How to Quote, Change Quotes, Paraphrase, and Summarize
Using outside sources is a good way to support your own ideas in a paper. You can incorporate sources through quoting, paraphrasing, or summarizing. The following guidelines will teach you to do this ethically and without plagiarizing.
Quoting
Use quotes sparingly; the number of sources you use needs to be reflective of the length of your paper. When quoting a source, remember to give appropriate credit to the author. Citing your sources in the text and in a Works Cited page is part of proper citation. Look at the How to Write a Works Cited Page link for more details. Quotes should never be used in a sentence by themselves. The following example shows you how NOT to quote.
BAD EXAMPLE:
Tolkien was very talented in using descriptions. "He was as noble and as fair
in the face as an elf-lord, as strong as a warrior, as wise as a wizard, as venerable as a king of
dwarves, and as kind as summer" (61).
This is a bad example because the quote should not be in a sentence by itself. It needs to be included in a sentence with your own words. Now that you've been shown how NOT to quote, you'll be shown how to correctly use quotes in the following sections:
Short Quotations
The three most common methods to include short quotes into a paper are the following:
METHOD 1: Use a complete sentence followed by a colon.
EXAMPLE:
Tolkien's descriptions of Elrond used literary similes: "He was as noble and as fair in the
face as an elf-lord, as strong as a warrior, as wise as a wizard, as venerable as a king of
dwarves, and as kind as summer" (61).
METHOD 2: Use an introductory phrase followed by a comma.
EXAMPLE:
According to Richard A. Posner, "The characters and situations that interest us in literature
are for the most part characters and situations that capture aspects of ourselves and our
situation" (73).
METHOD 3: Insert the quotation directly into your sentence with no additional punctuation.
EXAMPLE:
Tan says that instead of looking at one another, Americans "talk to their reflections" (290).
Long Quotations
When a quotation is four typed lines or more, you'll neet 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.
EXAMPLE:
In reference to fantasy like that of C.S. Lewis, Bruce Young agrees:
Though it ignores many of the superficial details of daily experience, fantasy of
this kind, deeply connected with the truths of human psychology, the realities of
social and spiritual life, even insights into the nature of the cosmos may be one
of the best vehicles for carrying truth into the human heart. Even fantasy of a
lesser kind may excel as an object of beauty or a source of delight. (204)
This explains that...
Changing Quotations
Sometimes it is necessary to change a quotation so it fits grammatically with your wording. The following situations justify changing quotations:
SITUATION 1: If there is an element in the quote that is ungrammatical because of the tense, put the change in brackets.
EXAMPLE:
"[I had] never seen you so hysterical" (Tan 211).
SITUATION 2: If there is an element in the quote that is ungrammatical because of the noun/pronoun choice, put the change in brackets.
EXAMPLE:
Waverly told Rose that she'd "never seen [her] so hysterical" (Tan 211).
SITUATION 3: To leave out part of a quote, use an ellipsis (three periods in a row with spaces between each, e.g., ". . ."). Only use an ellipsis if it's not apparent to the audience that you've left something out. Be sure to have a fourth period if the ellipsis comes before or after the end of a sentence.
EXAMPLE:
"I would have told, except that a part of me was glad . . . that this would be over soon . . . I wanted that, to move on, to forget, to start with a clean slate" (Hosseini 105).
SITUATION 4: If you want to emphasize a word in a quote, change it to italics and put [italics added] after the italicized word.
EXAMPLE:
"I've never [italics added] seen you so hysterical" (Tan, 211).
Paraphrasing
You can avoid quotations altogether by paraphrasing--putting the ideas into your own words. Paraphrasing will help maintain your voice throughout the paper. The following are the three components of paraphrasing:
- Make changes to the author's original vocabulary--use words that are your own.
- Reform the idea by using it in a different sentence structure.
- Always give credit where it is due. Cite your sources.
Here is an example of how to paraphrase from an original text:
Original 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.
BAD EXAMPLE:
The people who work for Clinton note that other current polls have not shown other unfavorables as high as the Gallup number. They believe that her favorables will rise as the campaign progresses (Darman and Hosenball).
This is a bad example of paraphrasing because we went through the original and found a different way to say what had already been said without trying to change sentence structure.
BAD 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 and Hosenball).
This is a bad example because we have kept much of the author's original vocabulary.
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 and Hosenball).
This is a good example because we present the original information using our own vocabulary and sentence structure, while citing our source.
Summarizing
When a passage is lengthy, you will want to summarize. When summarizing, you take an original thought which may be several lines and condense it into one or two sentences comprised of your own words.
Here is an example of how to tighten and condense an original idea:
Original Text:
"The play does not mirror, or reflect, or state; it embodies, and often puts us at a loss to enunciate the ideas and feelings it calls forth. That's the thing about [Death of a] Salesman: it reverberates, echoes, resonates. Its rhythms roll deep down toward and into American desires and delusions" (Heyen 47).
Summarized Passage:
Death of a Salesman has the power to embody the emotion of the American dream, regardless of how incomprehensible it may seem (Heyen 47).
Works Cited
Heyen, William. "Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman and the American Dream."
Modern Critical Interpretations Arthur Miller's Death of a Saleman. Ed. Harold Bloom.
New York: Chelsea House, 1988. 47.
Hosseini, Khaled. The Kite Runner. New York: Riverhead Books, 2003.
"Paraphrase." The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language. 4th ed. 2000.
Darman, Jonathon and Mark Hosenball. "The New War on Hillary." Newsweek 18 June 2007. 30-33.
Posner, Richard A. "Against Ethical Criticism." Ethics, Literature, & Theory. Ed. Stephen K.
George. Oxford: Rowman & Littlefield, 2005. 63-77.
Tan, Amy. The Joy Luck Club. New York: Ivy Books, 1989.
Tolkien, J.R.R. The Hobbit. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1966.
Young, Bruce W. "Literary Criticism and Religious Values." Ethics, Literature, & Theory.
Ed. Stephen K. George. Oxford: Rowman & Littlefield, 2005. 197-209.
