Quoting Sources
When you quote, you copy a writer’s statements exactly as they appear in a source, word for
word and punctuation mark for punctuation mark, enclosing the borrowed material in quotation
marks. You should not quote extensively in a research paper. Numerous quotations interrupt the
flow of your discussion and give readers the impression that your paper is just a collection of
other people’s ideas.
When to Quote
➔ Quote when a source’s wording or phrasing is so distinctive that a summary or paraphrase
would lessen its impact
➔ Quote when a source’s words will lend authority to your discussion
➔ Quote when a writer’s words are so concise that paraphrasing would change the meaning
of the original
➔ Quote when you disagree with a source. Using a source’s exact words helps convince
readers you are being fair
Summarizing Sources
Once you have highlighted, annotated, and outlined a passage, you may want to try summarizing
it to help you understand it better. A summary retells, in your own words, what a passage is
about. A summary condenses a passage, so it leaves out all but the main idea and perhaps the key
supporting points. A summary omits examples and details, and it does not include your own
ideas or opinions. A summary is a brief statement, in your own words, of the main idea of a
passage or an article. /When you summarize, use your own words, not the language or phrasing
of your source. Remember that your summary should accurately represent the writer’s ideas and
should include only the ideas of your source, not your own interpretation or opinions.
Just as we can offer a summary of the numerous details of our day, so we can prepare summaries
of the numerous details in our university course materials. As a general guideline, a paragraph
might be reduced to a sentence or two, an article might be reduced to a paragraph, and a text
book chapter might be reduced to about three pages of notes. A summary is a complete
paragraph with fully formed sentences.
Reasons for Summarizing/When to Summarize:
Summaries are used in variety of situations. For example:
1. In general terms:
a) Writing summaries is a good way of improving one's ability to read because it forces the
reader to focus on understanding the whole of something rather than on just following each word
or sentence.
2. In academic terms:
a) If you are reading something that is very important for your studies and/or difficult to
understand, writing a summary helps you to make sure that you have understood it. You can also
refer to it later to refresh your memory, for example when you are revising for an exam, or when
you are talking about it in class. It is also a good idea to turn lecture notes into summaries.
b) Students might summarize an article for a class, or when preparing and writing research
papers and essays.
c) When writing academic papers people often need to insert summaries of something that they
have read or heard. For example, you might want to summarize the main points of a book that is
relevant to your topic. In such cases, it is extremely important to use your own words, or
quotation marks if you are actually quoting, in order to avoid plagiarism.
What is a good summary?
1. A good summary should answer basic questions about the original text such as "Who did
what, where, and when?", or "What is the main idea of the text?", "What are the main supporting
points?", "What are the major pieces of evidence?”. A reference should be made to the original
piece either in the first sentence or at the end as reference.
2. You should not give your own ideas or criticisms as part of the summary.
3. A good summary should not include selected examples, details, or information which is not
relevant to the piece of writing taken as a whole.
4. A good summary of an essay should probably include the main idea of each paragraph, and
the main evidence supporting that idea, unless it is not relevant to the article or essay as a whole.
A summary does not need a conclusion, but if the original ends with a message to the reader this
should not be left out. (A good summary of a chapter should probably include the main idea of
each group of paragraphs or each section; a good summary of a book should probably include the
main idea of each chapter, or perhaps the main idea of each section of each chapter.)
5. A good summary may use key words from the original text but should not contain whole
phrases or sentences from the original unless quotation marks are used. Quotations should only
be made if there is a reason for using the original words, for example because the choice of
words is significant, or because the original is so well expressed.
6. Rearranging the words used in the original, or keeping the same structure but just substituting
different words is not enough. You must express the sense of the original using your own words
and structures.
How to summarize?
➔ Read the material to be summarized to understand its meaning fully
➔ Identify the key or main point of the original source
➔ Pay attention to the introductory and concluding paragraphs, chapter or paragraph
headings, and topic and concluding sentences in paragraphs. They often help in
identifying main ideas.
➔ Pay attention to words and phrases like, in summary, in short, basically, and in other
words. Often, writers summarize their own ideas following such phrases.
➔ Pay attention to phrases like, for example, such as and for instance. The information
that follows is normally not the main point; this information only supports the main
point; so it should not be used in a summary.
➔ Pay attention to quotes in the original source. These are also used to support the
writer's main point, so they should not be used in the summary.
➔ Identify any words which should not be changed.
