paraphrasing quotes worksheet

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Quoting, Paraphrasing, and Summarizing

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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.

What are the differences among quoting, paraphrasing, and summarizing?

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 must be identical to the original, using a narrow segment of the source. They must match the source document word for word and must be attributed to the original author.

Paraphrasing involves putting a passage from source material into your own words. A paraphrase must also be attributed to the original source. Paraphrased material is usually shorter than the original passage, taking a somewhat broader segment of the source and condensing it slightly.

Summarizing involves putting the main idea(s) into your own words, including only the main point(s). Once again, it is necessary to attribute summarized ideas to the original source. Summaries are significantly shorter than the original and take a broad overview of the source material.

Why use quotations, paraphrases, and summaries?

Quotations, paraphrases, and summaries serve many purposes. You might use them to:

• Provide support for claims or add credibility to your writing
• Refer to work that leads up to the work you are now doing
• Give examples of several points of view on a subject
• Call attention to a position that you wish to agree or disagree with
• Highlight a particularly striking phrase, sentence, or passage by quoting the original
• Distance yourself from the original by quoting it in order to cue readers that the words are not your own
• Expand the breadth or depth of your writing

Writers frequently intertwine summaries, paraphrases, and quotations. As part of a summary of an article, a chapter, or a book, a writer might include paraphrases of various 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 #).

How to use quotations, paraphrases, and summaries

Practice summarizing the essay found here , using paraphrases and quotations as you go. It might be helpful to follow these steps:

• Read the entire text, noting the key points and main ideas.
• Summarize in your own words what the single main idea of the essay is.
• Paraphrase important supporting points that come up in the essay.
• Consider any words, phrases, or brief passages that you believe should be quoted directly.

There are several ways to integrate quotations into your text. Often, a short quotation works well when integrated into a sentence. Longer quotations can stand alone. Remember that quoting should be done only sparingly; be sure that you have a good reason to include a direct quotation when you decide to do so. You'll find guidelines for citing sources and punctuating citations at our documentation guide pages.

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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.

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.

Summarizing

• Summarizing involves putting the main idea(s) into your own words, including only the main point(s). Although you are using your own words, it is still necessary to attribute the summarized ideas to the original source. Summaries are significantly shorter than the original and take a broad overview of the source material.

Paraphrasing

• Paraphrasing involves putting a passage from the source into your own words. A paraphrase must also be attributed to the original source. Paraphrased material is usually shorter than the original passage, taking a somewhat broader segment of the source and condensing it slightly.
• Quotations must be identical to the original, using a narrow segment of the source. They must match the source document word for word and must also be attributed to the original author.

Why use quotations, paraphrases, and summaries?

Quotations, paraphrases, and summaries serve many purposes. You might use them to:

• Provide support for claims or add credibility to your writing
• Refer to work that leads up to the work you are now doing
• Give examples of several points of view on a subject
• Call attention to a position that you wish to agree or disagree with
• Highlight a particularly striking phrase, sentence, or passage by quoting the original
• Distance yourself from the original by quoting it to show that the words are not your own
• Expand the breadth or depth of your writing

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 #).

How and when should I summarize, paraphrase, or quote?

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:

• Read the entire text, noting the key points and main ideas.
• Summarize in your own words what the single main idea of the essay is.
• Paraphrase important supporting points that come up in the essay.
• Consider any words, phrases, or brief passages that you believe should be quoted directly.

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.

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Academic Integrity (Part 2): Quoting, Paraphrasing, Summarizing

Flipped learning module.

Each Flipped Learning Module (FLM) is a set of short videos and online activities that can be used (in whole or in part) to free up class time from content delivery for greater student interaction. At the end of the module, students are asked to fill out a brief survey, in which we adopt the minute paper strategy . In this approach, students are asked to submit their response to two brief questions regarding their knowledge of the module.

In this FLM (Part 2 of a two-part series ), students are asked to complete a fill-in-the-blank outline which accompanies all three videos, covering the topics of quoting, paraphrasing/patch writing, and summarizing. The completed outline will enhance the students’ note-taking skills and will serve as a summary of the FLM that they may refer to in the future.

