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 |
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 to plagiarize : “to steal and pass off (the ideas and words of another) as one’s own” or to “present as new and original an idea or product derived from an existing source.”1 The University of Wisconsin–Madison takes this act of “intellectual burglary” very seriously and considers it to be a breach of academic integrity . Penalties are severe.
These materials will help you avoid plagiarism by teaching you how to properly integrate information from published sources into your own writing.
1. Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, 10th ed. (Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster, 1993), 888.
When using sources in your papers, you can avoid plagiarism by knowing what must be documented.
If you use an author’s specific word or words, you must place those words within quotation marks and you must credit the source.
Even if you use your own words, if you obtained the information or ideas you are presenting from a source, you must document the source.
Information : If a piece of information isn’t common knowledge (see below), you need to provide a source.
Ideas : An author’s ideas may include not only points made and conclusions drawn, but, for instance, a specific method or theory, the arrangement of material, or a list of steps in a process or characteristics of a medical condition. If a source provided any of these, you need to acknowledge the source.
You do not need to cite a source for material considered common knowledge:
General common knowledge is factual information considered to be in the public domain, such as birth and death dates of well-known figures, and generally accepted dates of military, political, literary, and other historical events. In general, factual information contained in multiple standard reference works can usually be considered to be in the public domain.
Field-specific common knowledge is “common” only within a particular field or specialty. It may include facts, theories, or methods that are familiar to readers within that discipline. For instance, you may not need to cite a reference to Piaget’s developmental stages in a paper for an education class or give a source for your description of a commonly used method in a biology report—but you must be sure that this information is so widely known within that field that it will be shared by your readers.
If in doubt, be cautious and cite the source. And in the case of both general and field-specific common knowledge, if you use the exact words of the reference source, you must use quotation marks and credit the source.
Should i paraphrase or quote.
In general, use direct quotations only if you have a good reason. Most of your paper should be in your own words. Also, it’s often conventional to quote more extensively from sources when you’re writing a humanities paper, and to summarize from sources when you’re writing in the social or natural sciences–but there are always exceptions.
In a literary analysis paper , for example, you”ll want to quote from the literary text rather than summarize, because part of your task in this kind of paper is to analyze the specific words and phrases an author uses.
In research papers , you should quote from a source
You should summarize or paraphrase when
General advice.
If you find that you can’t do A or B, this may mean that you don’t understand the passage completely or that you need to use a more structured process until you have more experience in paraphrasing.
The method below is not only a way to create a paraphrase but also a way to understand a difficult text.
Consider the following passage from Love and Toil (a book on motherhood in London from 1870 to 1918), in which the author, Ellen Ross, puts forth one of her major arguments:
Children of the poor at the turn of the century received little if any emotional or intellectual nurturing from their mothers, whose main charge was family survival. Working for and organizing household subsistence were what defined mothering. Next to this, even the children’s basic comfort was forced into the background (Ross, 1995).
According to Ross (1993), poor children at the turn of the century received little mothering in our sense of the term. Mothering was defined by economic status, and among the poor, a mother’s foremost responsibility was not to stimulate her children’s minds or foster their emotional growth but to provide food and shelter to meet the basic requirements for physical survival. Given the magnitude of this task, children were deprived of even the “actual comfort” (p. 9) we expect mothers to provide today.
You may need to go through this process several times to create a satisfactory paraphrase.
Paraphrasing is often defined as putting a passage from an author into “your own words.” But what are your own words? How different must your paraphrase be from the original?
The paragraphs below provide an example by showing a passage as it appears in the source, two paraphrases that follow the source too closely, and a legitimate paraphrase.
The student’s intention was to incorporate the material in the original passage into a section of a paper on the concept of “experts” that compared the functions of experts and nonexperts in several professions.
Critical care nurses function in a hierarchy of roles. In this open heart surgery unit, the nurse manager hires and fires the nursing personnel. The nurse manager does not directly care for patients but follows the progress of unusual or long-term patients. On each shift a nurse assumes the role of resource nurse. This person oversees the hour-by-hour functioning of the unit as a whole, such as considering expected admissions and discharges of patients, ascertaining that beds are available for patients in the operating room, and covering sick calls. Resource nurses also take a patient assignment. They are the most experienced of all the staff nurses. The nurse clinician has a separate job description and provides for quality of care by orienting new staff, developing unit policies, and providing direct support where needed, such as assisting in emergency situations. The clinical nurse specialist in this unit is mostly involved with formal teaching in orienting new staff. The nurse manager, nurse clinician, and clinical nurse specialist are the designated experts. They do not take patient assignments. The resource nurse is seen as both a caregiver and a resource to other caregivers. . . . Staff nurses have a hierarchy of seniority. . . . Staff nurses are assigned to patients to provide all their nursing care. (Chase, 1995, p. 156)
Critical care nurses have a hierarchy of roles. The nurse manager hires and fires nurses. S/he does not directly care for patients but does follow unusual or long-term cases. On each shift a resource nurse attends to the functioning of the unit as a whole, such as making sure beds are available in the operating room , and also has a patient assignment . The nurse clinician orients new staff, develops policies, and provides support where needed . The clinical nurse specialist also orients new staff, mostly by formal teaching. The nurse manager, nurse clinician, and clinical nurse specialist , as the designated experts, do not take patient assignments . The resource nurse is not only a caregiver but a resource to the other caregivers . Within the staff nurses there is also a hierarchy of seniority . Their job is to give assigned patients all their nursing care .
Notice that the writer has not only “borrowed” Chase’s material (the results of her research) with no acknowledgment, but has also largely maintained the author’s method of expression and sentence structure. The phrases in red are directly copied from the source or changed only slightly in form.
Even if the student-writer had acknowledged Chase as the source of the content, the language of the passage would be considered plagiarized because no quotation marks indicate the phrases that come directly from Chase. And if quotation marks did appear around all these phrases, this paragraph would be so cluttered that it would be unreadable.
Chase (1995) describes how nurses in a critical care unit function in a hierarchy that places designated experts at the top and the least senior staff nurses at the bottom. The experts — the nurse manager, nurse clinician, and clinical nurse specialist — are not involved directly in patient care. The staff nurses, in contrast, are assigned to patients and provide all their nursing care . Within the staff nurses is a hierarchy of seniority in which the most senior can become resource nurses: they are assigned a patient but also serve as a resource to other caregivers. The experts have administrative and teaching tasks such as selecting and orienting new staff, developing unit policies , and giving hands-on support where needed.
This paraphrase is a patchwork composed of pieces in the original author’s language (in red) and pieces in the student-writer’s words, all rearranged into a new pattern, but with none of the borrowed pieces in quotation marks. Thus, even though the writer acknowledges the source of the material, the underlined phrases are falsely presented as the student’s own.
In her study of the roles of nurses in a critical care unit, Chase (1995) also found a hierarchy that distinguished the roles of experts and others. Just as the educational experts described above do not directly teach students, the experts in this unit do not directly attend to patients. That is the role of the staff nurses, who, like teachers, have their own “hierarchy of seniority” (p. 156). The roles of the experts include employing unit nurses and overseeing the care of special patients (nurse manager), teaching and otherwise integrating new personnel into the unit (clinical nurse specialist and nurse clinician), and policy-making (nurse clinician). In an intermediate position in the hierarchy is the resource nurse, a staff nurse with more experience than the others, who assumes direct care of patients as the other staff nurses do, but also takes on tasks to ensure the smooth operation of the entire facility.
