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APA Citation Guide (7th edition): Quotes vs Paraphrases

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What's the Difference?

Quoting vs paraphrasing: what's the difference.

There are two ways to integrate sources into your assignment: quoting directly or paraphrasing.

Quoting  is copying a selection from someone else's work, phrasing it exactly as it was originally written. When quoting place quotation marks (" ") around the selected passage to show where the quote begins and where it ends. Make sure to include an in-text citation. 

Paraphrasing  is used to show that you understand what the author wrote. You must reword the passage, expressing the ideas in your own words, and not just change a few words here and there. Make sure to also include an in-text citation. 

Quoting Example

There are two basic formats that can be used:

Parenthetical Style:

Narrative Style:

Quoting Tips

  • Long Quotes
  • Changing Quotes

What Is a Long Quotation?

A quotation of more than 40 words. 

Rules for Long Quotations

There are 4 rules that apply to long quotations that are different from regular quotations:

  • The line before your long quotation, when you're introducing the quote, usually ends with a colon.
  • The long quotation is indented half an inch from the rest of the text, so it looks like a block of text.
  • There are no quotation marks around the quotation.
  • The period at the end of the quotation comes before your in-text citation as opposed to after, as it does with regular quotations.

Example of a Long Quotation

At the end of Lord of the Flies the boys are struck with the realization of their behaviour:

The tears began to flow and sobs shook him. He gave himself up to them now for the first time on the island; great, shuddering spasms of grief that seemed to wrench his whole body. His voice rose under the black smoke before the burning wreckage of the island; and infected by that emotion, the other little boys began to shake and sob too. (Golding, 1960, p.186)

Changing Quotations

Sometimes you may want to make some modifications to the quote to fit your writing. Here are some APA rules when changing quotes:

Incorrect spelling, grammar, and punctuation

Add the word [sic] after the error in the quotation to let your reader know the error was in the original source and is not your error.

Omitting parts of a quotation

If you would like to exclude some words from a quotation, replace the words you are not including with an ellipsis - ...

Adding words to a quote

If you are adding words that are not part of the original quote, enclose the additional words in square brackets - [XYZ]

Secondary Source Quotes

What is a secondary source.

In scholarly work, a primary source reports original content; a secondary source refers to content first reported in another source.

  • Cite secondary sources sparingly—for instance, when the original work is out of print, unavailable, or available only in a language that you do not understand.
  • If possible, as a matter of good scholarly practice, find the primary source, read it, and cite it directly rather than citing a secondary source.

Rules for Secondary Source Citations

  • In the reference list, provide an entry only for the secondary source that you used.
  • In the text, identify the primary source and write “as cited in” the secondary source that you used. 
  • If the year of publication of the primary source is known, also include it in the in-text citation.

Example of a Secondary Source Use

Quote & In-Text Citation

Reference List Entry

Paraphrases

Paraphrasing example.

When you write information from a source in your own words, cite the source by adding an in-text citation at the end of the paraphrased portion as follows:

If you refer to the author's name in a sentence you do not have to include the name again as part of your in-text citation, instead include the year of publication following his/her name:

NOTE : Although not required, APA encourages including the page number when paraphrasing if it will help the reader locate the information in a long text and distinguish between the information that is coming from you and the source.

Paraphrasing Tips

  • Long Paraphrases

Original Source

Homeless individuals commonly come from families who are riddled with problems and marital disharmony, and are alienated from their parents. They have often been physically and even sexually abused, have relocated frequently, and many of them may be asked to leave home or are actually thrown out, or alternatively are placed in group homes or in foster care. They often have no one to care for them and no one knows them intimately.

Source from: 

Rokach, A. (2005). The causes of loneliness in homeless youth. The Journal of Psychology, 139, 469-480. 

Example: Incorrect Paraphrasing

Example: correct paraphrasing.

If your paraphrase is longer than one sentence, provide an in-text citation for the source at the beginning of the paraphrase. As long as it's clear that the paraphrase continues to the following sentences, you don't have to include in-text citations for the following sentences.

If your paraphrase continues to another paragraph and/or you include paraphrases from other sources within the paragraph, repeat the in-text citations for each.

Additional Resource

  • Paraphrasing (The Learning Portal)

Tip sheet on paraphrasing information

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When do I use in-text citations?

When should you add in-text citations in your paper .

There are several rules of thumb you can follow to make sure that you are citing your paper correctly in APA 7 format. 

  • Think of your paper broken up into paragraphs. When you start a paragraph, the first time you add a sentence that has been paraphrased from a reference -> that's when you need to add an in-text citation. 
  • Continue writing your paragraph, you do NOT need to add another in-text citation until: 1) You are paraphrasing from a NEW source, which means you need to cite NEW information OR 2) You need to cite a DIRECT quote, which includes a page number, paragraph number or Section title. 
  • Important to remember : You DO NOT need to add an in-text citation after EVERY sentence of your paragraph. 

Paragraph Rules of Thumb: Cite after 1st paraphrase, continue writing, add a new cite for a new source or a direct quote.

What do in-text citations look like?

In-text citation styles: , let's look at these examples if they were written in text: .

An example with 1 author:

Parenthetical citation:  Following American Psychological Association (APA) style guidelines will help you to cultivate your own unique academic voice as an expert in your field (Forbes, 2020). 

Narrative citation : Forbes (2020) shared that by following American Psychological Association (APA) guidelines, students would learn to find their own voice as experts in the field of nursing. 

An example with 2 authors: 

Parenthetical citation: Research on the use of progressive muscle relaxation for stress reduction has demonstrated the efficacy of the method (Bennett & Miller, 2019). 

Narrative citation: As shared by Bennett and Miller (2019), research on the use of progressive muscle relaxation for stress reduction has demonstrated the efficacy of the method. 

