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Quoting and Paraphrasing

Sources

By: Eda, Sam, Santos, and Min Yee

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What’s the Difference?Quoting means including original text from a book, news paper, or other sources in your own writing. 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.”

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Why Use Quotations and paraphrases?

Quotations and paraphrases serve many purposes. They can be used 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

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How do I set up and follow up a quotation?

The words that precede and follow a quotation are just as important as the quotation itself.

1. Provide a context for each quotation. 2. Attribute each quotation to its source3. Explain the significance of the quotation for your paper4. Provide a citation for the equation

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Introducing a QuotationDon't simply drop quotations into your paper and leave it to the reader to make connections. Instead, integrate a quotation into your text; this usually involves two elements:

1. A signal that a quotation is coming – generally the author's name and/or a reference to the work

2. An assertion that indicates the relationship of the quotation to your text

Example: According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death among those age 5-34 in the U.S.”

In Federalist 51 Madison observes, "Different interests necessarily exist in different classes of citizens" (345).

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Quoting Try to keep quotes to one sentence or less; avoid long

quotations. When you use long quotations, you are giving up space in your essay to someone else. Also, long quotations often contain material that is not necessary for the writer to make his or her point.

Make sure quotes flow smoothly with your own writing

Quote only the “Good Stuff”› Memorable statements› Especially clear explanations stated by authorities› Controversial arguments in the speaker’s/writer’s own

words

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Formatting Quotations Short Quotes

Incorporate short direct quotations into the text of your paper and enclose them in double quotation marks

Example: On Friday February 27, 2011, the motorist group AAA said that “The national average price for a gallon of regular gas rose 5.9 cents to $3.287.”

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Formatting Quotations Long Quotes

When a quotation is four typed lines or more, you'll need to create what's called a block quotation by using the following guidelines: › Indent the quotation one inch (or two tabs) from the left

margin› Do not use quotation marks› Maintain double-spacing in block quotations› Include the parenthetical citation after the period› Avoid ending paragraphs with block quotes. Try to follow

it up with an explanatory sentence

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Punctuating with Quotation Marks

Keep periods and commas within quotation marks

Example: Bill said, “I just got back from my trip, and I had a good time.”

Place all other punctuation marks (colons, semicolons, exclamation marks, question marks) outside the quotation marks, except when they were part of the original quotation

Examples:

The student wrote that the U. S. Civil War "finally ended around 1900"!(The exclamation is added to emphasize the absurdity of the student's

comment)

The little boy yelled, “Help!”(The exclamation mark is considered to be part of the original quotation)

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Quotations Within QuotationsIf you are quoting a passage that contains a quotation, then you use single quotation marks for the internal quotation.

Example: Dave Anderson believes that "there is no saying less true than 'it doesn't matter whether you win or lose, it's how you play the game.'"

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EllipsesThe ellipses, three spaced dots ( . . . ), indicates that part of a quotation has been left out. Ellipses are useful when you want to include only the most relevant words of a quotation; however, any omission must not distort the quotation's original meaning.

Example: The First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution provides that "Congress shall make no law respecting . . . the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

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Insert or Change Words in Quotations

Sometimes it is necessary for clarity and flow to alter a word or words within a quotation. You should make such changes rarely. In order to alert your reader to the changes you've made, you should always put brackets around the altered words.

Here are a few examples of situations when you might need brackets.

Changing verb tense or pronouns in order to be consistent with the rest of the sentence.

Example: In Thomas Jefferson’s time there was definitely a notion that "A little rebellion now and then [was] a good thing."

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Insert or Change Words in Quotations

Including supplemental information that your reader needs in order to understand the quotationExample: The Baltimore Bullet [Michael Phelps] won eight golden medals during the 2008 Olympics Game in Beijing.

Use brackets to make an editorial statement or clarification within a quoteExample: My grandmother always said "dream about a [friendly] dog and you'll see an old friend soon."