The writer has documented Chase’s material and specific language (by direct reference to the author and by quotation marks around language taken directly from the source). Notice too that the writer has modified Chase’s language and structure and has added material to fit the new context and purpose — to present the distinctive functions of experts and nonexperts in several professions.
Perhaps you’ve noticed that a number of phrases from the original passage appear in the legitimate paraphrase: critical care, staff nurses, nurse manager, clinical nurse specialist, nurse clinician, resource nurse.
If all these phrases were in red, the paraphrase would look much like the “patchwork” example. The difference is that the phrases in the legitimate paraphrase are all precise, economical, and conventional designations that are part of the shared language within the nursing discipline (in the too-close paraphrases, they’re red only when used within a longer borrowed phrase).
In every discipline and in certain genres (such as the empirical research report), some phrases are so specialized or conventional that you can’t paraphrase them except by wordy and awkward circumlocutions that would be less familiar (and thus less readable) to the audience.
When you repeat such phrases, you’re not stealing the unique phrasing of an individual writer but using a common vocabulary shared by a community of scholars.
Chase, S. K. (1995). The social context of critical care clinical judgment. Heart and Lung, 24, 154-162.
Introducing a quotation.
One of your jobs as a writer is to guide your reader through your text. Don’t simply drop quotations into your paper and leave it to the reader to make connections.
Integrating a quotation into your text usually involves two elements:
Often both the signal and the assertion appear in a single introductory statement, as in the example below. Notice how a transitional phrase also serves to connect the quotation smoothly to the introductory statement.
Ross (1993), in her study of poor and working-class mothers in London from 1870-1918 [signal], makes it clear that economic status to a large extent determined the meaning of motherhood [assertion]. Among this population [connection], “To mother was to work for and organize household subsistence” (p. 9).
The signal can also come after the assertion, again with a connecting word or phrase:
Illness was rarely a routine matter in the nineteenth century [assertion]. As [connection] Ross observes [signal], “Maternal thinking about children’s health revolved around the possibility of a child’s maiming or death” (p. 166).
Short direct prose.
Incorporate short direct prose quotations into the text of your paper and enclose them in double quotation marks:
According to Jonathan Clarke, “Professional diplomats often say that trying to think diplomatically about foreign policy is a waste of time.”
Begin longer quotations (for instance, in the APA system, 40 words or more) on a new line and indent the entire quotation (i.e., put in block form), with no quotation marks at beginning or end, as in the quoted passage from our Successful vs. Unsucessful Paraphrases page.
Rules about the minimum length of block quotations, how many spaces to indent, and whether to single- or double-space extended quotations vary with different documentation systems; check the guidelines for the system you’re using.
Quotations of up to 3 lines of poetry should be integrated into your sentence. For example:
In Julius Caesar, Antony begins his famous speech with “Friends, Romans, Countrymen, lend me your ears; / I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him” (III.ii.75-76).
Notice that a slash (/) with a space on either side is used to separate lines.
More than 3 lines of poetry should be indented. As with any extended (indented) quotation, do not use quotation marks unless you need to indicate a quotation within your quotation.
Parenthetical citations.
With short quotations, place citations outside of closing quotation marks, followed by sentence punctuation (period, question mark, comma, semi-colon, colon):
Menand (2002) characterizes language as “a social weapon” (p. 115).
With block quotations, check the guidelines for the documentation system you are using.
Place inside closing quotation marks when no parenthetical citation follows:
Hertzberg (2002) notes that “treating the Constitution as imperfect is not new,” but because of Dahl’s credentials, his “apostasy merits attention” (p. 85).
Place outside of closing quotation marks (or after a parenthetical citation).
Place inside closing quotation marks if the quotation is a question/exclamation:
Menand (2001) acknowledges that H. W. Fowler’s Modern English Usage is “a classic of the language,” but he asks, “Is it a dead classic?” (p. 114).
[Note that a period still follows the closing parenthesis.]
Place outside of closing quotation marks if the entire sentence containing the quotation is a question or exclamation:
How many students actually read the guide to find out what is meant by “academic misconduct”?
Use single quotation marks for the embedded quotation:
According to Hertzberg (2002), Dahl gives the U. S. Constitution “bad marks in ‘democratic fairness’ and ‘encouraging consensus'” (p. 90).
[The phrases “democratic fairness” and “encouraging consensus” are already in quotation marks in Dahl’s sentence.]
Quoting only a portion of the whole.
Use ellipsis points (. . .) to indicate an omission within a quotation–but not at the beginning or end unless it’s not obvious that you’re quoting only a portion of the whole.
Within quotations, use square brackets [ ] (not parentheses) to add your own clarification, comment, or correction.
Use [sic] (meaning “so” or “thus”) to indicate that a mistake is in the source you’re quoting and is not your own.
Information on summarizing and paraphrasing sources.
American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (4th ed.). (2000). Retrieved January 7, 2002, from http://www.bartleby.com/61/ Bazerman, C. (1995). The informed writer: Using sources in the disciplines (5th ed). Boston: Houghton Mifflin. Leki, I. (1995). Academic writing: Exploring processes and strategies (2nd ed.) New York: St. Martin?s Press, pp. 185-211.
Leki describes the basic method presented in C, pp. 4-5.
Spatt, B. (1999). Writing from sources (5th ed.) New York: St. Martin?s Press, pp. 98-119; 364-371.
The Writing Center has handouts explaining how to use many of the standard documentation systems. You may look at our general Web page on Documentation Systems, or you may check out any of the following specific Web pages.
If you’re not sure which documentation system to use, ask the course instructor who assigned your paper.
You may also consult the following guides:
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Summarizing, paraphrasing, and quoting.
This handout is available for download in DOCX format and PDF format .
This handout is intended to help you become more comfortable with the uses of and distinctions among summaries, paraphrases, and quotations.
These three ways of incorporating other writers' work into your own writing differ according to the closeness of your writing to the source writing.
Quotations, paraphrases, and summaries serve many purposes. You might use them to:
Writers frequently intertwine summaries, paraphrases, and quotations, including paraphrases of key points blended with quotations of striking or suggestive phrases as in the following example:
In his famous and influential work The Interpretation of Dreams , Sigmund Freud argues that dreams are the "royal road to the unconscious" (page #), expressing in coded imagery the dreamer's unfulfilled wishes through a process known as the "dream-work" (page #). According to Freud, actual but unacceptable desires are censored internally and subjected to coding through layers of condensation and displacement before emerging in a kind of rebus puzzle in the dream itself (page #).
Before you summarize a source in your paper, decide what your reader needs to know about that source in order to understand your argument. For example, if you are making an argument about a novel, avoid filling pages of your paper with details from the book that will distract or confuse your reader. Instead, add details sparingly, going only into the depth that is necessary for your reader to understand and appreciate your argument. Similarly, if you are writing a paper about a non-fiction article, highlight the most relevant parts of the argument for your reader, but do not include all of the background information and examples.
