Summarizing, Paraphrasing, ICE,
and Direct Quoting
Incorporating the ideas of others
• To weave the information you’ve
gathered into your own writing you can:
1. Quote directly
2. Paraphrase
3. Summarize
The Methods
• Direct quoting involves adding the exact
words, inside quotation marks, to your
text
• Paraphrasing, or indirect quoting,
involves rewriting a specific
part/paragraph/idea in your own words
• Summarizing involves succinctly giving a
synopsis of the main ideas in your own
words
Why quote?
• All of us use others’ ideas to build on, challenge
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or disagree with
The writer must make it clear which ideas and
words are his/hers and which belong to others
References add weight to your argument
Strict conventions exist on quoting others’
ideas or words
Use quotations to support your points, not
make them.
The ICE Method
• Use the ICE method:
 Introduce (first time
you use a sourceauthor name, source
name, summary of
source; after that,
just need signal
phrase)
 Cite
 Explain
I - Introduction
• An “introduction” can be simple, but ALWAYS
needs three parts & is ALWAYS in one sentence
on its own (never separated):
1. The author’s full name
2. The full name of the source (either in italics or
quotation marks)
3. What the source is about
John Barton, in his book, Writing in College, explains how to write a
successful essay.
C - Citation
• Then the citation. This also has three parts:
1. Signal phrase (who is saying it & how are they
2.
3.
saying it)
The direct quotation
The citation
He explains,“The ICE method is easy to remember” (Barton 5).
Sample signal phrases
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Smith
Smith
Smith
Smith
Smith
points out…
reports…
notes…
observes…
concludes…
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Smith recognizes…
According to Smith…
To quote Smith…
As Smith has
indicated…
Smith defines … as…
Be sure the direct quote does not interrupt the flow of
your sentence
Dropped (or stand alone)
quotations
• Do not include a quotation in your document
•
that “stands alone.”
This means it doesn’t have a signal phrase.
E -Explanation
• And the explanation, or justification for the
quotation (usually 1-3 sentences long):
Most students can remember what the letters in ICE
stand for even years afterwards.
Words of Advice
• Essays that use extensive direct quotations tend
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to lack voice, continuity, or authority.
If you offer quotations every few lines, your
ideas become subordinate to other people’s
ideas and voices. Your ideas are lost and the
piece will not indicate that YOU have done any
thinking or synthesizing.
Therefore, you are generally better off
paraphrasing and summarizing material and
using direct quotations sparingly.
Acknowledging your sources
• There are conventions for indicating the source
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of the quotations and ideas you’ve used in your
writing
1. The bibliography (i.e., References [APA] or
Works Cited [MLA]) at the end of the paper
2. Parenthetical citations that follow an
individual quotation or reference in your text
Your essays will require BOTH
Summarizing
• Summarizing takes the entire source and puts it
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into your own words.
Summarize the main ideas only
Be concise
No quotations
Tends to be shorter than the original source (In
this class, your summaries will be a paragraph
[5-7 sentences])
Starts off with an introduction of the source (I
of ICE)
A Paraphrase is…
• Your own version of the meaning of the ideas and/or
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information of someone else; a very few essential
words of the source's may be included.
A proper way of using information from a source who
you cite.
Different from a summary in that it consists of
approximately the same number of words as the
original; whereas a summary focuses on the main idea
and condenses information.
Paraphrasing Guidelines
• Do not alter the author’s original message
• Do not eliminate any significant background
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information
Do not misrepresent the author’s intentions
Do not copy the original wording too closely
 Don’t just change a few words or shuffle things
around; read the passage several times and
completely rewrite it.
Paraphrasing Tips
1. Reread the original passage to grasp its full meaning.
2. Think about the sense, the purpose, the reasoning of the original; then write out
your paraphrase.
3. Check your version with the original to make sure that yours accurately expresses all
the essential information without relying on the same phrasing or form of
expression.
4. Use quotation marks to identify any unique terms you have borrowed exactly from
the source.
5. Jot down a few words to remind yourself later about how you plan on using your
paraphrase. Write a keyword or phrase to indicate the subject of your paraphrase.
6. Record the source (including the page) so that you can credit it easily if you decide
to incorporate the material into your paper.
Example of a Paraphrase
In a far away, long ago kingdom, Cinderella is living happily with her mother and father
until her mother dies. Cinderella's father remarries a cold, cruel woman who has
two daughters, Drizella and Anastasia. When the father dies, Cinderella's wicked
stepmother turns her into a virtual servant in her own house. Meanwhile, across
town in the castle, the King determines that his son the Prince should find a
suitable bride and provide him with a required number of grandchildren. So the
King invites every eligible maiden in the kingdom to a fancy dress ball, where his
son will be able to choose his bride. Cinderella has no suitable party dress for a
ball, but her friends the mice, lead by Jaques and Gus, and the birds lend a hand in
making her one, a dress the evil stepsisters immediately tear apart on the evening
of the ball. At this point, enter the Fairy Godmother, who creates a pumpkin
carriage and dress for her to arrive at the royal ball under the understanding that it
would disappear at the stroke of midnight. She and the prince meet and fall in
love at first glance. She is also given glass slippers, one of which she loses on her
way hurrying out of the ball. The prince, after finding the shoe, creates a search
team to find the wearer. The stepsisters try to get in the way of Cinderella being
discovered; however, the shoe only fit Cinderella. Despite her shabby appearance,
the Prince allows Cinderella to try on the shoe, and the rest, as they say, is fairy
tale history.
Summarizing
• Condensing a writer’s ideas into a much
shorter piece with your words
• Summaries allow you to sort through the
information in the source and report only
what you consider to be essential.
Example of a Summary
Though put to work by her evil stepmother
and stepsisters, Cinderella manages to
get a ball gown by the help of her friends
and make it to the ball where she meets
the Prince. There, they fall in love, she
loses her shoe, reunites with the Prince,
and lives happily ever after.
Why Summarizing/Paraphrasing is
Important
• The mental process required for
successful paraphrasing helps you to
grasp the full meaning of the original.
• It helps you control the temptation to
quote too much.
• It is better than quoting information
from an undistinguished passage.