An example with 3 authors: 

Parenthetical citation: Guided imagery has also been shown to reduce stress, length of hospital stay, and symptoms related to medical and psychological conditions (Jones et al., 2020).

Narrative citation: Jones et al. (2020) shared that guided imagery has also been shown to reduce stress, length of hospital stay, and symptoms related to medical and psychological conditions. 

An example with a group/corporate author: 

Parenthetical citation: Dr. Philip G. Rogers, senior vice president at the American Council on Education, was recently elected as the newest chancellor of the university (East Carolina University, 2020). 

Narrative citation: Recently shared on the East Carolina University (2020) website, Dr. Philip G. Rogers, senior vice president at the American Council on Education, was elected as the newest chancellor. 

Tips on Paraphrasing

Paraphrasing is recreating someone else's ideas into your own words & thoughts, without changing the original meaning (gahan, 2020).  .

Here are some best practices when you are paraphrasing: 

  • How do I learn to paraphrase? IF you are thoroughly reading and researching articles or book chapters for a paper, you will start to take notes in your own words . Those notes are the beginning of paraphrased information.
  • Read the original information, PUT IT AWAY, then rewrite the ideas in your own words . This is hard to do at first, it takes practice, but this is how you start to paraphrase. 
  • It's usually better to paraphrase, than to use too many direct quotes. 
  • When you start to paraphrase, cite your source. 
  • Make sure not to use language that is TOO close to the original, so that you are not committing plagiarism. 
  • Use theasaurus.com to help you come up with like/similar phrases if you are struggling. 
  • Paraphrasing (vs. using direct quotes) is important because it shows that YOU ACTUALLY UNDERSTAND the information you are reading. 
  • Paraphrasing ALLOWS YOUR VOICE to be prevalent in your writing. 
  • The best time to use direct quotes is when you need to give an exact definition, provide specific evidence, or if you need to use the original writer's terminology. 
  • BEST PRACTICE PER PARAGRAPH: On your 1st paraphrase of a source, CITE IT. There is no need to add another in-text citation until you use a different source, OR, until you use a direct quote. 

References : 

Gahan, C. (2020, October 15). How to paraphrase sources . Scribbr.com .   https://tinyurl.com/y7ssxc6g  

Citing Direct Quotes

When should i use a direct quote in my paper .

Direct quotes should only be used occasionally: 

  • When you need to share an exact definition 
  • When you want to provide specific evidence or information that cannot be paraphrased
  • When you want to use the original writer's terminology

From:  https://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/whaddyamean/ 

Definitions of direct quotes: 

  • Western Oregon University's APA Guidelines on Direct Quotes This is an excellent quick tutorial on how to format direct quotes in APA 7th edition. Bookmark this page for future reference!

Carrie Forbes, MLS

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APA Citation Guide (7th edition) : Paraphrasing

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Paraphrasing examples.

  • In-Text Citation for More Than One Author

In-Text Citation for Group or Corporate Authors

No author and/or no date.

When you write information from a source in your own words, cite the source by adding an in-text citation at the end of the paraphrased portion as follows:

Mother-infant attachment became a leading topic of developmental research following the publication of John Bowlby's studies (Hunt, 1993).

Note : If you refer to the author's name in a sentence you do not have to include the name again as part of your in-text citation, instead include the year of publication following his/her name:

Hunt (1993) noted that mother-infant attachment became a leading topic of developmental research after the publication of John Bowlby's studies.

Original Source

Homeless individuals commonly come from families who are riddled with problems and marital disharmony, and are alienated from their parents. They have often been physically and even sexually abused, have relocated frequently, and many of them may be asked to leave home or are actually thrown out, or alternatively are placed in group homes or in foster care. They often have no one to care for them and no one knows them intimately.

Source from: 

Rokach, A. (2005). The causes of loneliness in homeless youth. The Journal of Psychology , 139, 469-480. 

Example: Incorrect Paraphrasing

The homeless come from families with problems. Frequently, they have been physically or sexually abused, or have lived in group homes. Usually no one cares for them or knows them intimately (Rokach, 2005). 

Note : In this incorrect example the writing is too similar to the original source. The student only changed or removed a few words and has not phrased the ideas in a new way. 

Example: Correct Paraphrasing

Many homeless experience isolation in part due to suffering from abuse or neglect during their childhood (Rokach, 2005).

Note : The example keeps the idea of the original writing but phrases it in a new way.

In-Text Citation For Two or More Authors/Editors

No Known Author:

Note that in most cases where a personal author is not named, a group author may be cited instead (eg. Statistics Canada). However, in certain cases, such as religious ancient texts, the author is unknown. Where you'd normally put the author's last name, instead use the first one, two, or three words from the title. Don't count initial articles like "A", "An" or "The". You should provide enough words to make it clear which work you're referring to from your References List.

If the title in the References list is in italics, italicize the words from the title in the in-text citation.

If you are citing an article, a chapter of a book or a page from a website, put the words in double quotation marks.

Capitalize the titles using title case (every major word is capitalized) even if the reference list entry uses sentence case (only first word is capitalized).

( Cell Biology , 2012, p. 157)

("Nursing," 2011, p. 9)

No Known Date of Publication :

Where you'd normally put the year of publication, instead use the letters "n.d.".

(Smith, n.d., p. 200)

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Home / Guides / Citation Guides / Citation Basics / Quoting vs. Paraphrasing vs. Summarizing

Quoting vs. Paraphrasing vs. Summarizing

If you’ve ever written a research essay, you know the struggle is real. Should you use a direct quote? Should you put it in your own words? And how is summarizing different from paraphrasing—aren’t they kind of the same thing?

Knowing how you should include your source takes some finesse, and knowing when to quote directly, paraphrase, or summarize can make or break your argument. Let’s take a look at the nuances among these three ways  of using an outside source in an essay.

What is quoting?