When you use any part of a source in your paper, you will always need to decide whether to quote directly from the source or to paraphrase it. Unless you have a good reason to quote directly from the source, you should paraphrase the source. Make it clear to your reader why you are presenting this particular material from a source, and be sure that you have represented the author accurately, that you have used your own words consistently, and that you have cited the source.
As a basic rule of thumb, you should only quote directly from a text when it is important for your reader to see the actual language used by the author of the source. While paraphrase and summary are effective ways to introduce your reader to someone's ideas, quoting directly from a text allows you to introduce your reader to the way those ideas are expressed by showing such details as language, syntax, and cadence. There are several ways to integrate quotations into your text; often a short quotation works well when integrated into a sentence, while longer quotations can stand alone. Whatever their length, be sure you have a good reason to include a direct quotation when you decide to do so.
You can become more comfortable using these three techniques by summarizing an essay of your choice, using paraphrases and quotations as you go. It might be helpful to follow these steps:
Credit: Adapted from the “Harvard Guide to Using Sources,” https://usingsources.fas.harvard.edu/summarizing-paraphrasing-and-quoting , and the Purdue OWL Guide, https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/using_research/quoting_paraphrasing_and_summarizing/index.html , 2020.
Paraphrasing, Summarizing and Quoting Paraphrasing is when you take someone else’s ideas or words and rephrase them as your own . Summarizing is to give the reader an overview of the key points of a text . Quoting is when you write exactly what someone else has said, word for word .
Anyone who has written a paper, especially an academic paper, has struggled to answer the question: what is the difference between paraphrasing, summarizing, and quoting, and which one should I do? Do I need to use all three? Do I need to provide a citation?
Every writer needs to know how to distinguish these three tasks to write well and avoid committing plagiarism, whether accidental or intentional. Let’s take a look at the differences between paraphrasing, summarizing, and quoting so that your writing will be polished and professional every time.
What is quoting, what is paraphrasing, what is summarizing, don’t commit accidental plagiarism.
Quoting is when you write exactly what someone else has said, word for word. Even if the original text contains punctuation , grammatical , or spelling errors , if you are quoting, you must include these errors!
A quote is indicated using double quotation marks, and the author and source should be cite d in either the text directly or in a footnote depending upon the citation format you are following .
There are two ways to handle a quote with incorrect spelling or grammar. The first is by correcting it using square brackets like so.
Guinea pig[s] make wonderful pets for small children.
The second is to write the Latin word sic in square brackets after the error to indicate that the error is in the original text. Sic is usually italicized. For example:
Guinea pig [ sic ] make wonderful pets for small children.
Quotes are great to use in academic writing when you want to discuss a particular author’s idea or phrasing. However, quotes should be used sparingly, and should be on the shorter side (less than a paragraph) in order to maximize the space for your own analysis and ideas. Think of quotes like salt- they add essential flavor to a dish, but should not be the main ingredient.
Unlike a quote, paraphrasing is when you take someone else’s ideas or words and rephrase them as your own. Paraphrasing is a vital skill for any writer, as much of academic writing is synthesizing information from different sources in your own words and adding your thoughts.
Many people who try to paraphrase accidentally end up committing plagiarism. Why? There are two reasons. The first reason is that people often just change a couple of words in the original writing and call it a paraphrase.
The second reason is that people fail to add the proper citation after paraphrasing. In fact, paraphrases should include the source just like a quote.
So how can you paraphrase properly? In addition to changing the specific words used, a good paraphrase changes the structure and even order of the original phrasing . Let’s take a brief example.
Original text: The pandemic as well as the war in Ukraine have stifled supply of commodities and goods and upended efficient distribution through global supply chains, forcing up prices of everyday goods such as fuel and food.
But, while higher prices will cause pain for households, growth in many parts of the world, while slow, is still ticking over and job markets have not collapsed (CNBC, May 30, 2022).
Paraphrase 1: The war in Ukraine and the pandemic have blocked the supply of commodities and goods and overturned efficient distribution through global supply chains, increasing prices of everyday goods such as fuel and food.
While higher prices will cause pain for households, growth in many parts of the world is still happening and job markets have not collapsed.
This paraphrase changes a few words around, but it is easy to see the resemblance to the original text. It is also missing a citation. This paraphrase is likely to be flagged by a plagiarism checker.
Paraphrase 2: The supply of goods and commodities has faltered due to the war in Ukraine and the pandemic as global supply chains struggle to maintain efficient distribution. This has resulted in higher prices of everyday goods like fuel and food.
Despite these difficulties, the majority of economies continue to see growth, albeit slow growth, and job markets remain solid. Households can expect short term pain from higher prices, but it seems unlikely that collapse is on the horizon (CNBC, May 30, 2022).
This paraphrase breaks up longer sentences into shorter ones, adding some of the author’s own commentary towards the end and artfully rephrasing the original ideas. A proper in-text citation is included. The second paraphrase is acceptable.
Summarizing is similar to paraphrasing, but there are a few key differences. First, the purpose of summarizing is to give the reader an overview of the key points of a text. A paraphrase re-words information from the original text, but it does not remove any of the original ideas.
Because of this difference, summarizing deletes sections, sometimes large sections, of the original text to leave only the most critical concepts and ideas. Paraphrasing is usually around the same length as the original writing, while summarizing is much shorter than the original.
Second, summarizing can include a quote or a paraphrase from the original text. However, a paraphrase will never contain additional paraphrasing. It may contain a quote, but only in rare circumstances.
If you use a quote in your summary, don’t forget to still cite the source. This can be as simple as mentioning the author’s name and then citing it in the references section. We could summarize the above text as follows:
CNBC notes that while events including the pandemic and war in Ukraine are upending the global supply chain leading to short-term fiscal pain for households, the global economy remains in a steady, if slow, state of growth overall.
Knowing the difference between quoting, paraphrasing, and summarizing is the key to avoiding accidental plagiarism. Forgetting to properly indicate a quote with quotation marks, paraphrasing incorrectly by just changing a few words, or summarizing without giving proper credit are all ways that authors can commit accidental plagiarism.
Fortunately, in addition to learning about the important differences between these three writing techniques, students, academics, and writers of all kinds can take advantage of AI writing tools as well. Tools like Trinka can help academic writers especially ensure that their writing is clear, accurate, and uses technical terminology properly.
It also reviews your references to make sure they are accurate. Enago’s plagiarism checker is another great tool to ensure that you haven’t failed to clearly paraphrase or forgotten to indicate a quote.
As you progress in your writing career, these tools can make your life easier and prevent you from making any critical errors. Give them a try today.
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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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An essential skill in writing is the ability to ethically and accurately share the ideas of others. Quotations, paraphrases and summaries are all methods of including research in your writing or presentations. Here is a quick overview of the difference between quoting, paraphrasing and summarizing:
PARAPHRASING
SUMMARIZING
Work Cited McMillan Cottom, Tressie. “Sleep Around Before You Marry An Argument.” Essaying, Substack, 8 March 2021, https://tressie.substack.com/p/sleep-around-before-you-marry-an?utm_source=url
Note: This page reflects the 9th ed. of the MLA Handbook, published in April 2021.
