Directly Quoting, Paraphrasing, and Summarizing
I. Using Quotations
Why should you identify the source of a quotation? There are three main reasons to properly identify your sources: 1. To avoid plagiarism. 2. To help you (and your readers) distinguish between your ideas and those of your sources. 3. To strengthen your overall argument by calling attention to the qualifications or experiences of the person you are quoting. To introduce a quotation effectively, you should provide sufficient background information about the source of your quotation and use signal phrases or colons to smoothly integrate the quotation into your document. Doing so gives your reader a better understanding of how you are using the source information. In the examples below, Rianne used several different signal phrases to attribute quotations and integrate them seamlessly into her document. The signal phrases are underlined. Notice the variety of attributions Rianne uses as signal phrases to introduce the quotations. Rianne also used parenthetical documentation to identify her sources.
Using Signal Phrases to Lead in Quotations
Passage from Rianne's Draft:
According to Patty Smith, a Colorado public school teacher, "Bill 186 does not consider that many students who have just entered the school system and who do not yet speak English are very bright kids-their English is just not at the level it needs to be. Given time, their test scores will improve. But it's not fair to discriminate against these kids" (53). Another state legislator, Paul Zimmerman, D-Thornton, condemns the Bill, saying, "It digs a hole, it kicks these kids in, and then it allows no escape" (qtd. in “School” 3). Colorado public school teacher Andrew Mays asks, "Are these schools going to want students who are not proficient in English, who have mental or physical handicaps, or who come from families with limited economic means? Probably not, so they will begin discriminating against children who might bring test averages down" (qtd. in Jones 12). "There is no reason to believe a charter school takeover would improve educational achievement. State studies have not shown that charter schools are any more effective than other schools, if one compares schools with children at the same socioeconomic level," asserts Senator Pat Pascoe asserts (qtd. in “School” 9).
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Providing Context for Quotations
In the example below, Kevin has set up the quotation by explaining the context of the Hemingway protagonist (underlined). By doing so, Kevin gives his readers a frame for understanding how he is using the source information. Kevin also used MLA style to document his sources. Passage from Kevin's Draft: But if we refuse to retrofit the term code hero to Nick simply because he is a Hemingway protagonist and we allow the text to have its say, it becomes clear that "Hemingway's selfprojection in Nick Adams is of an often frightened, often mistaken, and bewildered young man" (Gadjusek 37).
II. How to Integrate Paraphrases into a Draft
Using a paraphrase, or a passage you have restated from a source, is a common technique you can use to integrate information from a source into your own writing. A paraphrase is a restatement, in your own words, of a passage from a source. You can use a paraphrase to integrate your source information into your work without seeming like you are simply relying on the words of your sources to illustrate or support your points. Because paraphrases contain ideas that are not your own, they need to be cited properly. When using MLA style, be sure to reference the page number where you found the information in your source material.
Writing Paraphrases
*Four
Important Steps to Remember When Paraphrasing: Step 1: Make sure that you understand the passage by reading it and the surrounding text carefully. Step 2: Restate the passage in your own words, and make sure that you do more than simply change key words. Step 3: Compare the original passage with your paraphrase. Make sure that you've conveyed the meaning of the passage but that the wording and sentence structure are different from those in the original passage. Step 4: Be sure to note the author/title and the page on which the paraphrase can be found, following MLA format.
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A student writer found the original passage you see below in the February 29, 2000, article, "Taiwan Asks U.S. to Let It Obtain Top-Flight Arms," by Erik Eckholm and Steven Lee Meyers, which he had located on the New York Times Web site. He read the passage and the entire article numerous times to make sure he understood it.
Writing Paraphrases: Step 1—Read the Text Carefully
Original Passage: At a time of high tension among China, Taiwan, and the United States, Taiwan's government is pressing Washington to sell it some of the most advanced defensive weapons as part of an ambitious new plan to counter China's growing military power. The request for weapons, including four warships equipped with sophisticated radar and antimissile systems costing more than $1.5 billion each, has provoked severe warnings from Beijing and has put the Clinton administration in a serious political bind.
Writing Paraphrases: Step 2—Restate the Passage in Your Own Words
Appropriate Paraphrase of the Original Passage: In early March, only weeks before the presidential election, Taiwan requested that the United States sell it four of its most lethal destroyers utilizing the Aegis weapons system—the launching system used for the famed Tomahawk cruise missile (Eckholm and Meyers 2) .
Writing Paraphrases: Step 3—Compare the Passage to Your Paraphrase Writing Paraphrases: Step 4—Record all Documentation Information
Paraphrase Used in Draft: In addition to the problem of where the United State's "One China" policy stands, there is perhaps the more immediately pertinent problem of how long the United States will continue to sell arms to Taiwan, despite agreements that the current arrangement would not be "long-term" (“Joint Communiqué”). In early March, only weeks before the presidential election, Taiwan requested that the United States sell it four of its most lethal destroyers utilizing the Aegis weapons system—the launching system used for the famed Tomahawk cruise missile—a request that was immediately and publicly denounced by China (Eckholm and Myers 2). Integrating Paraphrases When taking notes for your project document, you've probably already done some paraphrasing of information and arguments from different sources. If you have already created paraphrases that meet these guidelines, it might be possible to simply insert the
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Directly Quoting, Paraphrasing, and Summarizing
paraphrase in your paper. It is important that the paraphrased information fits smoothly into your paper, so it may be necessary for you to revise the paraphrase so it matches the context and tone of your paper. One way to ensure a smooth transition of ideas is to use signal phrases, such as according to, in other words, in the words of, the author indicates, the authors writes, etc. Signal phrases often use the name of the author or the title of the source the information is drawn from to help distinguish your ideas from that of your source information.
III. Understanding Summaries and Their Use
Summaries can be a useful tool to research writers because they allow writers to use entire books and large documents by condensing information into smaller, more manageable pieces. It is common for research writers to summarize entire works, sometimes as briefly as a single sentence. In some cases, a summary might occupy one or more paragraphs or be integrated into the discussion contained in one or more paragraphs. You can also use summaries to convey key information or ideas from a source without summarizing the entire source. You can summarize an entire source, or specific ideas and information from a source or a group of sources. The method for integrating summary information into your paper is the same as it is for integrating paraphrased information.
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