London and the surrounding countryside, sometimes surrounded by three, four, or six children, all in rags. The narrator goes on to say that these women are begging because widespread poverty has deprived them of an honest livelihood, and that their children will most likely grow up to be thieves or be forced to leave England forever (Swift, 1729).
This paraphrase suffers from “mosaic plagiarism,” which is when an author mixes their own words with occasional words or phrases from an outside source and offers no clear indication of this. In this case, the author uses some individual words (“melancholy”) and some longer phrases (“three, four, or six children, all in rags”) from Swift’s passage, but doesn’t place this borrowed language in quotation marks. The opening phrase and the citation at the end at least make it clear that the author is paraphrasing, but the lack of quotation marks still mean that the author has used Swift’s language in place of their own without giving Swift proper credit.
At first, Swift panders to his readers in “A Modest Proposal…”. He suggests that it’s a sad experience to walk through London or the English countryside and see women begging, surrounded by children. All this begging must be the result of systemic property, because these women can’t get a reputable job and have no choice but to beg. Perhaps their children will grow up to be thieves, rebels, or emigrants. Surely a solution must be found, one that can remove all these poor people from upper-class eyes and make them useful members of society.
In this paraphrase, it’s difficult to tell when the author is paraphrasing ideas directly from Swift and when they’re commenting on Swift’s ideas or mixing them with their own. So, for instance, if you didn’t have access to Swift’s text you might wonder if Swift speculated that children of poor people might become “thieves, rebels, or emigrants,” or if that’s the essay author’s speculation. Conversely, you might assume that Swift suggests that something needs to be done to “remove all these poor people from upper-class eyes” in his opening paragraph, when in fact that’s not part of the original passage.
The article “Your coping and resilience strategies might need to shift as the COVID-19 crisis continues” by Craig Polizzi and Steven Jay Lynn. Published on the website The Conversation in 2020.
Note: Since summaries, by definition, condense large amounts of text via concise phrasing, it’s not practical to copy the original text here. You can follow the link article, though, if it helps you to understand the examples below.
Psychologists Craig Polizzi and Steven Jay Lynn note that individuals might need to change their coping strategies as the COVID-19 pandemic continues. Three particular strategies they recommend are “cognitive reappraisal,” “problem-focused coping,” and “cultivating compassion and lovingkindness” (Polizzi and Lynn, 2020).
In this example, the author concisely summarizes the overall argument of Polizzi and Lynn’s article. They put the names for Polizzi and Lynn’s three coping strategies in quotation marks–it’s entirely possible that Polizzi and Lynn did not invent these terms, but even so, they’re not commonly recognized terms, so it’s appropriate to note that they came straight from the article. On the other hand, the term “coping strategies” is also used by Polizzi and Lynn throughout their article (including the title), but this is an extremely common psychological term, and thus it’s not necessary for the author to place it in quotation marks.
Psychologists Craig Polizzi and Steven Jay Lynn argue that if everyone simply practiced “cognitive reappraisal,” “problem-focused coping,” and “cultivating compassion and lovingkindness,” the psychological effects of the pandemic would be minimal (Polizzi and Lynn, 2020).
The wording of this summary significantly distorts Polizzi and Lynn’s argument. Though they do suggest that these three strategies can help people cope, they never suggest that the strategies will work for everyone, nor do they suggest that these strategies alone can minimize the effects of a global pandemic. Presumably, this author is trying to emphasize Polizzi and Lynn’s claims in order to support a point of their own, but summarizing a source in a way that changes its original meaning is unethical and, if readers discover the distortion, makes the author’s argument appear weaker rather than stronger.
Psychologists have argued that, as the global pandemic stretches on, individuals will face new types of stress. In light of these new stresses, it’s prudent for everyone to employ a variety of coping strategies to maintain self-care and build resilience. Three potentially useful strategies are “cognitive reappraisal,” “problem-focused coping,” and “cultivating compassion and lovingkindness.” (Polizzi and Lynn, 2020).
This summary does not clearly signal where their ideas end and the summary of Polizzi and Lynn begins. Did Polizzi and Lynn suggest that the ongoing pandemic will require people to adopt new coping strategies, or did they just describe the practices of “cognitive reappraisal,” “problem-focused coping,” and “cultivating compassion and lovingkindness,” and the author connected these ideas to the pandemic themselves? The citation at the end indicates where the summary stops, but without a clear beginning point, it’s impossible to tell for certain how Polizzi and Lynn contributed to this paragraph.
Integrating sources into a paper can be challenging. How much of a source do you use? When should you use quotation marks? It is important to remember that you are the author of a paper, so sources are properly used to back up your own arguments, not state an argument in themselves, so how you use them depends on the structure of your paper and your argument.
Let's use this paragraph from a scholarly article to illustrate examples of quoting, paraphrasing, and summarizing a source
Examples using the paragraph above: Randler (2009) states that late risers have “a high misalignment of social and biological time” which results in a mismatch between their natural schedules and the normal workday (p. 2793). or “People with a high misalignment of social and biological time may be less able to act in a proactive manner, probably because of sleep delay” (Randler, 2009, p. 2793).
Note that there are two ways to incorporate the source:
Examples using the paragraph above: Randler (2009) states that people who are naturally morning people often also display traits that are considered proactive. He also suggests that late risers may not show as many proactive traits because they naturally operate on a different sleep schedule (p. 2793). or People who are naturally morning people have been shown to also display traits that are considered proactive, and late risers display fewer of these traits because they don’t get enough sleep on days when they have to go to work or school. (Randler, 2009, p. 2793).
