Quotation, Paraphrase,
Summary, Plagiarism
How to Properly
Use and Cite Sources
Definitions

Quotation:


Paraphrase:


Reproduces the content of the original in your own
words
Summary:


Is an exact duplication of a portion of a source,
enclosed in quotation marks
A condensed paraphrase that expresses only the
principle points of the original
Plagiarism:

Failure to document a quotation, paraphrase, or
summary
Integrating Quotation, Paraphrase, Summary
Always introduce quotations,
paraphrases and summaries
 Use an introductory phrase with the
name of the author included
 Example:


In Letters from America, Rupert Brooke
characterizes Toronto as a “brisk,” largely
British city having the usual urban mixture
of wealth and poverty (80).
Rules for Quotation

Quote accurately:


If you omit or change anything, indicate
the changes



Reproduce the quotation exactly ― including
its spelling, capitalization, and punctuation
[ ] if you change a word/phrase
… (with a space before and after) if you omit
a word/phrase)
You may omit or change the concluding
punctuation to fit the quotation into your
own sentence
Rules for Quotation
Short quotations (less than 4 lines of
your essay) go in quotation marks and
are included in the body of your text
 When quoting more than one line of
verse, use a slash (/) with a space
before and after to mark the line
endings:


“Five years have passed; five summers,
with the length / Of five long winters”
(Wordsworth, “Tintern Abbey” 1-2).
Rules for Quotation
When quoting a prose passage of more than
three lines, start a new line and indent from
the left margin double what you indent your
paragraph
 Do not indent right margin
 Double space the quotation (as you are the
entire essay) but do not add quotation marks
that are not part of the quotation itself
 After the quotation leave 2 spaces before the
citation

Rules for Quotation
After the quotation leave 2 spaces
before the citation:
None of them knew the colour of the
sky. Their eyes glanced level, and
were fastened upon the waves that
swept toward them. (Crane, “The
Open Boat” 918)
Rules for Quotation





When quoting more than three lines of verse,
start a new line and indent from the left
margin double what you indent your
paragraph
Do not indent right margin
Double-space the quotation (as you are the
entire essay)
Preserve the original line endings and the
original spatial arrangement of the lines as
much as possible
If the passage begins in the middle of a line,
Rules for Quotation
If the passage begins in the middle of a line,
type it that way:
These beauteous forms,
Through a long absence, have not been
to me
As is a landscape to a blind man’s eye:
But oft, in lonely rooms, and ‘mid the din
Of towns and cities, I have owed to them
In hours of weariness, sensations sweet…
(“Tintern Abbey” 22-27)
Rules for Paraphrase
Give clear credit to the source at the
beginning of the paraphrase
 Paraphrase will usually be a little
shorter than the original, but need not
be

Rules for Paraphrase
Do not use significant words and
phrases from the original without
putting them in quotation marks
 If using three or more words in a row
from the original, put them in quotation
marks; not to do so is plagiarism

Rules for Summary
Give clear credit to the source either at
the beginning of the summary or in the
end citation
 Do not use significant words and
phrases from the original without
putting them in quotation marks
 If using three or more words in a row
from the original, put them in quotation
marks; not to do so is plagiarism