The guidelines and examples below will help you determine when and how to appropriately incorporate research into your writing.
For the drop-down menus below, click on the plus (+) sign to open the example; click on the arrow to obtain a link for each specific item that you can copy or email to yourself.
While you are still gaining experience and confidence in writing, there is often a temptation to rely heavily on the words and ideas of others. You might think, “How can I possibly say it as well as the expert?” or “How will anyone believe me unless I add in exhaustive research?” However, having confidence in your own ideas is one of the hallmarks of a more experienced writer, and this means that when incorporating the ideas of others, we should not allow them to “take over” our own ideas.
In addition, sometimes it is better to paraphrase or summarize an idea to keep it brief, rather than having an excessively long quotation. (See below for more info on both paraphrasing and summarizing ideas.)
That said, there are a number of reasons why we might want to quote the ideas of others. Here are some of the most common:
Trying to balance your ideas and those of your sources takes a bit of skill and finesse. The goal is to make the ideas (both yours and those of your sources) feel and look like a conversation—a mutual exchange of voices and ideas that helps you and your audience work out your reasoning on a topic. (You can read more about this idea of academic conversations here.) Sometimes, in the process of trying to incorporate the ideas of others, things fall a bit short of the ideal. Here are some common missteps that can lead to your writing seeming less polished:
For more on how to effectively incorporate evidence into your writing or presentation, see the handout “What Is Evidence?” here on VCU Writes.
*NOTE : This goal is more applicable to some writing situations than others. In a lab report or literature review, for example, the majority of your discussion might include restating/sharing research. Always confirm with your instructor if you are not sure what the appropriate balance of source material should be for your specific writing situation.
When quoting material from a source, wording and punctuation should be reproduced exactly as it is in the original. If you need to alter the quotation in any way, you must indicate this through punctuation or added material. Otherwise, you will be misrepresenting the ideas of others.
When paraphrasing or summarizing source info, you should still use quotation marks and cite any distinctive wording that you kept from the original.
For examples of how to correctly alter a quotation, see the “quoting material with alternate spellings or errors,” “omitting part of a quotation,” and “adding to or changing material in a quotation” sections below.
In certain instances, you do not need to cite information. Some examples include “common knowledge,” “passing mentions,” allusions, or epigraphs. To learn more about these situations and why we don’t need to cite them, see “when documentation (aka citation) is NOT needed” on the MLA parenthetical citations page of this site.
A. Quotations that are fewer than four lines should be included in the text and enclosed in quotation marks. If you introduce the quotation in a signal phrase with the author’s full name (or source title, if the author’s name is not provided), include the page number in parentheses after the end of the quotation and before the period. It is not necessary to repeat the name in the parenthetical citation:
On the efficacy and importance of religion, David Hume asserts , “The life of man is of no greater importance to the universe than that of an oyster” (319) .
B. If you do not introduce the quotation with the author’s full name (or source title, if the author’s name is not provided), include the author’s last name and page number in parentheses after the end of the quotation and before the period:
When considering the efficacy and importance of religion, one must understand that “the life of man is of no greater importance to the universe than that of an oyster” (Hume 319) .
C. If the quotation appears mid-sentence , end the passage with any applicable punctuation and a closing quotation mark, finish the sentence, and then cite the source in parentheses at the end of the sentence :
Based on the findings, Sommerfeldt argued that “the normative role of public relations in democracy is best perceived as creating the social capital that facilitates access to spheres of public discussion,” challenging dominant notions of democratic discourse (664).
(An exception to the mid-sentence example above would be if you have more than one source cited in the same sentence. In that case, include the parenthetical citation directly after each quotation in the sentence.)
Quotations that are more than four lines should be displayed in block quotation format . This is an indented passage that does not require quotation marks (the indent serves in place of quotation marks):
The question of voters’ reasons for picking a specific candidate or side in an issue is a complicated one.
Voters should have good grounds for thinking that they are voting for policies or candidates that will promote the common good. In general, there are three ways that voters will violate this norm. Bad voters might vote out of 1) ignorance, 2) irrational beliefs, or 3) immoral beliefs. In contrast, good voters not only know what policies candidates will try to implement, but also know whether those policies would tend to promote or harm the common good. Voters should aim to promote the common good rather than narrow self-interest. (Brennan 37)
Given that voters often don’t vote with the common good in mind, what steps can the community take to help change that?
Note that the period at the end of the block quotation is placed at the end of the sentence, rather than after the parenthetical citation. After the quotation is completed, continue your paragraph on the left margin (i.e., don’t indent as if it were a new paragraph).
If the quotation includes an alternate spelling (i.e., British English) or an error in grammar, punctuation, or spelling, write the word “sic” in brackets directly after the alternate spelling or error inside the quotation:
“VCU is well known for it’s [sic] diversity” (Jones 43).
This lets the reader know that it is the original writer’s spelling or error.
It is often useful to omit material when you do not need all words or sentences included in the passage you are citing. If you omit material, use three spaced periods (. . .) within a sentence (the three periods are called an ellipsis) to indicate that you have omitted material from the original source:
Ariel Levy notes that “in the decades since the McKennas’ odyssey, the drug . . . has become increasingly popular in the United States” (34).
If you omit material after the end of a sentence, use four spaced periods (. . . .) . This is a period, followed by an ellipsis.
A. Though direct quotations must be accurate, the first letter of the first word in the quotation may be changed either as uppercase or lowercase to match the flow of your sentence. Additionally, the punctuation mark ending a sentence may also be changed if necessary for appropriate syntax.
B. It is sometimes important to insert material when it will help the reader understand a quotation. When inserting material, enclose it in brackets :
Original quotation : “By programming a variety of Twitter bots to respond to racist abuse against black users, he showed that a simple one-tweet rebuke can actually reduce online racism” (Yong 45).
Revised quotation with inserted material for clarity : “By programming a variety of Twitter bots to respond to racist abuse against black users, he [Kevin Munger] showed that a simple one-tweet rebuke can actually reduce online racism” (Yong 45).
C. If you decide to italicize part or all of a quotation to emphasize a point you’re trying to make, add “emphasis added” in the parenthetical citation directly after the quotation :
The Dalai Lama has said, “Whether you call it Buddhism or another religion, self-discipline, that’s important. Self-discipline with awareness of consequences” (1, emphasis added) .
Note : If words were already italicized in the quoted material, you do not need to include the “emphasis added” designation. It is assumed that all formatting is original to the quotation unless you indicate otherwise.
When a writer uses another person’s idea but puts it in their own words, the writer is paraphrasing . We use paraphrasing when we wish to preserve the original ideas in their entirety (as opposed to summarizing the main points). Some reasons a writer might choose to do this include preserving the flow of their writing, or if quoting the material directly would take up too much space.
It is important to remember that just as with quotations, paraphrased material requires an in-text citation to give credit to the original author.
When paraphrasing or referencing an idea from another source, make sure that you provide enough information for the reader to easily locate the passage from the source you reference (for example, the page number or the paragraph number).
Example paraphrase : Original passage : “Reading around a subject is about going beyond the object of study to unpack, examine, or pick apart what the person or the object of study represents” (McMillan Cottom).