Examples using the paragraph above: Recent research shows that people who are not naturally early risers often have persistent issues adjusting themselves to the morning-oriented schedule of most schools and workplaces, and because of this may be less proactive in their behaviors (Randler, 2009). or The natural alignment of sleep schedules to work and school schedules allows early risers to have more energy and display proactive traits, while people who are natural late risers, and thus often combating sleep delay in adhering to regular schedules, display fewer of these traits (Randler, 2009).
Note that when summarizing, you do not always have to include the page number as you are summarizing the findings from the whole study, rather than just a small part of it.
Used with permission from Amelia V. Gallucci-Cirio Library, Fitchburg State University
Understanding Plagiarism Tutorial Test your knowledge on plagiarism with this short tutorial!
In general, it is best to use a quote when:
In general, it is best to paraphrase when:
Adapted from The Process of Research Writing Chapter 3: Quoting, Paraphrasing, and Avoiding Plagiarism. Steven D. Krause
Run a free plagiarism check in 10 minutes, generate accurate citations for free.
Published on April 8, 2022 by Courtney Gahan and Jack Caulfield. Revised on June 1, 2023.
Paraphrasing means putting someone else’s ideas into your own words. Paraphrasing a source involves changing the wording while preserving the original meaning.
Paraphrasing is an alternative to quoting (copying someone’s exact words and putting them in quotation marks ). In academic writing, it’s usually better to integrate sources by paraphrasing instead of quoting. It shows that you have understood the source, reads more smoothly, and keeps your own voice front and center.
Every time you paraphrase, it’s important to cite the source . Also take care not to use wording that is too similar to the original. Otherwise, you could be at risk of committing plagiarism .
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How to paraphrase in five easy steps, how to paraphrase correctly, examples of paraphrasing, how to cite a paraphrase, paraphrasing vs. quoting, paraphrasing vs. summarizing, avoiding plagiarism when you paraphrase, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about paraphrasing.
If you’re struggling to get to grips with the process of paraphrasing, check out our easy step-by-step guide in the video below.
Putting an idea into your own words can be easier said than done. Let’s say you want to paraphrase the text below, about population decline in a particular species of sea snails.
You might make a first attempt to paraphrase it by swapping out a few words for synonyms .
Like other sea creatures inhabiting the vicinity of highly populated coasts, horse conchs have lost substantial territory to advancement and contamination , including preferred breeding grounds along mud flats and seagrass beds. Their Gulf home is also heating up due to global warming , which scientists think further puts pressure on the creatures , predicated upon the harmful effects extra warmth has on other large mollusks (Barnett, 2022).
This attempt at paraphrasing doesn’t change the sentence structure or order of information, only some of the word choices. And the synonyms chosen are poor:
Because of this, the text reads awkwardly, is longer than it needs to be, and remains too close to the original phrasing. This means you risk being accused of plagiarism .
Let’s look at a more effective way of paraphrasing the same text.
Here, we’ve:
Because of this, we’re able to clearly convey the relevant information from the source without sticking too close to the original phrasing.
Explore the tabs below to see examples of paraphrasing in action.
Source text | Paraphrase |
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“The current research extends the previous work by revealing that to moral dilemmas could elicit a FLE [foreign-language effect] in highly proficient bilinguals. … Here, it has been demonstrated that hearing a foreign language can even influence moral decision making, and namely promote more utilitarian-type decisions” ( , p. 874). | The research of Brouwer (2019, p. 874) suggests that the foreign-language effect can occur even among highly proficient bilinguals, influencing their moral decision making, when auditory (rather than written) prompting is given. |
Source text | Paraphrase |
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“The Environmental Protection Agency on Tuesday proposed to ban chrysotile asbestos, the most common form of the toxic mineral still used in the United States. … Chlorine manufacturers and companies that make vehicle braking systems and sheet gaskets still import chrysotile asbestos and use it to manufacture new products. “The proposed rule would ban all manufacturing, processing, importation and commercial distribution of six categories of products containing chrysotile asbestos, which agency officials said would cover all of its current uses in the United States” ( ). | Chrysotile asbestos, which is used to manufacture chlorine, sheet gaskets, and braking systems, may soon be banned by the Environmental Protection Agency. The proposed ban would prevent it from being imported into, manufactured in, or processed in the United States (Phillips, 2022). |
Source text | Paraphrase |
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“The concept of secrecy might evoke an image of two people in conversation, with one person actively concealing from the other. Yet, such concealment is actually uncommon. It is far more common to ruminate on our secrets. It is our tendency to mind-wander to our secrets that seems most harmful to well-being. Simply thinking about a secret can make us feel inauthentic. Having a secret return to mind, time and time again, can be tiring. When we think of a secret, it can make us feel isolated and alone” ( ). | Research suggests that, while keeping secrets from others is indeed stressful, this may have little to do with the act of hiding information itself. Rather, the act of ruminating on one’s secrets is what leads to feelings of fatigue, inauthenticity, and isolation (Slepian, 2019). |
Once you have your perfectly paraphrased text, you need to ensure you credit the original author. You’ll always paraphrase sources in the same way, but you’ll have to use a different type of in-text citation depending on what citation style you follow.