The concept of quoting is pretty straightforward. If you use quotation marks, you must use precisely the same words as the original , even if the language is vulgar or the grammar is incorrect. In fact, when scholars quote writers with bad grammar, they may correct it by using typographical notes [like this] to show readers they have made a change.

“I never like[d] peas as a child.”

Conversely, if a passage with odd or incorrect language is quoted as is, the note [sic] may be used to show that no changes were made to the original language despite any errors.

“I never like [sic] peas as a child.”

The professional world looks very seriously on quotations. You cannot change a single comma or letter without documentation when you quote a source. Not only that, but the quote must be accompanied by an attribution, commonly called a citation. A misquote or failure to cite can be considered plagiarism.

When writing an academic paper, scholars must use in-text citations in parentheses followed by a complete entry on a references page. When you quote someone using MLA format , for example, it might look like this:

“The orphan is above all a character out of place, forced to make his or her own home in the world. The novel itself grew up as a genre representing the efforts of an ordinary individual to navigate his or her way through the trials of life. The orphan is therefore an essentially novelistic character, set loose from established conventions to face a world of endless possibilities (and dangers)” (Mullan).

This quote is from www.bl.uk/romantics-and-victorians/articles/orphans-in-fiction , which discusses the portrayal of orphans in Victorian English literature. The citation as it would look on the references page (called Works Cited in MLA) is available at the end of this guide.

What is paraphrasing?

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. Paraphrasing means you should focus only on segments of a text.

Paraphrasing is a way for you to start processing the information from your source . When you take a quote and put it into your own words, you are already working to better understand, and better explain, the information.

The more you can change the quote without changing the original meaning , the better. How can you make significant changes to a text without changing the meaning?

Here are a few paraphrasing techniques:

  • Use synonyms of words
  • Change the order of words
  • Change the order of clauses in the sentences
  • Move sentences around in a section
  • Active – passive
  • Positive – negative
  • Statement-question

Let’s look at an example. Here is a direct quote from the article on orphans in Victorian literature:

“It is no accident that the most famous character in recent fiction – Harry Potter – is an orphan. The child wizard’s adventures are premised on the death of his parents and the responsibilities that he must therefore assume. If we look to classic children’s fiction we find a host of orphans” (Mullan).

Here is a possible paraphrase:

It’s not a mistake that a well-known protagonist in current fiction is an orphan: Harry Potter. His quests are due to his parents dying and tasks that he is now obligated to complete. You will see that orphans are common protagonists if you look at other classic fiction (Mullan).

What differences do you spot? There are synonyms. A few words were moved around. A few clauses were moved around. But do you see that the basic structure is very similar?

This kind of paraphrase might be flagged by a plagiarism checker. Don’t paraphrase like that.

Here is a better example:

What is the most well-known fact about beloved character, Harry Potter? That he’s an orphan – “the boy who lived”. In fact, it is only because his parents died that he was thrust into his hero’s journey. Throughout classic children’s literature, you’ll find many orphans as protagonists (Mullan).

Do you see that this paraphrase has more differences? The basic information is there, but the structure is quite different.

When you paraphrase, you are making choices: of how to restructure information, of how to organize and prioritize it.  These choices reflect your voice in a way a direct quote cannot, since a direct quote is, by definition, someone else’s voice.

Which is better: Quoting or paraphrasing?

Although the purpose of both quoting and paraphrasing is to introduce the ideas of an external source, they are used for different reasons. It’s not that one is better than the other, but rather that quoting suits some purposes better, while paraphrasing is more suitable for others.

A direct quote is better when you feel the writer made the point perfectly and there is no reason to change a thing. If the writer has a strong voice and you want to preserve that, use a direct quote.

For example, no one should ever try to paraphrase John. F. Kenney’s famous line: “Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.”

However, think of direct quotes like a hot pepper: go ahead and sprinkle them around to add some spice to your paper, but… you might not want to overdo it.

Conversely, paraphrasing is useful when you want to bring in a longer section of a source into your piece, but you don’t have room for the full passage . A paraphrase doesn’t simplify the passage to an extreme level, like a summary would. Rather, it condenses the section of text into something more useful for your essay. It’s also appropriate to paraphrase when there are sentences within a passage that you want to leave out.

If you were to paraphrase the section of the article about Victorian orphans mentioned earlier, you might write something like this:

Considering the development of the novel, which portrayed everyday people making their way through life, using an orphan as a protagonist was effective. Orphans are characters that, by definition, need to find their way alone. The author can let the protagonist venture out into the world where the anything, good or bad, might happen (Mullan).

You’ll notice a couple of things here. One, there are no quotation marks, but there is still an in-text citation (the name in parentheses). A paraphrase lacks quotation marks because you aren’t directly quoting, but it still needs a citation because you are using a specific segment of the text. It is still someone else’s original idea and must be cited.

Secondly, if you look at the original quote, you’ll see that five lines of text are condensed into four and a half lines. Everything the author used has been changed.

A single paragraph of text has been explained in different words—which is the heart of paraphrasing.

What is summarizing?

Next, we come to summarizing. Summarizing is on a much larger scale than quoting or paraphrasing. While similar to paraphrasing in that you use your own words, a summary’s primary focus is on translating the main idea of an entire document or long section.

Summaries are useful because they allow you to mention entire chapters or articles—or longer works—in only a few sentences. However, summaries can be longer and more in-depth. They can actually include quotes and paraphrases. Keep in mind, though, that since a summary condenses information, look for the main points. Don’t include a lot of details in a summary.

In literary analysis essays, it is useful to include one body paragraph that summarizes the work you’re writing about. It might be helpful to quote or paraphrase specific lines that contribute to the main themes of such a work. Here is an example summarizing the article on orphans in Victorian literature:

In John Mullan’s article “Orphans in Fiction” on bl.uk.com, he reviews the use of orphans as protagonists in 19 th century Victorian literature. Mullan argues that orphans, without family attachments, are effective characters that can be “unleashed to discover the world.” This discovery process often leads orphans to expose dangerous aspects of society, while maintaining their innocence. As an example, Mullan examines how many female orphans wind up as governesses, demonstrating the usefulness of a main character that is obligated to find their own way.

