Quoting & Paraphrasing

You should make selective use of sources to support your argument and to enhance your credibility as a well-informed and reliable voice.

• You may run across an author who makes an original point (i.e., not a common argument or observation found elsewhere in your reading) that will help support your thesis.  If you make use of this idea, you must acknowledge the source whether you quote the exact words of the author or use paraphrase.
• Sometimes an author expresses a point so well that you will want to use his words even if the idea is not original.  You must use quotation marks and give proper credit, of course.
• You may want to cite a recognized authority because this person’s name and position will give weight to your argument.
• You may wish to cite specific evidence (examples, statistics, facts, etc.) that supports your argument.
• Occasionally you will want to quote or paraphrase a voice of the opposition that neatly summarizes their position or one of their major arguments.  If you do so, it will naturally be to dispute their claims, but this is one way to establish your credibility and to focus your argument on the critical issues.

Things to remember:

When you quote always quote exactly OR use ellipses or brackets to indicate changes or omissions in the wording.

“He argued eloquently, although the elimination of his own elected position would follow, for the elimination of the rotten boroughs” (Trevelyan 72).

“[Macaulay] argued eloquently . . . for the elimination of the rotten boroughs” (Trevelyan 72).

The above example shows how brackets and ellipses alert the reader to the alterations and signal the nature of these alterations.  Notice that a vague word or phrase can be replaced by a precise phrase as long as the original meaning is preserved.  Also, it is possible to greatly reduce the length of a quotation (even by several sentences) and offer only those parts that are important for one’s own purposes—again, as long as the author’s original meaning is not misrepresented.

Paraphrase departs from the author’s original language but preserves the basic content or point.  Here’s one way to paraphrase the point from Trevelyan.

Trevelyan notes Macaulay’s support for the bill that would redraw voting districts to ensure fair representation in Parliament (72).

If you find yourself having trouble paraphrasing, it is probably best to give up and quote the passage.

Remember too that you may include a quoted phrase in a sentence that is otherwise paraphrase, but that you may not simply shift the author’s wording around and present what amounts to a garbled quotation as paraphrase.  When you paraphrase you must employ phrasing that is distinctively your own but that preserves the meaning of the original.

Notice that the parenthetical citations usually include the author’s last name and the number(s) of the page(s) on which the quoted phrase, sentence, or passage may be found.   If in introducing the quotation or paraphrase you mention the author’s name, then the citation should include only the page number(s).  The author’s last name directs your readers to the appropriate entry on your works cited page, and the page number tells them where in that work they will find the information or wording you have borrowed.

Summary will not depend upon the author’s wording but, like paraphrase, will present the same basic content. Paraphrase will be use roughly the same number of words as the original point or content being paraphrased. Summary will condense (sometimes greatly) and offer only the essential points in brief.