SUMMARIES,
PARAPHRASES,
AND QUOTES
A breakdown
3 Ways to Use Sources
SUMMARIES
PARAPHRASES
DIRECT QUOTES
Summaries
◦ Covers a large amount of information (whole chapters,
books, movies, etc)
◦ Only focuses on the most important points
◦ Length and style depend on purpose
Summaries
In-Text Summaries
Out-of-Text Summaries
◦ Brief
◦ Abstracts – a more descriptive table of
contents
◦ Can be used to:
◦ Introduce a text you’ll be using more
extensively later OR
◦ Highlight a foundational/background
text. Important…but not immediately
relevant
◦ Annotated Bibliographies – helps
readers gauge relevance of the
source
◦ Book report – checks for content
understanding
◦ Teaching – Meant to simplify content
for non-expert audiences
Paraphrases
◦ Summaries, but smaller
◦ Can be used to:
◦ Clarify a complex or wordy passage
◦ Explain how a passage connects with your argument
◦ Rephrase a boring or unremarkable passage
◦ Share an important point from an otherwise unrelated
passage
Quotes
◦ The shortest type of source inclusion (usually)
◦ Generally, 4 lines or less in length
◦ (Longer quotes are called box quotes. Don’t overdo)
◦ Can be used to:
◦ Catch attention
◦ Highlight a really important point
◦ Humanize a topic
◦ Repeat a well-phrased, memorable, or striking comment
◦ Must be duplicated exactly from the source material