➔ Briefly note the main ideas down. Without looking at the original source, use your
notes to write the summary.
➔ Check to make sure the summary truly expresses the main point of the original text.
➔ Expect your summary to be much shorter than the original text.
➔ Cite the source of the information.
Writing a Paraphrase
To paraphrase a substantive sentence or passage effectively, the writer must come to think, and
appreciate, the substantive thought behind the sentence or passage. Without this appreciation,
without deeply understanding the thought expressed in the original, one cannot render that
thought adequately in one's own words. A paraphrase gives a detailed restatement of a source’s
important ideas. It not only indicates the source’s main points, but it also reflects its tone and
emphasis. Keep in mind that a paraphrase should convey only the ideas of the source-not the
writer’s analysis or interpretation of those ideas. Try not to look at the sources as you write, use
language and syntax that come naturally to you, and avoid duplicating the phrasing or sentence
structure of the original. Whenever possible, use synonyms that accurately convey the meaning
of the original word or phrase.
Reasons for Paraphrasing
➔ Paraphrasing is a valuable skill in essay writing because they allow you to include
other people's ideas without using too many quotations.
➔ They make essays stronger by supporting the thesis with credible information, and
they help prevent plagiarism.
How to Paraphrase
➔ Read the material to be paraphrased, repeatedly, to fully understand its meaning.
➔ Identify any language which should not be changed.
➔ Write the paraphrase without looking at the original text back and forth. Looking at the
original text again will make it more difficult to use your own words. While writing:
➢Use your own word.
➢Use all the information in the original text.
➢Avoid changing the meaning or adding any ideas in the paraphrase.
➔ Using your own words does not mean that you have to change every single word, but
by convention, you cannot use more than three words in a row. If this situation occurs,
you must quote the information or else you will be guilty of plagiarism. The best
alternative is to rewrite the paraphrase to remove the consecutive words because you
were paraphrasing to avoid using a quotation in the first place. Using a dictionary
and/or a thesaurus can be helpful in finding alternate ways to say thing.
➔ Change not only words, but also the grammatical structure and sentence patterns. Use
the same verb tense as the text being paraphrased.
➔ The paraphrase should be about the same length as the original source.
➔ Cite the source of the information.
When to Summarize and Paraphrase:
➔ Use the skill of either summarizing or paraphrasing when an idea from one of your
sources is important to your essay, but the wording is not. Choosing between
paraphrasing and summarizing should be guided by considerations of space, and
above all, how much of the detail from your source is relevant to your argument.
➔ If the text is up to about 125 words or about 6 sentences (these figures are guidelines
only - depending on the content, some passages can be longer,) and you want to use all
the information expressed, then paraphrase. Paraphrasing longer passages focuses too
much on others' ideas, and prohibits the use of your own ideas.
➔ If you want to use only the main points of the information from the external source,
then summarize.
Ultimately, be sure not to rely too much on either paraphrases or summaries; your ideas are
what matter most. Allow yourself the space to develop those ideas.
Reasons for Summarizing, Paraphrasing and Quoting Sources
Experienced researchers know that a better strategy is to take notes that combine summary and
paraphrase with direct quotation. By doing so, they make sure they understand the material and
see its relevance to their research. Therefore, it makes it possible for them to synthesize sources,
combining borrowed material with their own original ideas.
Click on the following link to know about Quoting, Summarizing and Paraphrasing at a glance:
[Link]
Sample Summary:
This is a summary, written by a student, of the article “Advertising Children”. The
original text is given below.
Khan (2009) observes that the advertising agencies in Bangladesh have been exploiting the
innocence and vulnerability of children to promote and increase sales. He reports that in many
countries this has been banned; yet associated people have ignored this law in Bangladesh.
Consequently, children viewing such advertisements are persuaded and influenced about
ideologies which should not be approved. However, Khan adds that there are also
advertisements that personify and symbolize a child’s honesty and innocence and he suggests
that if children are used as artists, this path should be followed.
Reference Khan, S. A. (2009, June 12). Advertising children. Star Magazine, 8(73).
Sample Paraphrase: The following is a paraphrase of the above passage, written by a student,
of the article “Advertising Children” (paragraph no. 2)
Khan (2009) states that using children in commercials manifests a feeling of purity and thus
gives consumers a feeling of fulfilment with the product as the commercial signifies it is pure. In
addition, he states that several countries have placed strict rules and regulations against use of
children in advertising adult products such as cars and credit cards, although it seems that
Bangladesh does not need any such restrictions and continue to draw advantages from using
children in commercials.
