Quoting, Paraphrasing, & Summarizing

Using others’ ideas• All of us use others’ ideas to build on,

challenge or disagree with• The writer must make it clear which

ideas and words are his/hers, which belong to others

• References add weight to your argument

• Strict conventions exist on quoting others’ ideas or words

Incorporating the ideas of others

• To weave the information you’ve gathered into your own writing you can:

1. Quote directly2. Paraphrase3. Summarize

The Methods• Direct quoting involves adding the

exact words, inside quotation marks, to your text

• Paraphrasing, or indirect quoting, involves rewriting the ideas in your own words

• Summarizing involves succinctly giving a synopsis of the main ideas in your own words

When to quote directly• Good writers only quote directly

when the way a sentence or passage is worded is significant: According to Barton, “Five times out of

ten, a student writer is better off paraphrasing or summarizing than quoting directly.”

• Don’t quote “plain” passages directly: Jordon writes, “There were five chemists

present during the experiment.”

Stand alone quotations• Do not include a quotation in your document that

“stands alone.” Use the ICE method: Introduce Cite Explain

• An “introduction” can be simple: Barton writes,

• Then the citation: “The ICE method is easy to remember.”

• And the explanation, or justification for the quotation: Most students can remember what the letters in ICE

stand for even years afterwards.• Use quotations to support your points, not make

them.

Block quotes• If the quotation is longer than three

lines, it must be set apart in a block quote (indented, single-spaced, italicized with NO quotation marks)

• Professors usually don’t appreciate lots of block quotes and assume that the student used them out of sheer laziness

• Use long quotations sparingly – you are better off paraphrasing

Incorporating direct quotations

• To incorporate direct quotations into your text use introductory phrases

According to… A study by […] has shown that… Numerous studies […] indicate that… In a now-famous study, [X] noted that…

Sample introductory phrases

• Smith points out…• Smith reports…• Smith notes…• Smith observes…• Smith concludes…

• Smith recognises…• According to Smith…• To quote Smith…• As Smith has indicated…• Smith defines … as…

Be sure the direct quote does not interrupt the flow of your sentence

Warning• Essays that use extensive direct

quotations tend to lack voice, continuity, or authority.

• If you offer quotations every few lines, your ideas become subordinate to other people’s ideas and voices. Your ideas are lost and the piece will not indicate that YOU have done any thinking or synthesizing.

• Therefore, you are generally better off paraphrasing and summarizing material and using direct quotations sparingly.

Paraphrasing• Good writers paraphrase passages or

material that wouldn’t be useful to quote directly.

• Original Passage: “If the nation is to obtain the maximum benefit

from its investments in information technology, a labor pool capable of using it appropriately is necessary.”

• Paraphrase: Interestingly, the Committee notes that the

U.S. won’t benefit from revolutionary new technologies unless the labor force is better trained.

Paraphrasing Guidelines• Do not alter the author’s original message• Do not eliminate any significant

background information• Do not misrepresent the author’s

intentions• Do not copy the original wording too

closely Don’t just change a few words or shuffle things

around; read the passage several times and completely rewrite it.

Paraphrasing Tips

Change vocabulary Change word category Synthesis

Change vocabulary• Substitute verbs or nouns with the

same meaning

Shaw examines the difficulties that… = Shaw investigates the difficulties

that…

The finding was made in 2001… = The discovery was made in 2001…

Change word category• Change nouns into verbs, verbs into

adjectives, etc.

The reports were completed in April…= The completion of the reports in

April ensured that the students had time to revise before their examination

Synthesis• Integrate the ideas several sources,

combining two or more viewpoints.

• Santiago operates with the “salad bowl” metaphor, the belief that America is a rich nation precisely because of its distinctive ethnic groups. Hayakawa operates with a “melting pot” metaphor, the belief that in coming to America foreigners should relinquish what makes them separate in order to blend into the American mainstream.

Summarizing• Condensing a writer’s ideas into a

much shorter piece with your words• Summaries allow you to sort through

the information in the source and report only what you consider to be essential.

• Example:

Culture Shock

‘Culture shock’ is the state of being confused when in contact with a different and unfamiliar civilization. ‘Shock’ suggests something that is negative: this may be true, especially at first. Typically, a person going to study in another country for the first time may miss family and friends and, consequently, feel homesick. The person may have sleeping difficulties and, in extreme cases, may become depressed or ill.(67 words)

Summary:• Culture shock is the confusion

caused by contact with an alien society. Initially, reactions may be negative.

• (17 words)

Referring to your sources• Ideas are the ‘property’ of the person

who first produced them• Copying these ideas without

acknowledging the creator is stealing - plagiarism

• Possibly the most serious academic ‘crime’

Acknowledging your sources

• There are conventions for indicating the source of the quotations and ideas you’ve used in your writing

• 1. The bibliography (aka references, works cited) at the end of the paper

• 2. Parenthetical citations that follow an individual quotation or reference in your text

• Your essays will require BOTH

What is a parenthetical citation or reference?

• An acknowledgement, at the point of usage, that you are making use of another writer’s ideas or data in your writing.

The author comically stated that "Maybe man would not overrun the planet, but his pet poodles and Siamese cats might" (Westin 6).

As Donner (1997) points out, low inflation does not always lead to low interest rates.

Why use them?• To avoid the charge of plagiarism• To lend more authority to your

writing; it shows you are familiar with other research on the topic

• To allow the reader to find the original source

Which of these need references?

• A mention of facts or figures from another writer

• An idea of your own• Some data you have found from your own

research• A theory suggested by another researcher• A quotation from a work by any author• Something that is agreed to be common

knowledge

Putting a quotation into your essay

• Every quote must refer to the source

• Different techniques or styles exist - - MLA, APA, Chicago – make sure you know which style is required for your paper

Parenthetical citation when the author is not mentioned in your

text•For MLA style put the following in parentheses after the quote or paraphrase

Author’s surname only Page number of reference

“Infectious disease is no longer the major cause of human deaths in Australia” (Morgan 261).

Parenthetical citation when the author is mentioned in your text

• Immediately after author’s name - in parentheses

Page number

Postgate (245) believes that flush toilets are quite unhygienic.

As Postgate (245) says, ‘flush toilets are quite unhygienic devices’.

Direct Quote Conventions• Use three dots … to show you have

removed material from a quoteOriginal: ‘The most useful way of making a

world survey is to identify families of languages, preferably using criteria such as those worked out by myself in 1933, showing relationships by origin and development’ (Brook 98).

Quote : ‘The most useful way of making a world survey is to identify families of languages … showing relationships by origin and development’ (Brook, 1978:98).

Single quotations marksSingle quotation marks are used

when you’re referring to a quote within a quote.  In those instances, single quotation marks are placed around the innermost direct quote. 

"John F. Kennedy said, 'Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.'"

A final reminder• Whether you chose to quote directly

or to paraphrase, remember this:

• Whenever you put a quotation - direct or indirect - into a paragraph, the sentence in which it occurs must still remain grammatical