(Brouwer, 2019, p. 874) | |
(Brouwer 874) | |
1. Susanne Brouwer, “The Auditory Foreign-Language Effect of Moral Decision Making in Highly Proficient Bilinguals,” 40, no. 10 (2019): 874. https://doi.org/10.1080/01434632.2019.1585863. |
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It’s a good idea to paraphrase instead of quoting in most cases because:
But that doesn’t mean you should never quote. Quotes are appropriate when:
A paraphrase puts a specific passage into your own words. It’s typically a similar length to the original text, or slightly shorter.
When you boil a longer piece of writing down to the key points, so that the result is a lot shorter than the original, this is called summarizing .
Paraphrasing and quoting are important tools for presenting specific information from sources. But if the information you want to include is more general (e.g., the overarching argument of a whole article), summarizing is more appropriate.
When paraphrasing, you have to be careful to avoid accidental plagiarism .
This can happen if the paraphrase is too similar to the original quote, with phrases or whole sentences that are identical (and should therefore be in quotation marks). It can also happen if you fail to properly cite the source.
Paraphrasing tools are widely used by students, and can be especially useful for non-native speakers who may find academic writing particularly challenging. While these can be helpful for a bit of extra inspiration, use these tools sparingly, keeping academic integrity in mind.
To make sure you’ve properly paraphrased and cited all your sources, you could elect to run a plagiarism check before submitting your paper. And of course, always be sure to read your source material yourself and take the first stab at paraphrasing on your own.
If you want to know more about ChatGPT, AI tools , citation , and plagiarism , make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples.
Plagiarism
To paraphrase effectively, don’t just take the original sentence and swap out some of the words for synonyms. Instead, try:
The main point is to ensure you don’t just copy the structure of the original text, but instead reformulate the idea in your own words.
Paraphrasing without crediting the original author is a form of plagiarism , because you’re presenting someone else’s ideas as if they were your own.
However, paraphrasing is not plagiarism if you correctly cite the source . This means including an in-text citation and a full reference, formatted according to your required citation style .
As well as citing, make sure that any paraphrased text is completely rewritten in your own words.
Plagiarism means using someone else’s words or ideas and passing them off as your own. Paraphrasing means putting someone else’s ideas in your own words.
So when does paraphrasing count as plagiarism?
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To present information from other sources in academic writing , it’s best to paraphrase in most cases. This shows that you’ve understood the ideas you’re discussing and incorporates them into your text smoothly.
It’s appropriate to quote when:
If you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the “Cite this Scribbr article” button to automatically add the citation to our free Citation Generator.
Gahan, C. & Caulfield, J. (2023, June 01). How to Paraphrase | Step-by-Step Guide & Examples. Scribbr. Retrieved September 18, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/working-with-sources/how-to-paraphrase/
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It can be confusing to know when to paraphrase and when to summarize. Many people use the terms interchangeably even though the two have different meanings and uses.
Today, let’s understand the basic differences between paraphrasing vs. summarizing and when to use which . We’ll also look at types and examples of paraphrasing and summarizing, as well as how to do both effectively.
Let’s look at paraphrasing first.
A brief, smaller version. | Written in your own words, using your own voice and style. | Using quotes to support idea. |
It refers to rewriting someone else’s ideas in your own words.
It’s important to rewrite the whole idea in your words rather than just replacing a few words with their synonyms. That way, you present an idea in a way that your audience will understand easily and also avoid plagiarism.
It’s also important to cite your sources when paraphrasing so that the original author of the work gets due credit.
The main purpose of paraphrasing is often to clarify an existing passage. You should use paraphrasing when you want to show that you understand the concept, like while writing an essay about a specific topic.
You may also use it when you’re quoting someone but can’t remember their exact words.
Finally, paraphrasing is a very effective way to rewrite outdated content in a way that’s relevant to your current audience.
Follow these steps to paraphrase any piece of text effectively:
Here’s an example of paraphrasing:
Summarizing is also based on someone else’s text but rather than presenting their ideas in your words, you only sum up their main ideas in a smaller piece of text.
It’s important to not use their exact words or phrases when summarizing to avoid plagiarism. It’s best to make your own notes while reading through the text and writing a summary based on your notes.
You must only summarize the most important ideas from a piece of text as summaries are essentially very short compared to the original work. And just like paraphrasing, you should cite the original text as a reference.
The main purpose of summarizing is to reduce a passage or other text to fewer words while ensuring that everything important is covered.
Summaries are useful when you want to cut to the chase and lay down the most important points from a piece of text or convey the entire message in fewer words. You should summarize when you have to write a short essay about a larger piece of text, such as writing a book review.
You can also summarize when you want to provide background information about something without taking up too much space.
Follow these steps to summarize any prose effectively:
You can summarize any text into a shorter version. For example, this entire article can be summarized in just a few sentences as follows:
Paraphrasing vs. summarizing has been a long-standing point of confusion for writers of all levels, whether you’re writing a college essay or reviewing a research paper or book. The above tips and examples can help you identify when to use paraphrasing or summarizing and how to go about them effectively.
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About the author
Dalia Y.: Dalia is an English Major and linguistics expert with an additional degree in Psychology. Dalia has featured articles on Forbes, Inc, Fast Company, Grammarly, and many more. She covers English, ESL, and all things grammar on GrammarBrain.
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Activate students’ schemata regarding the similarities and differences among summarizing, paraphrasing, and quoting.
Chalkboard/whiteboard
Digital projector
Write the words Summarizing , Paraphrasing and Quoting along the top of the whiteboard.
Elicit from students the rules they know related to each writing strategy.
Add additional information as needed. The board may appear as follows:
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Rather than using the whiteboard, one may choose to open up and project the above table in a word processing program, like Microsoft Word, completing the table as answers are elicited from students.
