Writing
From
Sources

Once you have located sources, you must decide how to use the content therein. You have three choices: quoting, summarizing, and paraphrasing.

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Quoting

A quote is someone else’s words. Short quotes are always treated with both quotation marks and in-text citation; long quotes must be formatted by a specific indent and citation. For more proper treatment of both short and long quotes, visit the appropriate link.

APA - Learn more at Purdue OWL
Long quotes are 40 or more words
Short quote methods:

• Marsden (2019) explained that "the fear was unfounded" (p. 14).
• "The fear was unfounded" (Marsden, 2019, p. 14).
  
  
• If the source is a webpage, use the paragraph number - para. - instead of page.
• If the source does not have a date, use n.d.

MLA - Learn more at Purdue OWL

Long quotes are more than 4 lines
Short quote methods:

• Marsden explained that "the fear was unfounded" (14).
• "The fear was unfounded (Marsden 14).
  
  
• If the source is a webpage, no page or paragraph number is necessary.

The wording must be exact, with just a few exceptions as shown directly below.

Delete: Ellipsis

• You can remove wording by replacing it with an ellipsis (three periods). This is done when a sentence or even a paragraph is too long for your needs; it tells the reader that something was deleted.
  
• Original wording, found on page 4 in an article written in 2018 by author Susan Marsh:
  Jones explained the terribly strange and varied computer crimes committed by the cyber thief.
  • Appropriate APA quote: "Jones explained … crimes committed by the cyber thief" (Marsh, 2018, p. 4).
    Appropriate MLA quote: "Jones explained … crimes committed by the cyber thief" (Marsh 4).
  • The copied words are in quotes. The missing words are replaced with an ellipsis. A citation is included.

Add: Square Brackets

• You can clarify by adding words in square brackets. In the example below, the reader might not be sure what kind of laptop is described, which is why the brand name was added.
• Original wording, found in paragraph 2 in an undated web article by Sydney Greene and Danielle Burnett:
  It was the newest laptop.
  • Appropriate APA quote: "It was the newest [Asus] laptop" (Greene & Burnett, n.d., para. 2).
    Appropriate MLA quote: "It was the newest [Asus] laptop" (Greene and Burnett).
  • The copied words are in quotes. The added word(s) are in brackets. A citation is included.

Acknowledge Errors: [sic]

• You must identify incorrect grammar or spelling in the original by using [sic] – but you cannot correct the original. Note that "sic" is Latin for "thus it stands."
• Original wording, found on page 35 in an article written in 2020 by Joe Grace:
  The clerk showed how easy it was to brake the hard drive.
  • Appropriate APA quote: "The clerk showed how easy it was to brake [sic] the hard drive" (Grace, 2020, p. 35).
    Appropriate MLA quote: "The clerk showed how easy it was to brake [sic] the hard drive" (Grace 35).
  • The copied words are in quotes. The misspelled word is identified by use of [sic]. A citation is included.

Really important points:

• Quoting should be rare - a very small percentage of your paper - as they do not prove an understanding of the material. Avoid long quotes if possible. Make sure you read all assignment instructions carefully; your professor may limit or prohibit the use of quotes.
• Always explain a quote or its significance, for the same reason as above: you need to prove an understanding.
• Never start or end a paper with a quote. Doing so greatly undermines your position of authority as the paper writer.
  
  
• Want to quote a list? Generally it is better to paraphrase the information, but if you need to quote the list itself:
  • APA: End each list item with a semi-colon and follow the last one with a proper citation (including page number). Example: https://nps.edu/documents/105790666/106471207/Citing+Bulleted+and+Numbered+Lists.pdf
  • MLA: Use a numbered list (even if the original is bulleted). At the end, insert the page number. Example: https://style.mla.org/quoting-bulleted-numbered-lists
    
    

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Writing ideas in your own words

Your research papers should contain mostly your own words to provide the ideas you found while researching. Of concern is the avoidance of plagiarism.

• Avoid copying three words in a row (exceptions are made for proper nouns and concept phrases).
• Write your own sentence structure and paragraphing structure.
• Replace words when possible, although if you use a thesaurus, make sure you are clear with the meaning of new words.
• Read more about paraphrasing at
  Purdue OWL - Paraphrase: Write It In Your Own Words

Summarizing

A summary is a short version of the source’s ideas, written in your own words.

Paraphrasing

A paraphrase is typically longer than a summary, and presents both main ideas and details as explained in the source, written in your own words.

Examples

Original, from a 2018 article by David Smith	Format	Summary	Paraphrase
The amount of cybertheft perpetrated by the bank was staggering, and will require a great deal of expensive cleanup.	APA	Correcting the bank’s cybercrimes was costly (Smith, 2018).	Rectifying the bank’s cybersecurity breach was a large expense; the issue caused many problems (Smith, 2018).
	MLA	Correcting the bank’s cybercrimes was costly (Smith).	Rectifying the bank’s cybersecurity breach was a large expense; the issue caused many problems (Smith).

Both the summary and paraphrase have new wording and sentence structure, and include citation because the idea originated with Smith.

 

Spontaneously combusted on August 26, 2017; updated April 24, 2022.
From a short video created a longer time ago.
Spontaneous Fudge pages © Prof. Tamara Fudge