Reference Khan, S. A. (2009, June 12). Advertising children. Star Magazine, 8 (73).
The Original Article:
Advertising Children
Saad Adnan Khan
12 June, 2009
Star Magazine
Volume 8, Issue 73
In today's world, television commercials are merely a marketing strategy. It is not only about
forming art but also about the selling of human norms and emotions, thus taking the
'encouraging, persuading and manipulating' factor to a whole new level. This is happening more
and more because consumers nowadays are more emotional than rational. So, when the
innocence of children is used as a tool to promote any item, it is assured that the consumers
would hold a curious preference towards the ad and the product. There is nothing strange about
that. Children symbolize harmony, love and beauty that every human being (in this case the
consumers) want. Thus, when the current commercials of Bangladesh wrap up the vulnerability,
innocence and emotions regarding children and sell them back to the consumers, the promotion
is a success. However, what the ad makers fail to notice is that they are exploiting the innocence
in the most silent way. On top of that, the child artists are (knowingly or unknowingly) preaching
wrong ideologies and stereotypical conventions that affect the psychology of under-aged
consumers.
Children evoke honesty and innocence, and thus provide product satisfaction. Even though
several policies in many countries pose a strict prohibition on the use of child artists for
promoting adult products (soaps, cars, credit card, etc), Bangladeshi television media seems to
have turned a blind eye regarding any such policy.
No wonder in the ad of 'Citycell', the young boy eagerly uses the improvised mobile phone and
enters the customer care centre to confirm that in near future he is going to buy a mobile phone
of the brand. The use of the child in the ad definitely seeps in an extra emotional touch to the
whole concept of being in touch with loved ones and thus affects the targeted audience
emotionally. However, it also creates false needs among children to use mobile phones.
If we talk about ads that preach and disregard wrong ideologies, then the example of the ad of
'Pran Foot Lolly' would be appropriate. In the ad, a young boy is harshly silenced by his mother
by putting the Lolly in his mouth. She does this deliberately so that he cannot spill the beans
about the mother’s marital situation to the other woman the mother is talking to. In the
meantime, we hear the voice over saying 'Chapa baji Chaliye Jan' (continue lying). This ad can
have devastating consequences. Children are viewed to be honest and are encouraged to be so,
but in this ad the mother stops the child from being honest.
Moreover, in several cases, children are used to increase the aesthetics of the ad. However, the
commercials turn out to be a sheer presentation of stereotypes and conventions of the society.
Thus, the children viewers subconsciously take in the stereotype that affects their psychological
build up and way of thinking. In a 'Surf Excel' commercial (originally an Indian ad), it is seen
that a pair of siblings is walking home from school, when the younger sister, lost in her thoughts,
tumbles in the mud. To 'avenge' his sister's dismay, the brother jumps into the mud and starts
throwing punches at it. Despite the humour of the ad, it does not fail to depict a generation old
convention that portrays the male figure as the stronger and dominating one. Of course we could
point out that biologically males are stronger than females or that it is easier for our society
(being a patriarchal society to an extent) to relate to the advertisement. The question answers our
concern. The ad does nothing but reinforce the patriarchal convention a little bit more.
If the media, being a powerful source of exposure, is not aware of such a mishap regarding the
use of children in commercials, the effects (as assumed) could be devastating. Of course we
could definitely figure out healthy commercials that justify the presence of children, like the ad
of a book 'Ekattur er Chithi', where the presence of the child artists symbolizes the preaching of
the Golden history of the 1971 liberation war of Bangladesh from one generation to another.
(Edited)
Sources
1. Ten Steps to Advancing College Reading Skills - 5th edition
John Langan
Edition: 5TH
Copyright: 2010
Publisher: Townsend Press
Published: 2010
2. Focus on Writing: Paragraphs and Essays
Laurie G. Kirszner, Stephen R. Mandell
Edition: 2
Publisher: Bedford/St. Martin's
Published: 2011
3. Paragraphs and Essays: A Worktext with Readings
Lee Brandon
Edition: 8
Published: 2001
4. The Concise Wadsworth Handbook Laurie G. Kirszner, Stephen R. Mandell
Edition: 3
Publisher: Cengage Learning
Pulished: 2010
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Paul and Dr. Linda Elder
2006
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and_summarizing/[Link]