1. Quoting, Paraphrasing, and Summarizing

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

3. When do you use a quotation? Quotations should be used sparingly to reflect the exact language of the words of the person that you are citing. Use them if you can’t say it more effectively in your own words Use a quotation if it reveals something about the character of the speaker that wouldn’t otherwise be understood. Use a quotation to strengthen your argument or provide clear evidence; however, never throw in a quotation without providing a lead-in. Equally important is to make sure to summarize a quotation. Quotations can’t speak for you, they can only bolster your argument.

4. Using Quotations Use block quotes whenever your quote exceeds four lines of text:

5. Grammar Girl’s Quick & Dirty… Here’s another example from a recent review of the movie “Get Him to the Greek.” In the Contra Costa Times, Randy Myers writes, “The outrageous ‘Greek’ works better than ‘Funny People’ at least in part because Apatow, who tends to make films that meander too much, hands over writing and directing to a protégé.” If I wanted to quote Myers, and I had limited space, I could use an ellipsis to shorten the quotation: “The outrageous ‘Greek’ works better than ‘Funny People’ . . . because Apatow hands over writing and directing to a protégé. Don’t use ellipse’s to change the meaning of a quote.

6. A Paraphrase Is…. Your own rendition of essential information and ideas expressed by someone else, presented in a new form. One legitimate way (when accompanied by accurate documentation) to borrow from a source. A more detailed restatement than a summary, which focuses concisely on a single main idea.

7. Word-for-Word Plagiarizing In the following example, the writer tacks on a new opening part of the first sentence in the hope that the reader won't notice that the rest of the paragraph is simply copied from the source. The plagiarized words are italicized. Despite the outcry from environmentalist groups like Earth First! and the Sierra Club, it is important to note that the US has only lost approximately 30 percent of its original forest area, most of this in the nineteenth century. The loss has not been higher mainly because population pressure has never been as great here as in Europe. The doubling of US farmland from 1880 to 1920 happened almost without affecting the total forest area as most was converted from grasslands.

8. Plagiarizing by Paraphrase This type of plagiarism occurs when the exact ideas in the source are followed very closely—too closely—simply by substituting your own words and sentences for those of the original.

9. Mosaic Plagiarism This is a more sophisticated kind of plagiarism wherein phrases and terms are lifted from the source and sprinkled in among your own prose. Words and phrases lifted verbatim or with only slight changes are italicized.