QUOTING, PARAPHRASING, & SUMMARIZING
Remember, any ideas that you read and would like to incorporate into your assignment should be paraphrased or summarized in your own words. While it's tempting just to change a few words in a writer's sentence, this is not paraphrasing. In fact, substituting a few synonyms in a sentence written by someone else, while maintaining the same basic sentence structure, is still considered plagiarism (yes, even if you cite your source!)
Quoting
If something is a direct quote, you may copy it word for word, provided you put the words in quotes and attribute your source. Use direct quotes sparingly. You should not directly quote something just because you don't feel like paraphrasing. A direct quote should be something important and meaningful to your research, such as a direct quote from a novel you are referencing or a direct quote by an expert supporting your point of view.
If something is a direct quote, you may copy it word for word, provided you put the words in quotes and attribute your source. Use direct quotes sparingly. You should not directly quote something just because you don't feel like paraphrasing. A direct quote should be something important and meaningful to your research, such as a direct quote from a novel you are referencing or a direct quote by an expert supporting your point of view.
Paraphrasing & Summarizing
These two are similar but slightly different. Paraphrasing is when you take a passage written by someone else and put it in your own words. Summarizing is when you take the main points from something you've read and put them in your own words (often winds up being shorter than a paraphrase). Since these two are so similar, you may hear your teachers/me use the terms interchangeably for our level of research.
These two are similar but slightly different. Paraphrasing is when you take a passage written by someone else and put it in your own words. Summarizing is when you take the main points from something you've read and put them in your own words (often winds up being shorter than a paraphrase). Since these two are so similar, you may hear your teachers/me use the terms interchangeably for our level of research.
How to Paraphrase
- Read the original passage and make sure you understand what is being said (read it several times, if needed, or ask for help on challenging works)
- Put the original aside so you are not tempted to copy words or sentence structure
- Write down a few keywords from the original (this would go in your left column when using the Cornell notes structure)
- Use those keywords to develop your own sentences to convey the meaning from the original
- Check your paraphrase with the original to ensure you have accurately expressed the meaning and have not inadvertently copied any phrases or structure