The main difference between paraphrasing and summarizing is that paraphrasing involves rewording part of an outside source, but summarizing involves describing what an entire source is mainly about.
A paraphrase rephrases a specific fact, statistic, or idea from an outside source that you’re using as evidence in academic writing .
A summary is a synopsis that describes the main topic and key points of a complete text (e.g., an article) in order to give your readers context about why the source is significant. Summaries are common in literature reviews and annotated bibliographies .
To avoid plagiarism , use your own words anytime you paraphrase or summarize another person’s work in your writing, and give credit to the original source with a signal phrase or an in-text citation .
If you need help with paraphrasing and summarizing, QuillBot’s free Paraphrasing Tool can reword ideas from another source. QuillBot’s free Citation Generator can also help you create in-text citations.
Proximity operators , such as NEAR ( N x ), WITHIN ( W x ), and SENTENCE , can be used along with keywords to filter for results that include the keywords within a certain proximity to each other.
Different proximity operators are used to obtain different results. For example, W x identifies sources where the keywords occur within a specific number of words ( x ) of each other and in the order listed.
In APA references , the titles of books, webpages, and reports are italicized, as are the titles and volume numbers of journals and other periodicals.
The titles of articles or book chapters are not italicized.
QuillBot’s free Citation Generator can automatically create APA Style references for you.
In an APA reference list , page numbers are typically included for journal articles and chapters in edited works. Entries for books and webpages typically do not include page numbers.
Journal article | Ferrand, C. (2002, December). Harmonics-to-noise ratio. (4), 480–487. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0892-1997(02)00123-6 |
Chapter in an edited book | Dillard, J. P. (2020). Currents in the study of persuasion. In M. B. Oliver, A. A. Raney, & J. Bryant (Eds.), (4th ed., pp. 115–129). Routledge. |
The two numbers in a page range are connected using an en dash (–) rather than a hyphen (-).
Access dates are not normally required in APA Style in-text citations or references. They are never needed for online journal articles or ebooks.
But, if you create an APA citation for a website that is likely to be updated in the future, you should include an access date. For example:
The University of Texas at Arlington. (n.d.) Our alumni make history . Retrieved May 9, 2024, from www.uta.edu/about/alumni
Often, when there is no individual author listed, the source can be attributed to an organization or agency (e.g., a report, a press release, a company’s website). In these cases, the organization name can be used in place of the author in both the APA in-text citation and APA reference page .
If there is no individual or organizational author (as is the case with some website sources ), the title can be used instead. In the in-text citation, long titles can be shortened, and they can be formatted as in the reference list (i.e., either in italics or in quotation marks).
APA in-text citations of quotations or paraphrases of specific text must include a locator. When no page numbers are available (e.g., when citing a website ), you can use paragraph numbers or heading names (or a combination) instead: (Cordero, 2021, Key Facts section, para. 3).
When you refer to the source as a whole, you do not need to include any locator information.
APA in-text citations for online articles or websites include the author’s last name and publication year: (Patel, 2020). Often, the author is an organization: (National Institutes of Health, 2022).
When citing a quotation , you should include some type of locator. This could be a paragraph number (Patel, 2020, para. 10) or section title (Patel, 2020, Future Plans section).
For further information, read our guide on APA website citations .
Using the CRAAP test will help you to assess information critically . This focuses on the currency , relevance , authority , accuracy , and purpose of the information source.
Good questions to ask include:
Some important critical thinking skills are:
APA Style uses sentence-style capitalization for article titles in the reference list , which means only the first word and any proper nouns are capitalized (e.g., “Language production and serial order”).
Sentence-style capitalization is also used for book and webpage titles.
However, for the titles of journals, headline-style capitalization is used. This means all words except prepositions , conjunctions, and articles are capitalized (e.g., Journal of Communications Technology and Electronics ).
A Boolean search uses Boolean operators (e.g., “AND,” “NOT”) and keywords to narrow or expand search results. You can use Boolean searches to:
Make sure you have a clear idea of the parameters of your research and the key terms you want to search. Then choose a database that is relevant to your research (e.g., Cochrane, JSTOR, Medline).
Use specific keywords and their variations and synonyms when searching for scholarly sources .
Some databases have a “subject search” option, which can be useful. Become familiar with Boolean operators to efficiently combine keywords, search for exact phrases, and exclude specific terms.
When evaluating sources , vertical reading means reading a source (e.g., a website) to evaluate its credibility.
This is contrasted with lateral reading , which means researching what has been written about the source elsewhere in order to help you evaluate its credibility (e.g., searching for references to a website on other websites that you trust).
When evaluating sources , do a preliminary evaluation of each source before you invest time in an in-depth evaluation:
Academic researchers use a range of credible sources in their works. They will typically cite only their primary and secondary sources . The main types of sources are:
Your research process is likely to include many of these types of scholarly sources , although the sources used will vary according to the goals and topic of your research.
Knowing how to find the credible sources you need is important when conducting research.
Scholarly sources are written by experts in the field of study using technical or academic language. Very often they are peer-reviewed before publication, and they will always have a full bibliography. They are usually considered to be credible sources .
Popular sources are written for a more general audience. They are most likely to be written by journalists and may not have a bibliography. Their language is generally less formal, and they might be written from a biased point of view. This means that these types of sources are not always reliable, but can still be used and cited if appropriate to your research.
Researchers use many different types of sources , including:
The types of source you use might change as you make progress through the research process.