Unacceptable paraphrase : It’s important to read around the subject that we are studying by examining what that subject represents.
Acceptable Paraphrase : McMillan Cottom contends that, in addition to reading about a subject itself, we also need to read about the ideas and concepts that are ingrained in a subject in order to truly understand its deeper meaning (1).
Work Cited McMillan Cottom, Tressie. “Sleep Around Before You Marry An Argument.” Essaying , Substack, 8 March 2021, https://tressie.substack.com/p/sleep-around-before-you-marry-an?utm_source=url
Many writers are reluctant to paraphrase because they worry about making mistakes and unintentionally plagiarizing ideas in their writing. This is a valid concern, but with practice this skill can be developed just like any other. Learning to paraphrase effectively can demonstrate a deeper understanding and command of the ideas you are discussing, and aid in the flow of ideas in your essay or presentation. That said, there are some common mistakes that should be avoided:
To make sure that you don’t fall prey to the above mistakes, read the passage you wish to paraphrase and then put it aside. Without looking at it, try to think about how you can say it in your own words, and write it down. Make sure you aren’t including your own ideas—just try to capture the essence of the original in as clear and straightforward a manner as possible.
As explained at the top of this page, a summary is when a writer wants to provide a brief overview of a larger idea. This is distinct from a paraphrase, which usually focuses on a single sentence or paragraph. A writer can summarize an entire essay, a section of an article, or the overall main idea of a composition. While summarizing is perhaps not used as frequently as quoting or paraphrasing in academic writing, it can be an effective critical thinking and reading tool. In fact, your instructor may ask you to do a summary as part of your reading and research gathering to demonstrate your understanding of the material. In most academic writing, summaries should be used sparingly, but can be an efficient way to provide additional context to the intended audience.
It is important to remember that just as with quotations and paraphrases, summarized material requires an in-text citation to give credit to the original author.
When summarizing an idea from another source, make sure that you provide enough information for the reader to easily locate the passage from the source you reference (for example, the page number or the paragraph number).
Example summary :
The following summary focuses on an online article written by Tressie McMillan Cottom, which you can read in full here .
In Tressie McMillan Cottom’s article, “Sleep Around Before You Marry an Argument,” she describes the process of preparing to write about a subject and develop an argument. For her, the first and most important stage in this process is reading; however, she isn’t focused on simply reading everything ever written on a topic, but “reading around the subject.” In her view, the end goal is not just to compile facts, but to develop a thorough, but interesting final product that will connect with your audience. (1)
McMillan Cottom, Tressie. “Sleep Around Before You Marry An Argument.” Essaying , Substack, 8 March 2021, https://tressie.substack.com/p/sleep- around-before-you-marry-an?utm_source=url
There are some common mistakes that should be avoided when summarizing a source:
To make sure that you don’t fall prey to the above mistakes, read the item you wish to summarize and then put it aside. Without looking at it, try to think about how you would explain the main ideas from the source to someone else in your own words, and write that down. Make sure you don’t add your own analysis or opinion—just try to capture the essence of the original in as clear and straightforward a manner as possible.
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
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.
Writing in college often means using ideas from other sources. There are times when it may be best to quote the sources directly, while other times may be better served by paraphrasing or summary. In order to decide which technique to use, it is helpful to think about how you are using the information in your paper.
Definitions
How to decide which approach to use
Direct quotations can be useful when the exact wording of a statement is important. The exact wording of a quotation may be significant to your claim. In example 1 below, the contrast between adjectives are important to the claim. Also, direct quotation may be important when you want to make sure you are being precise in representing the author’s position. Finally, you might choose to use a direct quotation when the original statement is particularly well written or structurally persuasive. If a statement uses elements such as parallelism or alliteration, you might not be able to recreate that same effect. An important element of the quotation in example 1 is the parallel structure between "lowest and vilest alleys" and "smiling and beautiful countryside."
When Sherlock tells Watson "the lowest and vilest alleys in London do not present a more dreadful record of sin than does the smiling and beautiful countryside,” he intensifies suspense by equating innocence with evil ("The Adventure of the Copper Beeches" 502).
Paraphrasing is usually expected in research and argumentative essays. These type of papers benefit from paraphrasing because it shows that you understand the source and are therefore a reliable voice on that source. Paraphrasing can make the evidence more straightforward. Another reason to paraphrase is to adjust your tone for your audience. If the assignment asks you to write a presentation for your classmates, you do not want to quote scientific jargon. Your source is only persuasive and supportive if your readers understand it. The paraphrase of the quotation below is shorter, and more direct.
Original quotation: “In the case of Facebook, it has changed its format multiple times, and merged other literacy practices – email, instant messaging, games – into its structure in an attempt to keep users on the site” (Keller 2014, 74).
Paraphrase: Facebook has tried to hold on to its users by incorporating new functions like games and email (Keller 2014).
Summaries can also be used in reviews, research papers, and argumentative essays. They have a similar purpose as paraphrasing, but they condense a large work (i.e. an entire chapter, article, or book) into a shorter text such as a paragraph or a short essay. Summaries allow you to focus your description on the parts that are relevant to your discussion. Example 3 briefly summarizes Anne of Green Gables, focusing on Anne as a strong female character and could lead into a discussion of how the series teaches girls self-respect while also cherishing romance.
Anne of Green Gables is a book series that follows the life of an unruly red-headed orphan as she grows from an romantic adolescent into an independent young woman.
Writing Center consultants can help you if you aren't sure what style of source integration works best for an assignment. Some essays require a mix of methods. Consultants can help you determine if your writing needs a better balance of integration methods. If you are less familiar with one of the three uses of sources, the Writing Center can give you additional pointers.
See our section on how to incorporate sources for more on punctuating and introducing quotations. Also see our section on avoiding plagiarism to learn how to paraphrase and summarize.
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Whenever you refer to ideas, information, statistics, images, concepts, facts or anything else that you found from an outside source, you need to let your readers know where you found that information. Typically, this is done by quoting, paraphrasing, or summarizing the information, and then citing the authors that produced it.
What's the difference between quoting, paraphrasing, and summarizing, and when do you do it?
Quoting - using an original section of text, word-for-word. When do you use a quotation?
Paraphrasing - putting information into your own words. Paraphrases are generally the same length or slightly shorter than the original text. Paraphrasing well shows your understanding of the source material. Paraphrasing may be used instead of a summary because it is more specific. You may choose to paraphrase when:
Summarizing - taking the key points of source text and putting them into your own words. Summaries are generally much shorter than the original text. You may choose to summarize:
In every case, you will need to cite the original source text using footnotes or endnotes, and include the citation for the original source on your Bibliography page.
For short quotations used in the text of the paper, use quotation marks. A superscript number should be inserted directly after the final quotation mark. For quotations longer than 5 lines, you should use a block quotation. Block quotes use no quotation marks. The complete quotation is indented 5 spaces from the left margin, has a space before and after the quote, is usually single spaced, and is often introduced with a colon. A superscript number should be inserted after the last word in the block.
