Quoting, Paraphrasing, and Summarizing
Quoting, paraphrasing, and summarizing are all different ways of including evidence and the ideas of others into your
assignments.
Using evidence from credible sources to support your thesis is an important part of academic writing.
Citing the source of any quote, paraphrase, or summary is an important step to avoid plagiarism.
Quotations, paraphrases, and summaries are used to support – not replace – your own ideas.
Quotation: a repetition of someone's exact words for the purpose of using someone else's words to support or illustrate
your ideas, analyzing another's writing, or to point out an element in the writing. Always cite it and use "quotation marks."
Paraphrase: restatement of a portion text in your own words using approximately the same number of words for the
purpose of helping the reader understand the meaning. Always cite it.
Summary: a shortened version of the text in your own words for the purpose of providing the reader with the essential
understanding of a source. Basically, presenting the original information in a nutshell. Always cite it.
When to Quote, Paraphrase, and Summarize
The following examples all come from Williams College: Citing and Documenting online student resource.
Quotations are used when specific words, or a phrase are essential to support the point you are making.
Direct Quotation Example
Original
Buffy, a small, delicate-looking blonde of superhuman strength, relies on Giles not only for adult support and coaching,
but also for the research necessary to do that for which the Vampire Slayer has been chosen.
Quote in Paper (MLA)
According to DeCandido, Buffy "relies on Giles not only for adult support and coaching, but also for the research
necessary to do that for which the Vampire Slayer has been chosen" (44).
The full citation that would appear in the Works Cited page would be:
DeCandido, Graceanne A. "Bibliographic Good vs. Evil in Buffy the Vampire Slayer." American Libraries Sept.
1999: 44-47. Print.

The student chose a direct quotation because the student felt the author's exact words were important to
convey the main idea. Notice how the student seamlessly weaves the quotation into his own text. He begins the
sentence and uses the quotation to end it. Notice too how the student does not include the author's name in
the parenthetical citation because he used it when introducing the quotation.
Paraphrasing is a good idea when all of the ideas are important, but you don't want to use a quotation and you want the
language to sound like the rest of your essay. Paraphrasing can be tricky because you want to ensure that you capture all
the key ideas, while still sounding like yourself. A good tip is to read the passage, cover it up, and then try to write the
paraphrase in your own words without looking at it. Don't just use a thesaurus to look up synonyms. It's also important
that you don't change the meaning from what the author originally wrote. When you paraphrase, sometimes you need to
use more words than the author because you need to explain complex concepts and ideas in a more understandable way.
Paraphrase Example
Original
In the third season, Giles was officially relieved from his Watcher duties, but he ignores that and continues as Buffy's
trainer, confidant, and father-figure.
Paraphrase in Paper (MLA)
Despite his termination by the Watcher's Council in season three, Giles persists to teach and counsel Buffy while playing
a "father-figure" role (DeCandido 44).
The full citation that would appear in the Works Cited page would be:
DeCandido, Graceanne A. "Bibliographic Good vs. Evil in Buffy the Vampire Slayer." American Libraries Sept.
1999: 44-47. Print.

Notice how the words, phrases, and even sentence structure are different from the original while still
maintaining the original meaning. The student has put the words “father-figure” in quotation marks because it is
a specific term used in the original, but even if he hadn't used that quotation, he still would have needed the
citation because the ideas are not his own.
Summaries are helpful when you want to condense a large amount of information.
You still need to put it in your own words.
Focus on the details that help support your point and omit the ones that don’t.
Summary Example
Original
Buffy, a small, delicate-looking blonde of superhuman strength, relies on Giles not only for adult support and coaching,
but also for the research necessary to do that for which the Vampire Slayer has been chosen. In the third season, Giles
was officially relieved from his Watcher duties, but he ignores that and continues as Buffy's trainer, confidant, and
father-figure.
Summary in Paper (MLA)
To help her fulfill her Slayer duties, Buffy can always turn to Giles (DeCandido 44).
The full citation that would appear in the Works Cited page would be:
DeCandido, Graceanne A. "Bibliographic Good vs. Evil in Buffy the Vampire Slayer." American Libraries Sept.
1999: 44-47. Print.

In this case, the facts were important in terms of supporting the point the student was making, but the exact
words were not, and he just wanted to include the most important facts. Notice how the student includes some
of the details in his summary but ignores others. He is focusing on the details that help support his point.