How you use “et al.” in citations depends on the style guide you are using.
In MLA, “et al.” is used both for in-text citations and the Works Cited page when a source has three or more authors.
In APA 6th edition, works with three to five authors are listed using “ et al. ” after the first citation. In APA 7th edition, works with three or more authors are listed using “et al.” from the first in-text citation .
In Chicago style, works with four or more authors are listed using “et al.” from the first citation.
When to use et al. in APA in-text citations depends on which edition of the APA Publication Manual you are using.
In APA 6th edition, works with three to five authors are listed using “ et al. ” after the first citation.
Example: “Freeman, Taylor, and Werg (2024) reject this hypothesis. Instead, their data indicates that the opposite is true (Freeman et al., 2024).”
In APA 7th edition, works with three or more authors are listed using “et al.” after the first author’s name from the first citation.
Example: “Freeman et al. (2024) reject this hypothesis.”
In MLA, “ et al. ” is used both for in-text citations and the Works Cited page when a source has three or more authors.
Example: Some critics agree that the symbolism is difficult to decipher (Ruiz et al. 190).
In Chicago style, works with four or more authors are listed using “ et al. ” after the first author’s name in both in-text citations and footnotes.
In the bibliography entry, up to 10 authors’ names should be listed.
“ Ibid. ” is included only in footnotes or endnotes and should not be used as an in-text citation . Additionally, not all style guides (e.g., APA, MLA) permit the use of “ibid.”
Once you have included the full citation for a source, “ibid.” can be used to refer back to that source in the next citation. It cannot be used if there are other intervening citations.
Chicago style still permits the use of “ ibid. ,” but the use of short notes is preferred. In either case, the choice to use “ibid.” or short notes should be consistent.
APA Style, like MLA style, does not permit the use of “ ibid .” Both MLA and APA Style use in-text parenthetical citations , and footnotes are used only to add further information, not for citations.
If there are two authors, separate their names with an ampersand (&). If there are three or more authors, list the first author’s name, followed by “ et al. ” Do not include a comma between the first author’s name and “et al.”
Examples: (Smith & Robinson, 2022, pp. 67–69)
(Smith et al., 2022, p. 43)
To create an APA in-text citation for a source with an unknown author, use the title of the text in place of an author’s last name. Italicize the title of books, but use quotation marks around the title for articles and chapters.
Example: (“In-Text Citations,” 2024)
“ Et al. ” means “and others.” It is used to save space in in-text citations when citing a source with three or more authors; you use it after the first author’s name in place of the remaining names.
Paraphrasing plagiarism happens when someone paraphrases an outside source in a piece of writing without giving credit to the original source.
When you paraphrase ideas from outside sources in your own words, you must show where that information came from in order to avoid plagiarism . Sentences that have paraphrased information should include in-text citations .
An in-text citation includes the author’s name at a minimum, and depending on the citation style you’re using, it might include other elements such as a year of publication or a page number.
For example, APA citations for paraphrases should include the author and year of publication.
You can avoid paraphrasing plagiarism by using QuillBot’s free Plagiarism Checker to look for paraphrases in your writing that need citations.
You can paraphrase a source without plagiarizing by following both of these steps.
If you need help paraphrasing a source without plagiarizing, QuillBot’s free Paraphraser can reword excerpts from outside sources. QuillBot’s free Plagiarism Checker will help you find paraphrases in your writing that need in-text citations.
You should paraphrase information instead of using a direct quote when the information that you’re sharing with your readers is more important than the original source’s style of writing.
Use paraphrases to share facts and statistics from outside sources. In this situation, the original author’s wording is less important than the information. Paraphrasing helps you maintain your own writing voice.
Use direct quotes from outside sources in these situations:
Whether you paraphrase or quote another writer’s ideas, use in-text citations to avoid plagiarism .
QuillBot’s free Citation Generator can help you create in-text citations for direct quotes and paraphrases.
You always have to cite a paraphrase in order to avoid plagiarism .
An in-text citation helps your readers differentiate between your original ideas and other writers’ ideas.
The format for in-text citations varies by each citation style (e.g., APA , MLA , or Chicago). In MLA writing, in-text citations should include the author’s last name and the page number where the information is located in the original source.
QuillBot’s free Citation Generator can help you cite a paraphrase in your writing.
Secondary sources include textbooks, journal or newspaper articles, reviews, essays, or biographies.
Secondary sources summarize, analyze , and interpret primary sources. Sources that provide an overview on a topic or give another researcher’s views are generally secondary sources.
To cite information from a footnote in an MLA in-text citation , include the author’s name and page number as usual, followed by “n” and the footnote number (Bing 205n4).
To cite multiple footnotes, use “nn” and an en dash with the number range (Bing 205nn4–8).
For footnotes without numbers, include a space after the page number followed by “un” (Bing 103 un).
MLA in-text citations for sources without an author should include the first element of the corresponding Works Cited entry. This is usually the title of the piece (“Practice Writing Exercises”) or the name of the organization that has published the piece (Princeton Review).
Quotes are a valuable tool for enhancing your argument and adding additional support for your claims. However, it is important to avoid overusing quotes, as this can cause your own voice to be lost.
When you use quotes in academic writing , accompany them with analysis and explanation, and do not include quotes for information that you can present in your own words.
The information contained in a citation depends on the style guide you are following.
Essentially, in-text citations must contain the necessary information for a reader to be able to identify the complete citation in your reference list.
A quote is a direct copy of another person’s words and must be enclosed in quotation marks.