This summary includes the main ideas of the article, one paraphrase, and one direct quote. A ten-paragraph article is summarized into one single paragraph.

As for giving source credit, since the author’s name and title of the source are stated at the beginning of the summary paragraph, you don’t need an in-text citation.

How do I know which one to use?

The fact is that writers use these three reference types (quoting, paraphrasing, summarizing) interchangeably. The key is to pay attention to your argument development. At some points, you will want concrete, firm evidence. Quotes are perfect for this.

At other times, you will want general support for an argument, but the text that includes such support is long-winded. A paraphrase is appropriate in this case.

Finally, sometimes you may need to mention an entire book or article because it is so full of evidence to support your points. In these cases, it is wise to take a few sentences or even a full paragraph to summarize the source.

No matter which type you use, you always need to cite your source on a References or Works Cited page at the end of the document. The MLA works cited entry for the text we’ve been using today looks like this:

Mullan, John. Orphans in Fiction” www.bl.uk/romantics-and-victorians/articles/orphans-in-fiction.  Accessed 20. Oct. 2020

————–

See our related lesson with video:  How to Quote and Paraphrase Evidence

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How to Cite a Paraphrased Statement

Last Updated: December 9, 2022 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by wikiHow staff writer, Jennifer Mueller, JD . Jennifer Mueller is a wikiHow Content Creator. She specializes in reviewing, fact-checking, and evaluating wikiHow's content to ensure thoroughness and accuracy. Jennifer holds a JD from Indiana University Maurer School of Law in 2006. There are 12 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 43,105 times. Learn more...

When you write a research paper, you integrate material from outside sources with your own thoughts or ideas about a topic. Generally, use an in-text citation for anything other than your original words. A paraphrased statement, generally, is cited the same way a direct quote would be. The in-text citation directs your readers to the reference list at the end of your paper, which provides a more detailed description of the source material used. The specific format of your in-text citations and your reference list varies depending on which citation style you use. [1] X Research source

Placing Citations in Text

Step 1 Provide a citation for all information pulled from another source.

  • You don't have to cite commonly known and accepted facts. However, you always need to cite ideas. If you're not sure whether a fact is commonly known or not, err on the side of caution and provide a citation.
  • In most cases, the in-text citation falls at the end of the sentence that contains the information from the source. Some citation styles, however, require the citation immediately after the paraphrased information, even if that happens to be in the middle of a sentence.

Step 2 Follow the formatting guidelines for your citation style.

  • Modern Language Association (MLA) style uses an author-page number format for parenthetical citations in the body of your paper. If the source isn't paginated, simply leave that part out and include only the author's last name.
  • American Psychological Association (APA) style uses an author-date format for parenthetical citations in the body of your paper. [4] X Research source
  • The Chicago style accepts 2 different methods of in-text citation. You may either use the author-date format, similar to APA style, or you may have footnotes and a bibliography. Chicago-style footnotes include the same information as the full citation in the bibliography, but with slightly different formatting. [5] X Research source

Step 3 Cite after every sentence with a quote or paraphrase.

  • The only exception to this rule is a longer block quote set off from the rest of your text. A block quote only requires one citation, at the very end.
  • Generally, you want to avoid having several sentences in a row that paraphrase from the same source. Type a sentence paraphrasing from the source, then add your own thoughts or analysis of that information in the next sentence.

Step 4 Separate multiple sources with semi-colons.

  • You can also use this format to indicate several sources with more information about a topic that is related to your topic, but beyond the scope of your research. You generally don't have to include full citations to such sources in your reference list.

Step 5 Include a page number for direct quotes.

  • If the source is not paginated, some styles require you to use an abbreviation, such as "n.p." Check your style guide to be sure.
  • MLA and Chicago, among other styles, do not require the abbreviation "p." or "pp." before page numbers. However, APA and others do.
  • If you're citing a video or audio recording that has a runtime, include the timestamp range for the specific material you're quoting. [10] X Trustworthy Source Purdue Online Writing Lab Trusted resource for writing and citation guidelines Go to source

Step 6 Use signal phrases in your text wherever possible.

  • Example sentence with signal phrase, APA style: Jones (1998) found "students often had difficulty using APA style" (p. 199).
  • Same sentence without signal phrase, APA style: Research has shown that "students often had difficulty using APA style" (Jones, 1998, p. 199).

Creating a Reference List

Step 1 Build your reference list before you draft your paper.

  • Your reference list (also called a bibliography or "Works Cited") includes a full citation for every research source you used for your research project. If you compile the list before you start writing, the writing process will be less disjointed, and you'll run less of a risk of leaving something off.
  • Once you finish writing your paper, go through it and place a mark next to each reference on your reference list that appears in an in-text citation. If any of the sources on your reference list are unmarked, remove them from your reference list.

Step 2 Format your reference list according to style guidelines.

  • Look over the rules before you start building your reference list, especially if you're using a different style for the first time.
  • If the rules seem confusing, ask your instructor or a reference librarian for a sample reference list written using that style.

Step 3 Include an entry for every source cited in your paper.

  • For most common citation styles, sources are listed in alphabetical order by the first word in the full citation (usually the author's last name). If you happen to use more than one work by the same author, list them in chronological order starting with the earliest publication date.
  • In rare instances, you may need to include a source in your references that you never cited in the text of your paper. For example, if you're writing a paper about dictatorial regimes and describe them as "Orwellian," you may want to include George Orwell's novel 1984 in your reference list, even though you never cited the novel directly. [15] X Research source

Quoting or Paraphrasing a Source

Step 1 Take abbreviated notes as you read a source.