In Text Quotation
On the subject of growing old, Mark Twain said "Aging is an issue of mind over matter. If you don't mind, it doesn't matter." 15
Block Quotation
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The following is a sample essay you can practice quoting, paraphrasing, and summarizing. Examples of each task are provided at the end of the essay for further reference. Here is the citation for Sipher's essay:
Sipher, Roger. “So That Nobody Has to Go to School If They Don't Want To.” The New York Times , 19 Dec. 1977, p. 31.
by Roger Sipher
A decline in standardized test scores is but the most recent indicator that American education is in trouble.
One reason for the crisis is that present mandatory-attendance laws force many to attend school who have no wish to be there. Such children have little desire to learn and are so antagonistic to school that neither they nor more highly motivated students receive the quality education that is the birthright of every American.
The solution to this problem is simple: Abolish compulsory-attendance laws and allow only those who are committed to getting an education to attend.
This will not end public education. Contrary to conventional belief, legislators enacted compulsory-attendance laws to legalize what already existed. William Landes and Lewis Solomon, economists, found little evidence that mandatory-attendance laws increased the number of children in school. They found, too, that school systems have never effectively enforced such laws, usually because of the expense involved.
There is no contradiction between the assertion that compulsory attendance has had little effect on the number of children attending school and the argument that repeal would be a positive step toward improving education. Most parents want a high school education for their children. Unfortunately, compulsory attendance hampers the ability of public school officials to enforce legitimate educational and disciplinary policies and thereby make the education a good one.
Private schools have no such problem. They can fail or dismiss students, knowing such students can attend public school. Without compulsory attendance, public schools would be freer to oust students whose academic or personal behavior undermines the educational mission of the institution.
Has not the noble experiment of a formal education for everyone failed? While we pay homage to the homily, "You can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink," we have pretended it is not true in education.
Ask high school teachers if recalcitrant students learn anything of value. Ask teachers if these students do any homework. Quite the contrary, these students know they will be passed from grade to grade until they are old enough to quit or until, as is more likely, they receive a high school diploma. At the point when students could legally quit, most choose to remain since they know they are likely to be allowed to graduate whether they do acceptable work or not.
Abolition of archaic attendance laws would produce enormous dividends.
First, it would alert everyone that school is a serious place where one goes to learn. Schools are neither day-care centers nor indoor street corners. Young people who resist learning should stay away; indeed, an end to compulsory schooling would require them to stay away.
Second, students opposed to learning would not be able to pollute the educational atmosphere for those who want to learn. Teachers could stop policing recalcitrant students and start educating.
Third, grades would show what they are supposed to: how well a student is learning. Parents could again read report cards and know if their children were making progress.
Fourth, public esteem for schools would increase. People would stop regarding them as way stations for adolescents and start thinking of them as institutions for educating America's youth.
Fifth, elementary schools would change because students would find out early they had better learn something or risk flunking out later. Elementary teachers would no longer have to pass their failures on to junior high and high school.
Sixth, the cost of enforcing compulsory education would be eliminated. Despite enforcement efforts, nearly 15 percent of the school-age children in our largest cities are almost permanently absent from school.
Communities could use these savings to support institutions to deal with young people not in school. If, in the long run, these institutions prove more costly, at least we would not confuse their mission with that of schools.
Schools should be for education. At present, they are only tangentially so. They have attempted to serve an all-encompassing social function, trying to be all things to all people. In the process they have failed miserably at what they were originally formed to accomplish.
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 suffers. Second, that grades would be reflective of effort and elementary school teachers wouldn't feel compelled to pass failing students. Third, that schools would both save money and save face with the elimination of compulsory-attendance laws.
Example paraphrase of the essay's conclusion: Roger Sipher concludes his essay by insisting that schools have failed to fulfill their primary duty of education because they try to fill multiple social functions (par. 17).
Example quotation: According to Roger Sipher, a solution to the perceived crisis of American education is to "[a]bolish compulsory-attendance laws and allow only those who are committed to getting an education to attend" (par. 3).
A paraphrase restates another’s idea (or your own previously published idea) in your own words. Paraphrasing allows you to summarize and synthesize information from one or more sources, focus on significant information, and compare and contrast relevant details.
Published authors paraphrase their sources most of the time, rather than directly quoting the sources; student authors should emulate this practice by paraphrasing more than directly quoting.
When you paraphrase, cite the original work using either the narrative or parenthetical citation format .
Although it is not required to provide a page or paragraph number in the citation, you may include one (in addition to the author and year) when it would help interested readers locate the relevant passage within a long or complex work (e.g., a book).
Webster-Stratton (2016) described a case example of a 4-year-old girl who showed an insecure attachment to her mother; in working with the family dyad, the therapist focused on increasing the mother’s empathy for her child (pp. 152–153).
These guidelines pertain to when you read a primary source and paraphrase it yourself. If you read a paraphrase of a primary source in a published work and want to cite that source, it is best to read and cite the primary source directly if possible; if not, use a secondary source citation .
Paraphrases are covered in the seventh edition APA Style manuals in the Publication Manual Sections 8.23 and 8.24 and the Concise Guide Sections 8.23 and 8.24
A paraphrase may continue for several sentences. In such cases, cite the work being paraphrased on first mention. Once the work has been cited, it is not necessary to repeat the citation as long as the context of the writing makes it clear that the same work continues to be paraphrased.
Velez et al. (2018) found that for women of color, sexism and racism in the workplace were associated with poor work and mental health outcomes, including job-related burnout, turnover intentions, and psychological distress. However, self-esteem, person–organization fit, and perceived organizational support mediated these effects. Additionally, stronger womanist attitudes—which acknowledge the unique challenges faced by women of color in a sexist and racist society—weakened the association of workplace discrimination with psychological distress. These findings underscore the importance of considering multiple forms of workplace discrimination in clinical practice and research with women of color, along with efforts to challenge and reduce such discrimination.
If the paraphrase continues into a new paragraph, reintroduce the citation. If the paraphrase incorporates multiple sources or switches among sources, repeat the citation so the source is clear. Read your sentences carefully to ensure you have cited sources appropriately.
Play therapists can experience many symptoms of impaired wellness, including emotional exhaustion or reduced ability to empathize with others (Elwood et al., 2011; Figley, 2002), disruption in personal relationships (Elwood et al., 2011; Robinson-Keilig, 2014), decreased satisfaction with work (Elwood et al., 2011), avoidance of particular situations (Figley, 2002; O’Halloran & Linton, 2000), and feelings or thoughts of helplessness (Elwood et al., 2011; Figley, 2002; O’Halloran & Linton, 2000).
What is paraphrasing, when should i paraphrase.
Mr. President, I confess that I do not entirely approve of this Constitution at present; but, Sir, I am not sure I shall never approve it; for, having lived long, I have experienced many instances of being obliged, by better information or fuller consideration, to change my opinions even on important subjects, which I once thought right, but found to be otherwise.
This page is adapted from "Paraphrasing. Revision and adaption of the page using sources in your writing" by Susan Oaks , College Writing , Empire State College, SUNY OER Services is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
When writing papers or essays, you often need to use information from other sources. Two ways to do this are summarizing and paraphrasing. These methods might look alike at first, but they have different uses and features. Let's look at how paraphrasing is different from summarizing and when to use each one.