Paraphrasing is a summary or rephrasing of another person’s words without using the exact language.
Both quoted and paraphrased material must be accompanied by a citation to avoid plagiarism .
A parenthetical citation is an in-text citation within a set of parentheses. It includes source information like the name of the author, publication date, and page number(s). It will usually come at the end of a sentence before the punctuation mark.
Parenthetical citations vary depending on the citation style (e.g., APA, MLA, Chicago).
QuillBot’s Citation Generator can help you quickly generate citations in APA, MLA, and Chicago style formats.
An APA parenthetical citation includes the author’s name, publication date, and page number(s) within parentheses. In APA, a narrative citation has the author’s name in the sentence and the date of publication in parentheses.
Example: In As I Lay Dying , Faulker illustrates the effects of death on the living (1930).
To cite a text in an APA parenthetical citation , list the author’s last name, the publication year, and page number, all separated by commas.
Example: (Smith, 2014, p. 67)
In APA in-text citations , sources without a known author should be cited using the source title or organization name (Quillbot, 2024).
Sources without a publication date can use “n.d.” in lieu of the date (Yintl, n.d.).
Page numbers are only necessary in APA in-text citations when material is directly quoted . Include the page number after the publication date (Author, date, p. 1).
To cite a page range, include “pp.” and use an en dash (Author, date, pp. 1–10).
In APA Style, if you use multiple sources from the same author that have different publication years, the different publication years are sufficient to distinguish the citations.
To cite multiple sources with the same publication year in an APA in-text citation , include the author name and date as usual, and add a lowercase letter to the end of the publication year (Perkins, 2004a; Perkins, 2004b).
To cite an indirect source in APA in-text citations , include the author name and date where available, followed by “as cited in” and the author name and date of the secondary source you are using.
Parenthetical: (Weber, 2010, as cited in Baqqa, 2016) Narrative: Weber (2010, as cited in Baqqa, 2016) claims that …
In-text citations should always come before punctuation, including periods, commas, semicolons, and dashes. You can include a citation mid-sentence or at the end of the sentence.
Primary sources include statistical data, speeches, transcripts, photographs or videos, original artistic or literary works, and historical documents.
If you analyze something directly, it functions as a primary source. This includes your own original quantitative or qualitative data.
To evaluate whether a source is a primary or secondary source , ask the following questions:
Some sources generally always serve as primary sources. These include artworks and literature, raw statistics, official documents and records, and personal communications such as journal entries or interviews.
Primary sources are generally considered the most credible evidence to use to support an argument because they are directly involved with the research subject. However, you should still vet these sources for reliability and accuracy.
All sources you use must be accompanied by a citation to avoid plagiarism . You can use QuillBot’s Citation Generator to automatically generate citations for all types of sources .
MLA in-text citations must be included any time you quote or paraphrase another source. Failing to include a citation could result in accidental plagiarism .
Citations are not usually needed for generally available knowledge, such as the dates of historical events or the birthdates of historical figures.
Biographies are generally secondary sources as they present information about the life of someone else. The author will likely consult primary sources to compose the biography, such as personal letters, archival records (e.g., birth registries), or diaries. In contrast, an autobiography is a primary source as it is a firsthand account of one’s own life.
However, if you are researching the ways in which a particular figure’s life has been represented, then biographies written about the person would function as primary sources.
Any time a biography or other source is used, it must be accompanied by a citation and reference entry to avoid plagiarism . You can use QuillBot’s Citation Generator to automatically generate citations for all types of sources .
Newspaper and magazine articles can function as primary or secondary sources depending on how you use them for your research.
In a historical study, for example, you might use contemporary newspaper articles as direct evidence of the time period. In social and communication studies, you might examine the language or content of an article to glean insights into the particular phenomenon under study (e.g., through a content analysis or discourse analysis).
If you are using an article to furnish background information or facts about the topic, the article functions as a secondary source.
Any articles you use should be cited appropriately and included in your references list. You can use QuillBot’s Citation Generator to automatically generate citations for all types of sources .
Strong academic research requires engagement with information from other researchers, but this is only valid when the sources used are accurate. Online information and published articles may exhibit bias, lack credibility, or lack evidence to support their claims.
Information literacy denotes the range of skills you need to be able to decipher the credibility of a source. Information literacy and critical thinking are fundamental to academic research and responsible media consumption more broadly.
Sources can be vetted using the CRAAP test as well as checked for the following points to ensure credibility :
Quillbot’s Citation Generator tool can help you to create and manage your citations throughout the research process.
You should always include a citation for the sources you use to support any academic text.
In-text citations must accompany any material that is quoted, paraphrased, or summarized . The in-text citation should direct the reader to the full reference entry in the references list or bibliography.
The format of your citations and reference entries is determined by the citation style you are using (e.g., MLA , APA , Chicago).
Quillbot’s Citation Generator can help you to create and manage your citations throughout the research process.
Wikipedia is not generally considered a credible source on its own. This is because Wikipedia is an open-access platform that anyone can edit at any time. Thus, while Wikipedia can be helpful when just starting out in your research, it should not be cited among your sources in your final paper.
However, you can use the references cited in Wikipedia articles to access the research materials the articles are based on. If a Wikipedia article cites academic sources such as journal articles, go directly to these sources to perform more in-depth research. These sources can be used to support your paper.
Tertiary sources are generally not cited directly in academic writing. However, they can be useful as a jumping-off point when you begin the research process.