  • Try to avoid looking at the source at all while you're writing. You might inadvertently plagiarize the original content – especially if the author is a particularly efficient writer. Look at the original passage after you've finished your paraphrase to ensure your wording is sufficiently different.

Step 2 Change the structure of the original passage.

  • For example, suppose your source says "Students have difficulty with new citation styles, usually because they didn't buy a copy of the style guide or ask their instructors enough questions." You can move the start to the middle and paraphrase to say "When students don't have their own copy of the style guide, they have more difficulty adapting to a new citation style."

Step 3 Use synonyms to further distance your paraphrase from the original.

  • For example, suppose your source equates EU import rules with "trade protectionism" rather than "reasonable consumer protection." An effective paraphrase could state "EU import rules seem to benefit EU companies more than consumers."
  • After you've changed the structure of the original passage, go back to the source and underline all phrases in your paraphrase that are identical to the original. Try to change as many of these as possible.
  • You can use a thesaurus to find alternate words, but stay away from direct synonyms. For example, if the original source uses the word "feline," changing that word to "cat" won't necessarily help improve your paraphrase.

Step 4 Place quotation marks around unique phrases.

  • Example: It would be easy for US companies to conclude that EU import restrictions and labeling rules amount to "trade protectionism," because they do little to assist consumers.

Step 5 Quote the source directly if the passage is unique or compelling.

  • Different styles vary in how long a direct quote can be before you have to set it off as a block quote. Generally, you can quote in line with your text if the quote is fewer than 40 words, or the equivalent of a line or two of text.

Step 6 Separate longer quotes from the main text.

  • When you use a block quote, you only need a citation at the end of the block, regardless of how many sentences you quote.
  • Generally, block quotes should be limited. Only use them if absolutely necessary, and try to limit the length to 3 or 4 sentences at the most.

Expert Q&A

You might also like.

Cite the WHO in APA

  • ↑ https://pitt.libguides.com/citationhelp
  • ↑ https://libanswers.snhu.edu/faq/102912
  • ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/mla_style/mla_formatting_and_style_guide/mla_in_text_citations_the_basics.html
  • ↑ https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/citations/paraphrasing
  • ↑ http://liu.cwp.libguides.com/c.php?g=45846&p=291624
  • ↑ http://askus.baker.edu/faq/217530
  • ↑ https://guides.libraries.psu.edu/mlacitation/intext
  • ↑ https://butlercc.libguides.com/mla/intext
  • ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/apa_style/apa_formatting_and_style_guide/reference_list_basic_rules.html
  • ↑ https://pr.princeton.edu/pub/integrity/pages/cite/
  • ↑ https://writing.wisc.edu/Handbook/QPA_paraphrase2.html
  • ↑ https://writing.wisc.edu/Handbook/QPA_paraphrase.html

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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.

When and how to summarize

When you summarize, you provide your readers with a condensed version of an author's key points. A summary can be as short as a few sentences or much longer, depending on the complexity of the text and the level of detail you wish to provide to your readers. You will need to summarize a source in your paper when you are going to refer to that source and you want your readers to understand the source's argument, main ideas, or plot (if the source is a novel, film, or play) before you lay out your own argument about it, analysis of it, or response to it.

Before you summarize a source in your paper, you should 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, you should avoid filling pages of your paper with details from the book that will distract or confuse your reader. Instead, you should 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 journal article, you will need to highlight the most relevant parts of the argument for your reader, but you should not include all of the background information and examples. When you have to decide how much summary to put in a paper, it's a good idea to consult your instructor about whether you are supposed to assume your reader's knowledge of the sources.

Guidelines for summarizing a source in your paper

  • Identify the author and the source.
  • Represent the original source accurately.
  • Present the source’s central claim clearly.
  • Don’t summarize each point in the same order as the original source; focus on giving your reader the most important parts of the source
  • Use your own words. Don’t provide a long quotation in the summary unless the actual language from the source is going to be important for your reader to see.

Stanley Milgram (1974) reports that ordinarily compassionate people will be cruel to each other if they are commanded to be by an authority figure. In his experiment, a group of participants were asked to administer electric shocks to people who made errors on a simple test. In spite of signs that those receiving shock were experiencing great physical pain, 25 of 40 subjects continued to administer electric shocks. These results held up for each group of people tested, no matter the demographic. The transcripts of conversations from the experiment reveal that although many of the participants felt increasingly uncomfortable, they continued to obey the experimenter, often showing great deference for the experimenter. Milgram suggests that when people feel responsible for carrying out the wishes of an authority figure, they do not feel responsible for the actual actions they are performing. He concludes that the increasing division of labor in society encourages people to focus on a small task and eschew responsibility for anything they do not directly control.

This summary of Stanley Milgram's 1974 essay, "The Perils of Obedience," provides a brief overview of Milgram's 12-page essay, along with an APA style parenthetical citation. You would write this type of summary if you were discussing Milgram's experiment in a paper in which you were not supposed to assume your reader's knowledge of the sources. Depending on your assignment, your summary might be even shorter.

When you include a summary of a paper in your essay, you must cite the source. If you were using APA style in your paper, you would include a parenthetical citation in the summary, and you would also include a full citation in your reference list at the end of your paper. For the essay by Stanley Milgram, your citation in your references list would include the following information:

Milgram, S. (1974). The perils of obedience. In L.G. Kirszner & S.R. Mandell (Eds.), The Blair reader (pp.725-737).

When and how to paraphrase

When you paraphrase from a source, you restate the source's ideas in your own words. Whereas a summary provides your readers with a condensed overview of a source (or part of a source), a paraphrase of a source offers your readers the same level of detail provided in the original source. Therefore, while a summary will be shorter than the original source material, a paraphrase will generally be about the same length as the original source material.