See Frequently Asked Questions about the Academic Integrity FLMs here.

paraphrasing, patch/mosaic writing, reordered paraphrase, translated paraphrase, quoting, note-taking, voice

Module Overview Quoting and Voice Paraphrasing and Patch Writing How to Paraphrase Reordered Paraphrases Translated Paraphrases Patch Writing/Mosaic Plagiarism Summarizing and Tips Summarizing Tips for Avoiding Plagiarism Download Video Transcripts

Worksheet: Quoting, Paraphrasing, and Summarizing Outline

• (Skill 1) _________________________
• (Skill 2) _________________________
• (Skill 3) _________________________
• It is a good time to quote when: _________________________
• (Tip 1) _________________________
• (Tip 2) _________________________
• Paraphrasing means: _________________________
• A “Re-ordered Paraphrase” is when: _________________________
• A “translated Paraphrase” is when: _________________________
• “Patch-Writing” or _________________________ refers to ______________________
• “Summarizing” means: _________________________

Download Outline

Video 1: Quoting and Voice

Quoting, paraphrasing, and summarizing online activity 1.

According to Ralph Waldo Emerson, it degrades people to receive gifts because it makes them less independent. Whether it makes them happy or sad, “both emotions are unbecoming.” He says that if the gift is bad, it means the giver isn’t really your friend because they don’t know your spirit, but he also explains that if the gift pleases you too much, you should be ashamed because you love the gift and not the giver. True gifts should maintain a flow between the giver and receiver. The water should be at level, and in a true friendship, people share everything equally: “All his are mine, all mine his.”

It sounds familiar. You take another look at Emerson’s essay, and find the following passage:

He is a good man who can receive a gift well. We are either glad or sorry at a gift, and both emotions are unbecoming. Some violence, I think, is done, some degradation borne, when I rejoice or grieve at a gift. I am sorry when my independence is invaded, or when a gift comes from such as do not know my spirit, and so the act is not supported; and if the gift pleases me overmuch, then I should be ashamed that the donor should read my heart, and see that I love his commodity, and not him. The gift, to be true, must be the flowing of the giver unto me, correspondent to my flowing unto him. When the waters are at level, then my goods pass to him, and his to me. All his are mine, all mine his.

Emerson, Ralph Waldo. “ Gifts .” The Oxford Book of American Essays . Edited by Brander Matthews, Oxford University Press, 1914.

Has your friend committed plagiarism? Why or why not? Explain in 1-2 sentences.

Video 2: Paraphrasing and Patch Writing

Quoting, paraphrasing, and summarizing online activity 2.

The Globe Spotlight Team examined Boston-area universities’ enrollment patterns as part of its exploration into why Boston is seen nationally as a city unfriendly to black people. It looked at the role area universities play in educating a critical mass of African-American graduates–people who could, as in other cities, form the next generation of civic and political leadership. It found that Boston-area universities are not producing that critical mass. The reason? Some area universities do not appear to have shown the will or creativity required to aggressively recruit black students, or simply have not made it the kind of priority that recruiting international students has become. Less easy to measure is whether Boston’s high costs, unwelcoming reputation, and scarcity of other black students on campuses here discourages them from the start. Either way, the city loses.

Dungca, Nicole. “ Lost On Campus, As Colleges Look Abroad .” The Boston Globe , 13 December 2017.

You decide to quote from the article. Here’s your passage:

Why is Boston seen as a racist city? Colleges like Boston University play a role because they are not producing the “critical mass” of African-American graduates who could “form the next generation of civic and political leadership” (Dungca). The city misses out because BU has not done what it needs to do to recruit black students in the same way that they recruit international students. If BU truly wants to be a global university, both groups should be a priority.

Is this patch writing, or acceptable use of the Globe article? Why or why not? Explain in 1-2 sentences.

Video 3: Summarizing and Tips

Quoting, paraphrasing, and summarizing survey.

• What was the one most important thing you learned from this module?
• Do you have any unanswered questions for me?

Quoting, Paraphrasing, and Summarizing In-Class Activity: Option 1

Form groups and summarize your findings (in bullet points) to report to the whole class.

Download Worksheet 1

Download Digital Implementation of the Activity

Quoting, Paraphrasing, and Summarizing In-Class Activity: Option 2

A Definition of Plagiarism The following definition of plagiarism is taken from H. Martin and R. Ohmann’s The Logic and Rhetoric of Exposition , revised edition, Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1963.