The main difference between paraphrasing and summarizing is what they do and how much they cover. Paraphrasing means saying specific information in your own words but keeping its original meaning. Summarizing means taking a more significant work and making it shorter by focusing on the main points.
Think of it this way: you paraphrase when you want to present someone's idea with about the same amount of detail but in your own words. You summarize when you must give the main points of a longer text or argument in a shorter form.
Paraphrasing is writing someone else's ideas or information using your own words and sentence structure. When you paraphrase, you usually:
Paraphrasing is helpful when you want to include specific information or ideas from a source without using exact quotes. It shows that you understand the material well enough to say it in your own words.
Summarizing means taking the main ideas of a longer text and making them short and clear. When you summarize, you usually:
Summarizing is useful when you need to give an overview of a larger text or when you want to include the main points of a source without going into details.
To better understand the difference between paraphrasing and summarizing, let's look at some examples.
Let's look at how paraphrasing works in practice:
Original text: "The Industrial Revolution, which took place from the 18th to 19th centuries, was a period during which predominantly agrarian, rural societies in Europe and America became industrial and urban."
Paraphrased version: From the 18th to 19th centuries, a big change called the Industrial Revolution happened in Europe and America. During this time, places where most people farmed and lived in the countryside changed into places with factories and big cities.
Now, let's see how summarizing is different:
Original text (multiple paragraphs about climate change): "Climate change is a long-term shift in global or regional climate patterns. Often climate change refers specifically to the rise in global temperatures from the mid-20th century to present.
The primary driver of current climate change is the human expansion of the "greenhouse effect" — warming that results when the atmosphere traps heat radiating from Earth toward space. Certain gasses in the atmosphere block heat from escaping.
The impacts of climate change are far-reaching and include more frequent and severe weather events, rising sea levels, and biodiversity loss. These changes have significant implications for human societies and ecosystems worldwide."
Summarized version: Climate change means long-term changes in weather patterns around the world. It's mostly caused by human activities that make the Earth trap more heat. This leads to many problems like worse storms, higher sea levels, and harm to plants and animals. These changes affect people and nature all over the world.
Choosing between paraphrasing and summarizing depends on what you're trying to do in your writing. Here are some tips:
Paraphrase when:
Summarize when:
Remember, for both methods, you need to give credit to the source to avoid copying.
Knowing the difference between paraphrasing and summarizing is important for good writing in school and work. Paraphrasing lets you restate specific information in your own words, while summarizing helps you shorten larger chunks of text into their main points. Both skills are useful for including sources in your writing and showing that you understand the material.
Writing good summaries and paraphrases can be tricky, even for experienced writers. That's where Aithor can help. Aithor is like a digital wordsmith that can assist you in shortening complex ideas into clear summaries or rephrasing passages in new ways.
Aithor can give ideas for new ways to express your thoughts while keeping their main meaning.
What is self-plagiarism & how to avoid it.
Have you ever thought about whether using your own work again could be seen as copying? It might seem strange, but self-plagiarism is a real issue in school and work writing. Let's look at what this means and learn how to avoid self-plagiarism so your work stays original and ethical. What is self-plagiarism? Self-plagiarism, also called auto-plagiarism or duplicate plagiarism, happens when a writer uses parts of their old work without saying where it came from. This isn't just about copying w ...
A correct usage of dialogues in essays may seem quite difficult at first sight. Still there are special issues, for instance, narrative or descriptive papers, where this literary technique will be a good helper in depicting anyone's character. How to add dialogues to the work? How to format them correctly? Let's discuss all relevant matters to master putting conversation episodes into academic essays. Essay Dialogue: Definition & Purpose A dialogue is a literary technique for presenting a con ...
Your professor says that it is necessary to avoid plagiarism when writing a research paper, essay, or any project based on the works of other people, so to say, any reference source. But what does plagiarism mean? What types of it exist? And how to formulate the material to get rid of potential bad consequences while rendering original texts? Today we try to answer these very questions. Plagiarism: Aspect in Brief Plagiarism is considered to be a serious breach, able to spoil your successful ...
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Academic assignments require much knowledge and skill. One of the most important points is rendering and interpreting material one has ever studied. A person should avoid presenting word-for-word plagiarism but express his or her thoughts and ideas as much as possible. However, every fine research is certain to be based on the previous issues, data given, or concepts suggested. And here it's high time to differentiate plagiarism and paraphrasing, to realize its peculiarities and cases of usage. ...
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When we write something for school, work, or just for fun, we often use ideas and facts from other places. This makes us ask: what is a citation in writing? Let's find out what this means and why it's really important when we write. What is Citation? Citation in research refers to the practice of telling your readers where you got your information, ideas, or exact words from. It's like showing them the path to the original information you used in your writing. When you cite something, you us ...
Plagiarism has been a challenge for a long time in writing. It's easy to find information online, which might make some people use it without saying where it came from. But plagiarism isn't just taking someone else's words. Sometimes, we might do it by accident or even use our own old work without mentioning it. When people plagiarize, they can get into serious trouble. They might lose others' trust or even face legal problems. Luckily, we now have tools to detect plagiarism. But what about PDF ...
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Reporting by Nora Eckert in Detroit and Daniel Wiessner in Albany, New York; Additional reporting by Akash Sriram in Bengaluru, Jarrett Renshaw in Philadelphia, Tim Reid in Washington, Ben Klayman in Detroit, and Stephanie Kelly in New York; Editing by Tasim Zahid, Rosalba O'Brien, Matthew Lewis and Jacqueline Wong
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Dan Wiessner (@danwiessner) reports on labor and employment and immigration law, including litigation and policy making. He can be reached at [email protected].
Gaza ceasefire talks in Doha paused on Friday with negotiators to meet again next week seeking an agreement to end fighting between Israel and Hamas and free remaining hostages, as U.S. President Joe Biden said "we're not there yet".
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The major indexes are trading between gains and losses today. but they're still on track to snap weekly losing streaks..
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The stock market is wrapping up what looks like its best week of the year on somewhat shakier footing.
The three major indexes are shifting between gains and losses on Friday. Traders are digesting a raft of economic data this week, the latest of which was Friday's disappointing housing construction figures and August's consumer sentiment reading .
Mild inflation reports, strong retail sales numbers, and solid earnings from Walmart have helped calm fears of a recession, boosting stocks earlier this week. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite notched a sixth straight day of gains on Thursday. The Dow has risen over the past three days.
Whether the indexes can extend that daily winning streak isn't the biggest of concerns. What matters more is whether the S&P 500 and Nasdaq can notch their first weekly gain in four weeks.
2 hours ago
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Consumer sentiment reading erases s&p 500's decline.
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U.s. housing starts slumped in july as mortgage rates bite, stock futures falling after disappointing construction data.
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Gold futures rise on weaker dollar, chinese retail investor buying.
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It's smooth sailing for the stock market today.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 118 points, or 0.3%, in a breezy Friday afternoon session. The S&P 500 was up 0.2%. The Nasdaq Composite was up 0.2%. The Russell 2000 was up 0.3%.
Though the gains were modest, the big indexes were rallying broadly. Within the S&P, 308 stocks were rising, while 20 of the 30 Dow stocks were up on the day.