When you use any part of a source in your paper—as background information, as evidence, as a counterargument to which you plan to respond, or in any other form—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. Any time you paraphrase an author's words and ideas in your paper, you should make it clear to your reader why you are presenting this particular material from a source at this point in your paper. You should also make sure you have represented the author accurately, that you have used your own words consistently, and that you have cited the source.

This paraphrase below restates one of Milgram's points in the author's own words. When you paraphrase, you should always cite the source. This paraphrase uses the APA in-text citation style. Every source you paraphrase should also be included in your list of references at the end of your paper. For citation format information go to the Citing Sources section of this guide.

Source material

The problem of obedience is not wholly psychological. The form and shape of society and the way it is developing have much to do with it. There was a time, perhaps, when people were able to give a fully human response to any situation because they were fully absorbed in it as human beings. But as soon as there was a division of labor things changed.

--Stanley Milgram, "The Perils of Obedience," p.737.

Milgram, S. (1974). The perils of obedience. In L.G. Kirszner & S.R. Mandell (Eds.), The Blair reader (pp.725-737). Prentice Hall.

Milgram (1974) claims that people's willingness to obey authority figures cannot be explained by psychological factors alone. In an earlier era, people may have had the ability to invest in social situations to a greater extent. However, as society has become increasingly structured by a division of labor, people have become more alienated from situations over which they do not have control (p.737).

When and how much to quote

The basic rule in all disciplines is that you should only quote directly from a text when it's 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.

So, for example, it may be important for a reader to see a passage of text quoted directly from Tim O'Brien's The Things They Carried if you plan to analyze the language of that passage in order to support your thesis about the book. On the other hand, if you're writing a paper in which you're making a claim about the reading habits of American elementary school students or reviewing the current research on Wilson's disease, the information you’re providing from sources will often be more important than the exact words. In those cases, you should paraphrase rather than quoting directly. Whether you quote from your source or paraphrase it, be sure to provide a citation for your source, using the correct format. (see Citing Sources section)

You should use quotations in the following situations:

  • When you plan to discuss the actual language of a text.
  • When you are discussing an author's position or theory, and you plan to discuss the wording of a core assertion or kernel of the argument in your paper.
  • When you risk losing the essence of the author's ideas in the translation from their words to your own.
  • When you want to appeal to the authority of the author and using their words will emphasize that authority.

Once you have decided to quote part of a text, you'll need to decide whether you are going to quote a long passage (a block quotation) or a short passage (a sentence or two within the text of your essay). Unless you are planning to do something substantive with a long quotation—to analyze the language in detail or otherwise break it down—you should not use block quotations in your essay. While long quotations will stretch your page limit, they don't add anything to your argument unless you also spend time discussing them in a way that illuminates a point you're making. Unless you are giving your readers something they need to appreciate your argument, you should use quotations sparingly.

When you quote from a source, you should make sure to cite the source either with an in-text citation or a note, depending on which citation style you are using.  The passage below, drawn from O’Brien’s  The Things They Carried , uses an MLA-style citation.

On the morning after Ted Lavender died, First Lieutenant Jimmy Cross crouched at the bottom of his foxhole and burned Martha's letters. Then he burned the two photographs. There was a steady rain falling, which made it difficult, but he used heat tabs and Sterno to build a small fire, screening it with his body holding the photographs over the tight blue flame with the tip of his fingers.

He realized it was only a gesture. Stupid, he thought. Sentimental, too, but mostly just stupid. (23)

O'Brien, Tim. The Things They Carried . New York: Broadway Books, 1990.

Even as Jimmy Cross burns Martha's letters, he realizes that "it was only a gesture. Stupid, he thought. Sentimental too, but mostly just stupid" (23).

If you were writing a paper about O'Brien's The Things They Carried in which you analyzed Cross's decision to burn Martha's letters and stop thinking about her, you might want your reader to see the language O'Brien uses to illustrate Cross's inner conflict. If you were planning to analyze the passage in which O'Brien calls Cross's realization stupid, sentimental, and then stupid again, you would want your reader to see the original language.

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Citation Practices and Avoiding Plagiarism: Examples of Paraphrase

  • Getting Started
  • Understanding a Citation
  • Penn's Plagiarism Policy
  • Examples of Quotation
  • Examples of Paraphrase
  • Examples of Common Knowledge
  • Strategies for Avoiding Plagiarism
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  • Citation Styles
  • Explore More and Practice

Paraphrases—rewordings of text—need to be cited. Paraphrasing without providing a citation is plagiarism. Even paraphrases with citations can be instances of plagiarism if they are so similar to the original that the paraphraser claims credit for the original author's language.

A paraphrase that avoids plagiarism:

  • cites the source of the material being paraphrased.
  • differs enough from the original that it doesn't require quotation marks.

Paraphrase Examples

Wines drunk at Greek tables did not always come from Greece itself. The wine snobbery of the time extolled the merits of wines from the slopes of Mount Lebanon, from Palestine, Egypt and Magna Graecia-Greater Greece, i.e., southern Italy. The ten litres a day drunk by the famous wrestler Milo of Croton was a wine famous in Calabria, where Milo lived: this wine, Ciro, is still made.

from Maguelone Toussaint-Samat's A History of Food (Cambridge: Blackwell, 1992. 263).

Wines drunk by Greeks were not always made in Greece itself. The wine snobs of that period celebrated wines from Mount Lebanon, Palestine, and Egypt. The famous wrestler Milo of Croton, who consumed ten liters of wine a day, drank wine made in Calabria outside of Greece; this wine, Ciro, is still made.

This paraphrase plagiarizes in two ways:

1. By having no citation, the paraphrase misleads readers into believing that the ideas, facts and sense of the passage are a result of the author's own research and knowledge.

2. The language of the paraphrase is too similar to the original. Even if the author had provided a citation, some instructors would consider this plagiarism.