“The academic counterpart of the bank embezzler and of the manufacturer who mislabels products is the plagiarist, the student or scholar who leads readers to believe that what they are reading is the original work of the writer when it is not. If it could be assumed that the distinction between plagiarism and honest use of sources is perfectly clear in everyone’s mind, there would be no need for the explanation that follows; merely the warning with which this definition concludes would be enough. But it is apparent that sometimes people of goodwill draw the suspension of guilt upon themselves (and, indeed, are guilty) simply because they are not aware of the illegitimacy of certain kinds of “borrowing” and of the procedures for correct identification of materials other than those gained through independent research and reflection…

“The spectrum is a wide one. At one end there is a word-for-word copying of another’s writing without enclosing the copied passage in quotation marks and identifying it in a footnote, both of which are necessary. (This includes, of course, the copying of all or any part of another student’s paper.) It hardly seems possible that anyone of college age or more could do that without clear intent to deceive. At the other end there is the almost casual slipping in of a particularly apt term which one has come across in reading and which so admirably expresses one’s opinion that one is tempted to make it personal property. Between these poles there are degrees and degrees, but they may be roughly placed in two groups. Close to outright and blatant deceit–but more the result, perhaps, of laziness than of bad intent–is the patching together of random jottings made in the course of reading, generally without careful identification of their source, and then woven into the text, so that the result is a mosaic of other people’s ideas and words, the writer’s sole contribution being the cement to hold the pieces together. Indicative of more effort and, for that reason, somewhat closer to honest, though still dishonest, is the paraphrase, an abbreviated (and often skillfully prepared) restatement of someone else’s analysis or conclusion, without acknowledgment that another person’s text has been the basis of the recapitulation.”

Review the definition with your teammate(s), and collaboratively, re-write it in your own voice by using summary, paraphrase and quotation where you see fit. Be prepared to exchange your paragraphs with other team members for peer-editing and feedback.

Download Worksheet 2

Bouman, Kurt. “Raising Questions About Plagiarism.” ESL Writers: A Guide for Writing Center Tutors , 2nd ed., edited by Shanti Bruce and Ben Rafoth, 2004, pp. 161-175.

ERC Staff. “ERC Writing Assistance Presentation: Avoiding Plagiarism.” Boston University Educational Resource Center , Internal Resource, 2017.

“ Avoiding Plagiarism .” The Purdue OWL , Purdue U Writing Lab, 2017.

“ Self-Test .” Plagiarism Resource Site. Center for Educational Technology, Colby College, Bates College and Bowdoin College, 2003.

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Paraphrasing Worksheets

Language arts categories, free weekly worksheets, worksheets by email, what is paraphrasing.

People love to discuss something new every day. They gossip television shows, heard stories, news with the other persons. This talk further proceeds in the curiosity of what, how, and why the incident occurred? It happened between friends, family, and colleagues to refresh their minds. Whatever theme the discussion has included storyline, events, main characters, crucial points, considerations, etc. The author uses his or her own words or informal writing (under rules and regulations). All of such a structure of writing something or explaining something will be in your own words. During all of this process, you convey someone's message or express someone's ideas. Don't forget to maintain your ideas and source meaning while paraphrasing. You will use the main idea at the time of specific needs in your own words. How can you paraphrase a source? Give two or three times to read the original paragraph until and unless you understand it. After a thorough understanding, start writing the main idea by using your own words. Avoid generating the order of emphasis and ideas. Go through all unknown words. Observe each word that makes a clear sense of your writing. Check the tone of each paragraph, and it must be intuitive with a correct flow of understanding. Change as per the requirement, such as appropriate tone, meaning variation, and words or phrases related to the original words.

When you paraphrase, you restate an author’s words in your own words without changing the meaning of the passage or including any of your own thoughts or ideas about it. When you paraphrase something, you only relay the main idea, not the entire passage.

Paraphrasing from Sources

Read each passage. On a separate page, paraphrase each passage. Try not to look back at the original while you are paraphrasing.

: The passage below is from The Practice and Science of Drawing by Harold Speed. Read the passage. Then paraphrase what you have read.

Where Is It?

Highlight the portion of the text that you would like to focus on. Then paraphrase the ideas on the notecard below.

In Your Own Words

Paraphrase each passage.