The Dow is on track to rise 1,189 points this week, or 3%. That would be its largest percent gain since Nov. 3, 2023. The S&P 500 is up nearly 4% this week. It would be the market benchmark’s best week since Nov. 3, 2023. The Nasdaq Composite was leading the big three with a 5.3% gain this week. If the gains hold, it would be the tech-heavy index’s best week since Nov. 3, 2023, as well.
The VIX was down to 14.91 after the market’s fear gauge spiked as high as 65.73. A wave of recent data have pushed back strongly against fears about a recession. Though the economy is cooling, the consumer has remained resilient, recent data show.
Andrew Brenner, head of international fixed income at NatAlliance Securities, argued this morning that he didn't expect a lot of volatility, given it's one of the last remaining "summer Fridays" where Wall Street pros head to the coast and start the weekend early. Brenner said he planned to cruise on a relative's boat later today. Hopefully his sailing is as smooth as the markets today.
DJIA (Dow Jones Global)
S&P 500
SPX (S&P US)
COMP (Nasdaq)
The clouds parted on Wall Street, and the market’s best week of the year rolled on.
The Dow was up 71 points, 0.2%. The S&P 500 was up 0.2%. The Nasdaq Composite was up 0.3%. The Russell 2000 was up 0.2%.
Stocks initially were down following a weak update on housing starts, but the market seemed to shrug it off around noon. It helps that the University of Michigan’s August update on consumer sentiment came in stronger than expected, reinforcing the recent view that the consumer is staying resilient despite some cracks popping up in the economy.
Markets will turn their attention to Jackson Hole next week, where Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell will keep fed watchers apprised on how he views the labor market and the fight with inflation.
4 hours ago
With worries about cracks in the economy front and center, the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta cut its forecast for third-quarter U.S. GDP.
The Atlanta Fed’s GDPNow estimate now forecasts the U.S. economy to grow at a 2% rate in the third quarter, down from 2.4% on Thursday and 2.9% at the start of the week. Yesterday’s revision followed the consumer price index for July, which came in cooler than expected.
The Atlanta Fed said the Census Bureau’s housing starts report this morning sent the forecast of third-quarter real gross private domestic investment to a decline of 2.4% from a flat forecast.
Stocks were down modestly in the wake of the housing starts update. The Dow was down nine points, or essentially flat. The S&P 500 was down 0.2%. The Nasdaq Composite was down 0.2%.
Wall Street has been getting mixed signals in recent weeks. The University of Michigans said today its consumer confidence index rose more than economists expected in August. That followed stronger-than-expected retail sales growth, reported yesterday by the Census Bureau.
The next major economic report may be the August jobs report though Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s Jackson Hole Economic Symposium speech next week will be appointment viewing for Wall Street.
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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.
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.
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. Citing the source of any quote, paraphrase, or summary is an important step to avoid plagiarism.
Paraphrasing means taking a quote and putting it in your own words. You translate what another writer has said into terms both you and your reader can more easily understand. Unlike summarizing, which focuses on the big picture, paraphrasing is involved with single lines or passages.
Quoting, Summarizing & Paraphrasing Quoting, summarizing, and paraphrasing are all ways of integrating source material into your writing. Understanding the diferences 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 similarities and diferences between these three approaches.
The quote is also lacking one quotation markand a citation to attribute the initial author. Meanwhile, the good example is completely identical to the original text and features a correct citation, making it a great example of a quote in use. What is Paraphrasing?
Summary must be cited with in-text citations and on your reference page. Summarize when: You want to establish background or offer an overview of a topic. You want to describe knowledge (from several sources) about a topic. You want to determine the main ideas of a single source. Paraphrasing.
Changing only a few words is not sufficient in paraphrasing/ summarizing. Instead, you need to completely rephrase the author's ideas in your own words. You do not need to use quotation marks. Always use in-text citations when you paraphrase or summarize, to let the reader know that the information comes from another source.
Should I paraphrase or quote? In general, use direct quotations only if you have a good reason. Most of your paper should be in your own words. Also, it's often conventional to quote more extensively from sources when you're writing a humanities paper, and to summarize from sources when you're writing in the social or natural sciences-but there are always exceptions.
Quoting, Paraphrasing, and Summarizing Sources The three most common techniques for writing with evidence are direct quotes, summarizing, and paraphrasing. tes are probably what most people think of first as a way to use academic evidence. In the U.
Paraphrase, summary, and analysis are important for accomplishing different jobs in the essay: Quotation allows the writer to fully use the original author's words using quotation marks in order to make a point or to provide support for an idea. Example: The professor said, "The sun is shining.". Paraphrase enables the writer to ...
What are the differences among summarizing, paraphrasing, and quoting? These three ways of incorporating other writers' work into your own writing differ according to the closeness of your writing to the source writing.
Difference between Paraphrasing, Summarizing and Quoting? Anyone who has written a paper, especially an academic paper, has struggled to answer the question.
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 ...
What's the difference between quoting and paraphrasing? How do you summarize source material? In this post, we discuss quoting, paraphrasing, and summarizing sources in research papers.
Quotations, paraphrases and summaries are all methods of including research in your writing or presentations. 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 ...
Paraphrasing. Paraphrasing is taking the idea of a sentence or passage, and putting it into your own words. Paraphrasing is NOT copying the sentence and replacing or changing a few words to be different from the original. (This is called "patchwriting" and may trigger plagiarism-detecting programs.) You should paraphrase when the idea or ...
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.
What is the difference between quotation, paraphrase, and summary? Writing in college often means using ideas from other sources. There are times when it may be best to quote the sources directly, while other times may be better served by paraphrasing or summary. In order to decide which technique to use, it is helpful to think about how you are using the information in your paper.
Quoting, Paraphrasing and Summarizing This page is designed to aid you in quoting, paraphrasing and summarizing in order to help you avoid plagiarism. These three writing techniques are often used to provide support to your writing in ways that support an argument or call attention to something.
Need help understanding summary, quotation, and paraphrase? Easy rules about the differences and a full example using an article to help you understand.
Quoting, paraphrasing, and summarizing Whenever you refer to ideas, information, statistics, images, concepts, facts or anything else that you found from an outside source, you need to let your readers know where you found that information. Typically, this is done by quoting, paraphrasing, or summarizing the information, and then citing the authors that produced it.
Sample Essay for Summarizing, Paraphrasing, and Quoting The following is a sample essay you can practice quoting, paraphrasing, and summarizing. Examples of each task are provided at the end of the essay for further reference. Here is the citation for Sipher's essay:
A paraphrase restates another's idea (or your own previously published idea) in your own words. Paraphrasing allows you to summarize and synthesize information from one or more sources, focus on significant information, and compare and contrast relevant details.
A paraphrase is restating another author's idea(s) using your own words and phrases. Paraphrasing helps maintain your writing style, creates a smoother reading experience, and aids in understanding and incorporating information from sources.
How is Paraphrasing Different from Summarizing? The main difference between paraphrasing and summarizing is what they do and how much they cover. Paraphrasing means saying specific information in your own words but keeping its original meaning. Summarizing means taking a more significant work and making it shorter by focusing on the main points.
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