Not Plagiarism:

Although Greeks were picky about their wine, they enjoyed wine from outside Greece. Upstanding Greeks enjoyed wine from many of Greece's local trading partners—including Palestine, Egypt and southern Italy. One story tells of the famous wrestler Milo of Croton, who consumed ten liters of foreign wine daily (Toussaint-Samat 263).

This paraphrase cites the original and rephrases its words to create an original construction.

Paraphrase that Uses Too Much of the Original Language

Up, up, up, groping through clouds for what seemed like an eternity....No amount of practice could have prepared them for what they encountered. B-24s, glittering like mica, were popping up out of the clouds all over the sky.

from Thomas Childers. Wings of morning: the story of the last American bomber shot down over Germany in World War II , Reading, Mass.: Addison-Wesley (1990), 83. 

Up, up, up he went, until he got above the clouds. No amount of practice could have prepared the pilot and crew for what they encountered-B-24s, glittering like mica, were popping up out of the clouds over here, over there, everywhere.

This comes from The Wild Blue: The Men and Boys Who Flew the B-24s over Germany  by Stephen E. Ambrose. Ambrose cites but does not quote Childers' original work despite using its imagery and language.  Ambrose should have either used Childers' passage as a direct quotation or modified his own passage so that it consisted of his own language.

Not Plagiarism

 Despite their training, the pilot and crew's experience was surreal and surprising, seeing for the first time "B-24s, glittering like mica, ... popping up out of the clouds all over the sky" (Ambrose 83).

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  • Last Updated: Jun 19, 2023 2:22 PM
  • URL: https://guides.library.upenn.edu/citationpractices

Paraphrasing & Citation

Return to Student Resources

Plagiarism is using someone else's words or ideas without giving proper credit. It can take many forms, including the following:

  • Omitting documentation of a source
  • Inadequately documenting the words or ideas you are using
  • Closely paraphrasing the writing of another person without documentation

Remember, an author deserves credit for their ideas as well as their sentence structure, word choice, and sequence of thoughts. Changing several words in someone else's sentence does not make that sentence or idea your own.

If you are unsure if something you've written constitutes plagiarism or you would like more tips on how to avoid plagiarism, feel free to visit us in the Writing Center. You can also check your department's website for guidance. For Swarthmore's official policy on academic honesty, see the Academic Freedom and Responsibility section of the Swarthmore College Student Handbook Academic Policies .

Paraphrasing

Paraphrasing is putting another person's ideas in your own words. It is useful to paraphrase when your reader needs to understand or be exposed to the argument of another author in order to understand your argument. Paraphrasing ALWAYS requires a citation. Even if you are using your own words, the idea still belongs to someone else.

Sometimes there is a fine line between paraphrasing and plagiarizing someone's writing. Here's one strategy for paraphrasing effectively: read over the paragraph of interest. Then close the book or turn the page of the article and write a short summary. If you're still stuck with the author's language and sequence of thoughts, wait a few hours and try again. Once you have internalized the author's ideas, you will be able to express them in your own words. One of the keys to paraphrasing effectively is applying what you have learned instead of simply duplicating another author's writing or ideas in your paper.

If you're having trouble getting away from an author's exact words, you might want to simply include their exact words as a quotation with proper citations. Sometimes you can't express the same thought any other way because the precise meaning is lost when the phrasing is changed. There is nothing wrong with directly citing a source when you need to.

Common Knowledge

There are a few situations in which source material does not need an accompanying citation. It's very important to know when omitting a citation is acceptable. If you're not sure, consult your professor or the Writing Center.

Two common situations when you shouldn't cite a source are:

  • When the information you are providing is "common knowledge," which means that someone could easily find the information in multiple reference texts. For example, stating that George Washington was president from 1789-1797 does not require a citation because the reader could easily find this information in any encyclopedia or American history book. The particular book you used is not significant.
  • When the information you are providing is considered common knowledge in your field and you are writing for colleagues in that field, you shouldn't burden them with citations for commonly known theories and ideas. In Rules for Writers, Diana Hacker gives two examples: the current population of the United States could be common knowledge in the fields of sociology and economics, and Freud's theory of the unconscious could be common knowledge in psychology.

Citations allow you to give credit where credit is due. They also help your readers to track down your sources easily. For citations to serve their purpose (and for you to avoid plagiarism), it is imperative that you cite correctly and completely. Your choice of citation format may depend on specifications from your instructor, conventions for your discipline, or your personal preference.

The Writing Center library (Trotter 120) contains books that provide citation instructions, including the MLA Handbook, ACS Style Guide, APA guidelines, and multiple books from the Short Guide to Writing About... series. The reference librarians in McCabe and Cornell can help you format citations correctly. Also, many departments offer guidelines for citation. Check department websites or ask your professor.

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BlogVwant

Paraphrasing Vs citation: which one is best to Prevent Plagiarism?

Want to know the difference between Paraphrasing and citation. This tutorial Paraphrasing Vs citation will tell you which is the best to prevent Plagiarism.

Most people may be confused about the bad impacts of plagiarized content, so what to do now?

There are some techniques and tools needed to remove Plagiarism and make content unique, and we are going to explain these steps.

As there are many techniques but we have shortlisted the best and the easiest two and these two are paraphrasing and citations.

Paraphrasing Vs citation

Paraphrasing Vs citation

We can say that both are effective and useful, but some circumstances can easily differentiate both. And if you will have a look below, you’ll surely pick the best option on your own so, let’s start.

What is paraphrasing in actuality?

In simple words, paraphrasing is a process introduced to change the words with their synonyms without changing the intent of the content.

According to the  Oxford Dictionary :

“ A statement that expresses something that somebody has written or said using different words, especially in order to make it easier to understand”

Is it possible?

Yes, it is possible and straightforward as well. When you are using different words, then you will indeed don’t charge for using plagiarized content.