When you’re starting your research, you can use tertiary sources to:
Tertiary sources can direct you to primary and secondary sources that you can use later during the writing process.
Your research problem and the way you use a source will determine whether it is tertiary.
The following questions can help you evaluate whether something is a tertiary source :
Primary sources involve original research with novel findings or provide firsthand evidence (e.g., photographs, records, official documents).
Secondary sources offer analyses or interpretations of primary source evidence or findings (e.g., journal articles, reviews).
Tertiary sources are reference works that use primary and secondary sources to provide an overview of the topic (e.g., databases, dictionaries).
Signal phrases have a variety of functions. They can be placed at the beginning, middle, or end of a sentence.
When using signal phrases to integrate another author’s ideas, words, or data, include:
The verb tense you use in your signal phrase depends on the style guide you are following.
Signal phrases are used to attribute information to the original source. This is important as it enables you to:
The type of signal phrase you use provides information about your or the original author’s position on the point presented. Signal phrases can indicate agreement, disagreement, doubt, and other relationships between authors’ stances.
Common signal phrases to indicate agreement include “confirms” or “supports” (e.g., “Smith’s works confirms the prevailing view”).
Common signal phrases to indicate disagreement include “denies” or “refutes” (e.g., “Attorney Marta Resnick denies that there is any credible evidence pointing to her client”).
Neutral signal phrases include “states” or “observes” (e.g., “Liu and Gray observe that …”).
Academic journals use peer review processes to evaluate submissions for publication. Experts in the subject area use defined criteria to measure the quality of a text and determine suitability for publication.
The peer review process results in high-quality publications, which is why academic journals are often considered the most credible sources .
If a source doesn’t use a peer review process, you can use the CRAAP test to determine whether it is credible.
The “Accuracy” component of the CRAAP test for evaluating sources refers to whether the information in a source is correct, factually based, and supported by evidence. Consider where the information has come from and the source itself. For example, was it published by a reputable source, and are you able to verify the claims?
The “Relevance” component of the CRAAP test for evaluating sources refers to whether the information in a source is related to your research subject. Consider if the information adds something to your argument and whether the information is intended for a specialized audience.
It is essential to cite your sources, whether you are paraphrasing or using direct quotation or reusing text word for word. We designate direct quotes using quotation marks and we provide attribution through a citation to text from which you drew the quote.
Below you will find examples of how to set up and cite a direct quote.
"In these contexts, schools become sites of fear rather than sites of engagement, reflecting the limitations rather than the potential of students."
from Gadsden, Vivian L. “Gender, Race, Class, and the Politics of Schooling in the Inner City.” The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 673, no. 1 (September 2017): 12–31. https://doi.org/ 10.1177/0002716217723614 .
Plagiarism - Direct Quotation
When schools shift their focus from education to discipline, they become sites of fear rather than sites of engagement (Gadsden 18).
This quote doesn't use quotation marks, even though it cites the source.
When schools shift their focus from education to discipline, they "become sites of fear rather than site of engagement" (Gadsden 18).
Plagiarism - Unique Terms or Specific Language
When schools become disciplinary sites of fear rather than places where students feel nurtured or excited about learning, those students are less likely to perform well.
This quote doesn't use quotations marks. Even though it is only three words, it is clearly a turn of phrase that is Gadsden's and carries her ideas.
Not Plagiarism - Unique Terms or Specific Language
When schools become disciplinary "sites of fear" rather than places where students feel nurtured or excited about learning, those students are less likely to perform well (Gadsden 18).
When you find a quotation that you want to use, but did not find it directly from the original source, but through one author quoting another author, you need to be precise about where you are taking the quotation. .
Original text
Moving beyond an anticorporate focus, the CFS movement recognizes community gardens as "commons ... that expand and deepen cultural and ecological vision and mold citizenship" (DeLind 2002, 222).
from Baker, Lauren E. "Tending cultural landscapes and food citizenship in Toronto's community gardens." The Geographical Review , vol. 94, no. 3, 2004, p. 305-325.
Community gardens are more than spaces to grow food. They are also spaces "that expand and deepen cultural and ecological vision and mold citizenship" (DeLind 2002, 222).
This quote is plagiarism because it presents the article author's research as the writer's own research. The best scholarly practice would be to read the DeLind article, choose your own selection from it for your analysis, and then cite DeLind. Otherwise you need to cite that it is quoted in the Baker article.
Not Plagiarism
Community gardens are more than spaces to grow food. As Laura DeLind says, they also "expand and deepen cultural and ecological vision and mold citizenship" (qtd. in Baker, 309).
COMMENTS
Quoting, Paraphrasing, and Summarizing. This handout is intended to help you become more comfortable with the uses of and distinctions among quotations, paraphrases, and summaries. This handout compares and contrasts the three terms, gives some pointers, and includes a short excerpt that you can use to practice these skills.
Quoting, Summarizing & Paraphrasing Quoting, summarizing, and paraphrasing are all ways of integrating source material into your writing. Understanding the differences between these approaches may be helpful for deciding how to integrate a source in a way that makes sense for your specific context and goals. The table below outlines
What is summarizing? Next, we come to summarizing. Summarizing is on a much larger scale than quoting or paraphrasing. While similar to paraphrasing in that you use your own words, a summary's primary focus is on translating the main idea of an entire document or long section. Summaries are useful because they allow you to mention entire chapters or articles—or longer works—in only a few ...
Summarizing, Paraphrasing, & Quoting. Quoting, paraphrasing, and summarizing are three methods for including the ideas or research of other writers in your own work. ... Incorrect Paraphrasing Example: The Statue of Liberty is an evident display of freedom and democracy for the whole world, and was created by France for America to represent ...