Paraphrasing Practice

Read the passage. Highlight what you think is most important. Then paraphrase the highlighted information below.

Paraphrasing and Synonyms

One strategy for paraphrasing is to use synonyms. Rewrite each sentence below, replacing each underlined word or phrase with a synonymous word or phrase.

What are the author’s main supporting points?

Use Synonyms

Rewrite each sentence below, replacing each underlined word with a synonym.

The Manifesto

The passage below is taken from The Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. Paraphrase the passage.

50 million people in the U.S. eat fast food daily, which equates to about one in every seven people. It’s not surprising, then, the fast food restaurants have a combined revenue in the U.S. of $110 billion dollars every year.

What does the main character(s) decide to do about their problem?

Paraphrasing for Research

When You Do It!

When you paraphrase, you convey the main ideas of a passage in your own words. A paraphrase should contain all the most important information in a brief format. Use the organizer below to identify what you want to make sure that you include when you paraphrase the passage. Write your paraphrase below.

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Paraphrasing and Quotes Worksheets

Related ela standard: w.6.8.

As we grow as a reader and writer, we will often be required to take the words of others and present them in our own words. This can be used to present evidence or the work of others. This process is called paraphrasing. This is a flagship academic skill. Some people can do it so well that they can take someone else’s words and throw language gasoline on them to make them better than we ever thought. Some writers are not as imaginative, and they use the words of others directly. This is called a quote and is often accompanied with quotation marks. These worksheets will help students learn to paraphrase and use quotes in their own work.

Paraphrasing and Quotes Worksheets To Print:

Paraphrasing and Compiling Sources – You will need a lot of bits and pieces for this to work.

Quoting and Paraphrasing from Sources – This helps you pick apart a body of work.

Assessing the Credibility of Sources – We look at the credentials of the author to understand the significance.

Paraphrasing – We first ask you to identify where you need to draw your focus.

Assessing the Credibility of Sources – Where did the author find that from?

Paraphrasing Information – Highlight what you think is most important. Then paraphrase the highlighted information below.

Quoting and Paraphrasing from Sources – As you conduct your research, fill out the questionnaire for each of your sources.

Spell It Out! – Write a bibliography entry for this text.

Do You Buy It? – Pretend you are writing a report about what it is like to live with cancer.

On Military Might – The text below is from John F. Kennedy's inaugural address given on 20 January, 1961.

Research Refresher – All children are influenced by their parents; but sometimes the influence of one parent has more impact than that of another.

Assessing the Credibility of Authors – Any source you uses in your research has to be credible. Answer the questions on the lines below to evaluate each of your sources.

Quote Them Up – What evidence does the author offer that support your thesis? Write down what you would like to quote from the document.

Vivid Memories – Imagine that the text below is a transcribed recording of an interview that you conducted exactly one month ago with a 100-year-old woman name Eunice Moreland.

Say It Better! – When you paraphrase, you write the ideas from the text in your own words.

What Is Paraphrasing?

Paraphrasing is the process of restating a text. It uses a different tone and format but the information and the main points are the same. Here are some ways through which you can easily paraphrase any text.

If you want to paraphrase a written piece, the first step would be to read it a few times. Reading the passage is important because it will make you understand the main theme of the text. Reading it a few times before paraphrasing will make the process much easier for you. You can also think of different ways of paraphrasing the text while reading it.

The next step is to decide whether you want all of the information or just the main points from the text. For this, you must know the purpose of paraphrasing. It will help you with making the decision.

Think Of Your Tone

Once you are done with the steps above, you can start developing ideas for your own style and tone of writing. You can think of ways through which you can present that text in your style.

Write In Your Words

For the first draft of paraphrasing, you can start writing in your own words. Try to stay away from the format of the original text. You don't want your paraphrasing to look like it was copied. It should be completely different from the original text. Think of how you will explain it to a friend and then write in those words.

Use Synonyms

To avoid the usage of the same language, you can shift to synonyms. You can use as many synonyms as possible. This will make your text look unique and new.

Use A Different Sentence Structure

Do not follow the same sentence structure as of the original text. Use different ways of writing. Start your sentence with a different point of view to make it look new.

Break the Information Into Smaller Sentences

If the original text has long and complex sentences, you can break that information down into smaller sentences. This will help you in paraphrasing the text in a way that won't look copied. It will also be much easier to understand.

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