There are majorly two approaches to rephrasing the content; one is to do it on your own, and secondly, you can use a paraphraser.

We know most people are known about paraphrasers, and some people still don’t know about a paraphraser or paraphrasing tool.

How to rephrase using an online tool?

As we all know, many tasks can quickly be done using an online tool, and paraphrasing is one.

You can easily use a paraphraser for rephrasing your content, as they are specifically designed to do this job.

When we talk about the working of this tool, it is straightforward and straight.

  • All you need to do is, pick the best paraphrasing tool .
  • Simply paste the content you want to rephrase in the input field or upload content.
  • Click on the submit button.

citation or paraphrasing

It just needs a couple of seconds and just a few clicks, and that’s why this method is considered the best and most straightforward approach to prevent Plagiarism.

What is citation?

Citation is majorly used in the educational sector, especially in assignments or in project reports.

But if you are a blogger and need to make your blog plagiarism-free, you need to avoid citations.

We can say that citations refer to giving the credits to the original author or writer; you need to provide sources if your preference is to remove Plagiarism.

APA: Citing Within Your Paper | UAGC Writing Center

There is more than one type of citation, and you can use any of them regarding your content, but in-text citations are most common.

Now, let’s talk about the usage of citations in content. If you prepare a report for your project or use copied data in your assignment, you need to add citations.

How to generate citations?

There are many tools or websites available on the internet that can generate citations for your content, and you can go for any type of citation.

Now, you need to find out a tool on the internet, and then you can start using that tool and generate the citations.

These online tools are used to generate citations and can also help make a bibliography.

Where can we use citations?

As we have mentioned above that citations are majorly used in assignments and many other educational documents.

But you cannot use them frequently; use citations in the content that will be published on the internet.

If you are willing to make your blog or any other content related to the internet unique, there are many more options.

We can say that it depends on you whether to choose citations or to go for paraphrasing tools.

Which approach is best for removing Plagiarism?

It is not wrong to say that both are pretty effective and very useful, but here we have to favor any one of them.

But this favor must be under the consideration of general specifications and usefulness of both of these approaches.

We recommend you to go for paraphrasing as it is more helpful and limitless like there is no limit, and you can easily rephrase any content using a paraphraser.

Using citations will surely free you from plagiarized content, but it can make your content messy and stuff.

So, from our point of view, using a paraphrasing tool or paraphrasing can be the best option for making your content unique.

We cannot ignore any of these two options, but we can pick anyone by determining the easiness and effectiveness.

If you are willing to improve your vocabulary and make your content unique, you need to paraphrase.

But if you are a student and need to prepare your assignments, then choosing citations is acceptable and valuable.

By reading this guide, you can simply choose anyone on your own, and you can easily differentiate both of them.

You must also use any one of the Best Grammar checker tools like Grammarly to correct your grammar.

Related: Grammarly review

I hope this tutorial Paraphrasing Vs citation helped you to know the difference between paraphrasing and citation. If you like this article, please share it with your friends. If you want more blogging tips, follow BlogVwant on Facebook ,  Twitter , and YouTube .

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Research and Citation Resources

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Welcome to the Purdue OWL

This page is brought to you by the OWL at Purdue University. When printing this page, you must include the entire legal notice.

Copyright ©1995-2018 by The Writing Lab & The OWL at Purdue and Purdue University. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, reproduced, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our terms and conditions of fair use.

If you are having trouble locating a specific resource please visit the  search page  or the  Site Map . The Citation Chart  provides a detailed overview of MLA Style, APA Style, and Chicago Manual of Style source documentation by category.

Conducting Research

These OWL resources will help you conduct research using primary source methods, such as interviews and observations, and secondary source methods, such as books, journals, and the Internet. This area also includes materials on evaluating research sources.

Using Research

These OWL resources will help you use the research you have conducted in your documents. This area includes material on quoting and paraphrasing your research sources, as well as material on how to avoid plagiarism.

APA Style (7th Edition)

These OWL resources will help you learn how to use the American Psychological Association (APA) citation and format style. This section contains resources on in-text citation and the References page, as well as APA sample papers, slide presentations, and the APA classroom poster.

These OWL resources will help you learn how to use the Modern Language Association (MLA) citation and format style. This section contains resources on in-text citation and the Works Cited page, as well as MLA sample papers, slide presentations, and the MLA classroom poster

Chicago Manual of Style

This section contains information on the Chicago Manual of Style method of document formatting and citation. These resources follow the 17th edition of the Chicago Manual of Style, which was issued in 2017.

Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Style

These resources describe how to structure papers, cite sources, format references, and handle the complexities of tables and figures according to the latest Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) guidelines.

American Medical Association (AMA) Style

These resources provide guidance on how to cite sources using American Medical Association (AMA) Style, 10th Ed., including examples for print and electronic sources.

Research Overview

We live in an age overflowing with sources of information. With so many information sources at our fingertips, knowing where to start, sorting through it all and finding what we want can be overwhelming! This handout provides answers to the following research-related questions: Where do I begin? Where should I look for information? What types of sources are available?

Conducting Primary Research

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Computer Science > Computation and Language

Title: task-oriented paraphrase analytics.

Abstract: Since paraphrasing is an ill-defined task, the term "paraphrasing" covers text transformation tasks with different characteristics. Consequently, existing paraphrasing studies have applied quite different (explicit and implicit) criteria as to when a pair of texts is to be considered a paraphrase, all of which amount to postulating a certain level of semantic or lexical similarity. In this paper, we conduct a literature review and propose a taxonomy to organize the 25~identified paraphrasing (sub-)tasks. Using classifiers trained to identify the tasks that a given paraphrasing instance fits, we find that the distributions of task-specific instances in the known paraphrase corpora vary substantially. This means that the use of these corpora, without the respective paraphrase conditions being clearly defined (which is the normal case), must lead to incomparable and misleading results.

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