Quoting, paraphrasing, and summarizing are all different ways of including evidence and the ideas of others into your assignments. Using evidence from credible sources to support your thesis is an important part of academic writing. ... Some common examples of when you might quote instead of paraphrase include: using exact statistics or ...
Summarizing, Paraphrasing, and Quoting. Depending on the conventions of your discipline, you may have to decide whether to summarize a source, paraphrase a source, or quote from a source. Scholars in the humanities tend to summarize, paraphrase, and quote texts; social scientists and natural scientists rely primarily on summary and paraphrase.
Here is a quick overview of the difference between quoting, paraphrasing and summarizing: QUOTING. What it is: Using the exact words of your source; must be placed within quotation marks. When to use it: Specific terminology, powerful phrases. Example: McMillan Cottom explains that "Reading around a subject is about going beyond the object of ...
Summarize and paraphrase Summarizing and paraphrasing are similar; both involve putting a source's ideas into your own words. The difference is one of scale. A summary is similar to the abstract of a research article or the blurb on the back of a book: it succinctly describes a much longer piece of writing. You might describe the key points of
Quoting and Paraphrasing. Download this Handout PDF. College writing often involves integrating information from published sources into your own writing in order to add credibility and authority-this process is essential to research and the production of new knowledge. However, when building on the work of others, you need to be careful not ...
This is where paraphrasing, summarizing, and quoting directly comes in handy— we can reference what others have said before us and respond. Being able to reference other source material allows us to: Provide credible support for our ideas. Give a variety of examples and different perspectives on our topic. Emphasize significant and ...
Paraphrasing . Paraphrasing involves expressing the ideas of a source in your own words, while a summary provides a condensed overview of a source. Unlike a summary, a paraphrase maintains the original source's level of detail, making it generally comparable in length to the source material. Authors: Smith and Johnson, 2023. Original Source:
Examples of quoting, paraphrasing, and summarizing Quoting example. When you quote, you should always try to "sandwich" the quote in your own words. You can also break up longer quotes with ellipses, or with snippets like "Smith explains." For instance, in the example below, the writer uses her own words to lead into, and out of, the ...
Overview. Quoting means using exact words taken from another author/source. Paraphrasing means restating ideas from an outside source in precise detail, using your own words. Summarizing means restating major ideas or conclusions from an outside source as concisely as possible in your own words.
Let's use this paragraph from a scholarly article to illustrate examples of quoting, paraphrasing, and summarizing a source. These results suggest that morning people, or early chronotypes—as measured on the morningness-eveningness continuum are more proactive than are evening types. Additionally, the misalignment of social and biological ...
Example Summary, Paraphrase, and Quotation from the Essay: Example summary: Roger Sipher makes his case for getting rid of compulsory-attendance laws in primary and secondary schools with six arguments. These fall into three groups—first that education is for those who want to learn and by including those that don't want to learn, everyone ...
Paraphrasing and summarizing are both writing techniques used for restating another person's points or opinions in your own words, without quoting them or plagiarizing their text. In fact, in academic writing , paraphrasing and summarizing are the standard, with accompanying citations so the reader knows the original source.
Paraphrasing vs. summarizing. A paraphrase puts a specific passage into your own words. It's typically a similar length to the original text, or slightly shorter. When you boil a longer piece of writing down to the key points, so that the result is a lot shorter than the original, this is called summarizing.
Quoting, paraphrasing and summarizing are similar in that they allow a writer to incorporate another writer's work into his or her own work. However, they are different in the methods of application. Quotation s are identical in every way to the original. To quote a source, write out the exact words in the original document and put those words ...
6 Steps to Effective Paraphrasing. Reread the original passage until you understand its full meaning. Set the original aside, and write your paraphrase on a note card. Jot down a few words below your paraphrase to remind you later how you envision using this material. At the top of the note card, write a key word or phrase to indicate the ...
Summary must be cited with in-text citations and on your reference page. Summarize when: Paraphrasing. Paraphrasing is stating an idea or passage in your own words. You must significantly change the wording, phrasing, and sentence structure (not just a few words here and there) of the source. These also must be noted with in-text citations and ...
Summary: tells the main idea of a piece of writing. The summary is always shorter than the main text and leaves out details that aren't important to the paper you are writing. You always write a summary in your own words. Quotation: uses the exact words of the writer and puts them in quotation marks. However, you need to include that quotation ...
Summary: The article discusses paraphrasing vs. summarizing by explaining the two concepts. It specifies when you should use paraphrasing and when you should summarize a piece of text and describes the process of each. It ends with examples of both paraphrasing and summarizing to provide a better understanding to the reader.
Procedure. Write the words Summarizing, Paraphrasing and Quoting along the top of the whiteboard. Elicit from students the rules they know related to each writing strategy. Add additional information as needed. The board may appear as follows: Summarizing. Paraphrasing. Quoting. Must reference the original source.
The main difference between paraphrasing and summarizing is that paraphrasing involves rewording part of an outside source, but summarizing involves describing what an entire source is mainly about. A paraphrase rephrases a specific fact, statistic, or idea from an outside source that you're using as evidence in academic writing.
It is essential to cite your sources, whether you are paraphrasing or using direct quotation or reusing text word for word. We designate direct quotes using quotation marks and we provide attribution through a citation to text from which you drew the quote. Below you will find examples of how to set up and cite a direct quote.