HOW TO USE OUTSIDE SOURCES

Why use sources? Add credibility to your writing Provide background Give several points of view Call attention to another position Highlight striking phrases,

sentences or passages Show that words are not your own Expand your writing with ideas that

are not yours

How to use sources

Direct Quote Paraphrase Summarize

Quotations

Only use a direct quotation when you have a good reason to. Quotations may be writing tools for the lazy.

Quotations

Identical to the original Use only a small bit of the original Match the source word for word Be attributed to the original author

(including page #)

Paraphrasing

Putting a passage into your words Attributed to the original source Shorter than the original Usually condenses information

slightly

Paraphrasing

Is better than quoting from an ordinary passage

Helps you to not quote too much Helps you to grasp the meaning

of your source

Paraphrasing

Is better than quoting from an ordinary passage

Helps you to not quote too much Helps you to grasp the meaning

of your source

Five steps to paraphrase

Read the original for complete understanding

Put the original away. Write on a clean piece of paper

Check your paraphrase against the original

Use quotation marks to identify any unique term or borrowed exactly from the source

Record the source (including the page) on your notes so that you can credit it easily if you decide to incorporate the material into your paper.

Still having trouble?

Change the sentence structure and then the words, or vice versa.

Break-up long sentences Combine shorter sentences Work on understanding the original

passage as a whole idea. Don’t paraphrase unnecessary material. You can use direct quotations in a

paraphrase as long as you cite them accordingly.

You do not have to omit details (like a summary).

In your paraphrase

Always cite the original source Include page numbers or other

identifying information when available

Summarizing

Summaries are significantly shorter than the original and take a broad overview of the source material.

Summarizing

Put the main idea(s) into your own words

include only the main point(s). attribute summarized ideas to the

original source

Parenthetical citation

Citation in the body of your writing In MLA style, it includes the

author’s last name and the page number

If there is no page number, you obviously cannot give the page number.

Examples of parenthetical citations for quotations with page #s

Jefferson attacked “taxation without representation” (32).

Examples of parenthetical citations for quotations with page #s

Dorothea Brooke noted that her sister was “a wonderful little almanac” (7).

Examples of parenthetical citations with no page #s

Fukuyama’s Our Posthuman Future includes many examples of this trend.

But Anthony Hunt has offered another view.

Kurosawa’s Rashomon was one of the first Japanese films to attract a Western audience.

Chan considers the same topic in the context of Hong Kong cinema.

Translating

Translating from another language into English without a citation is plagiarism.