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ParaphrasingParaphrasing is a valuable skill because... It is better than quoting information from an

undistinguished passage. It helps you control the temptation to quote too much. The mental process required for successful paraphrasing

helps you to grasp the full meaning of the original.

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ExampleOriginal Text: In a Gallup poll released last week, 50 percent said their

opinion of the former First Lady was unfavorable . . . Clinton's camp notes that other recent polls have not shown unfavorables as high as the Gallup number and says it is confident her favorables will increase as the campaign goes on.

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Example ContinuedBad Example: According to the Gallup number released last week, Clinton's camp notes that

other recent polls have not shown unfavorables as high as the Gallup number. They are also confident that her favorables will increase as the campaign goes on (Darman).

(This is a bad example because much of the author's original vocabulary is used in the paraphrasing)

Good Example: A Gallup Poll released last week showed that 50 percent of the population has an

unfavorable opinion of Hillary Clinton. The Clinton camp is optimistic, however; they have shown in other recent polls that her unfavorables were not nearly as high as the Gallup and are certain that her favorables will increase as election time grows closer (Darman).

(This is a good example because the original information is presented using other vocabulary and sentence structure)

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Plagiarism What is Plagiarism?

“The deliberate or reckless representation of another's words, thoughts, or ideas as one's own without attribution in connection with submission of academic work, whether graded or otherwise."

Why should you care about plagiarism?› You automatically fail the course or lose the chance to

attend school› It will go on your academic record › You will not learn the material or get an education› You will be fooled into thinking there are shortcuts in college

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Plagiarizing vs. Paraphrasing

It is still considered as plagiarism if: › You take another person’s ideas and put those in your

own words› Change a few words into synonyms › Change the sentence structure while maintaining its

original words

Paraphrasing is fine to use as long as you attribute material back to the author and cite the source at the end of the text.

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How to avoid Plagiarism Make a record of each source

› Keep track of sources in notes, bookmark web pages, record URL and date of access

Put quotations on anything that comes directly from a text

Learn how to cite sources correctly › Look in your writing handbooks› Use online resources› Ask an instructor

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Quiz

This is a simple quiz to see if you can spot proper quotation.

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Choose the sentence with the correct Quotation

A. Jackson Pollock once said, “American painters have generally missed the point of modern painting from beginning to end”.

B. Jackson Pollock once said American painters have generally missed the point of modern painting from beginning to end.

C. Jackson Pollock once said, “American painters have generally missed the point of modern painting from beginning to end.”

D. Jackson Pollock once said, American painters have generally missed the point of modern painting from beginning to end.

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answerC) Jackson Pollock once said, “American painters have generally

missed the point of modern painting from beginning to end.”

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Choose the sentence with the correct Quotation

A. Marcus asked, “where is the toilet paper”?

B. Marcus asked, where is the toilet paper?

C. Marcus “asked, where is the toilet paper?”

D. Marcus asked, “where is the toilet paper?”

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answerD) Marcus asked, “where is the toilet paper?”

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Choose the sentence with the proper Quotation

A. "The lead designer at Space Graphics told Sue Susan James that she would get fired.”

B. "The lead designer at Space Graphics told Sue [Susan James] that she would get fired”.

C. "The lead designer at Space Graphics told Sue [Susan James] that she would get fired.”

D. "The lead designer at Space Graphics told Sue [Susan James] that she would get fired"

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answerC) "The lead designer at Space Graphics told Sue [Susan

James] that she would get fired.

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Choose the sentence with the proper Quotation

A. Jack cried, “Mom, nobody likes me”!

B. Jack cried, “Mom, nobody likes me!”

C. Jack cried, “Mom, nobody likes me!

D. Jack cried, ‘Mom, nobody likes me!’

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answerB) Jack cried, “Mom, nobody likes me!”

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Is this statement true or false?

Question marks should always go inside the quotation marks.

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answer false

Question marks only go inside quotation marks when they are from the original quote.