Summarizing, Paraphrasing

& Quoting
Whats the Difference?

Text pgs. 336-338

Quoting, paraphrasing,
Quotations
Match the source word
for word
Are usually brief
Appear between
quotation marks
Add impact to
preceding or following
statement
Must be attributed
i.e. you have to give
credit

Paraphrasing
Does not match word
for word
Restate someone elses
ideas in your own words
Changes the words or
phrasing but retains the
original meaning of
both the main and
supporting ideas
Must be attributed
i.e. you have to give
credit

 & Summarizing
Summarizing
Does not match source word for word
Involves putting the main idea entirely into your own
words
Includes only main points
Usually shorter its a broad overview
Does NOT introduce any ideas not found in original
Does NOT introduce your own opinion
Must be attributed i.e. you have to give credit

Summarizing, Paraphrasing & Quoting

A Guide to Doing it Right
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qoCdhJsS6Bw

Practice Paraphrasing

in other words

Italian proverb A closed mouth catches no flies.

French proverb Love makes time pass. Time makes love
pass.
Scottish proverb Better wear out shoes than sheets.
Chinese proverb Better light a candle than curse the
darkness.

Signal Phrases
What are signal phrases?
As the name suggests, signal phrases signal a
change in the source of the writing that
appears in your response.
If you simply drop borrowed information
into your own work without preparing your
reader for the switch, your writing will seem
disjointed.
Signal Phrase: a phrase, clause, or even sentence which leads into a quotation
or statistic. These generally include the speaker/authors name and some
justification for using him or her as an expert in this context; it may also help
establish the context for the quotation.
http://department.monm.edu/english/mew/signal_phrases.htm

Signal Phrases
Lets look at two examples a dropped
quotation versus a quotation that is properly
integrated

Signal Phrases

n
o
ti

In 2000, the legislature of Suffolk County

passed a law restricting drivers use of
handheld phones. The bill prohibits the use
of a cell phone while driving unless it is
equipped with an earpiece or can act like a
speakerphone, leaving the drivers hands
free (Kelley, 2002, p. 1).

u
Q
d
e
p
p
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r
D

a
t
o

Signal Phrases

u
Q

a
t
o

n
o
ti

In 2000, the legislature of Suffolk Country

passed a law restricting drivers use of
handheld phones. According to journalist
Tina Kelley (2002), The bill prohibits the
use of a cell phone while driving unless it is
equipped with an earpiece or can act like a
speakerphone, leaving the drivers hands
free (p. 1).

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e
p
o
Pr

i
ly

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g
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t
n

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e
at

Signal Phrases
The information in both passages is exactly
the same, so what makes the second example
more effective than the first?
The second passage contains a signal phrase
where is it?

Signal Phrases
In 2000, the legislature of Suffolk Country
passed a law restricting drivers use of
handheld phones. According to journalist
Tina Kelley (2002), The bill prohibits the
use of a cell phone while driving unless it is
equipped with an earpiece of can act like a
speakerphone, leaving the drivers hands
free (p. 1).

Signal Phrases
In 2000, the legislature of Suffolk Country
passed a law restricting drivers use of
handheld phones. According to journalist
Tina Kelley (2002), The bill prohibits the
use of a cell phone while driving unless it is
equipped with an earpiece of can act like a
speakerphone, leaving the drivers hands
free (p. 1).
Note that the quoted material is set off with
a comma, and that quotation marks signal
the fact that the words that follow are not
those of the original writer.

Signal Phrases
Dont just use According to as your sole
signal phrase, and dont always place signal
phrases at the beginning of the borrowed
material otherwise, your writing becomes
monotonous!
As we shall see in a moment, there are a
number of ways by which to signal
transitions in your writing.

Signal Phrases
Quotations are useful in many ways when
responding to someone elses work.
However, you should not quote excessively.
Why not?
It is almost impossible to write a coherent
essay/paper simply by stringing quotations
together, no matter how effectively you deploy
signal phrases the result will still be choppy, and
the reader will have no real sense of your voice.

Signal Phrases
Sometimes, quotations are the way to go; when, for
example:
language is especially vivid or expressive
exact wording is needed for technical accuracy
it is important to let the debaters of an issue explain their
positions in their own words
the words of an important authority lend weight to an
argument
language of a source is the topic of your discussion
(analysis/interpretation)

Variety is the Spice of Life!

There is also a sampling of verbs in signal
phrases.
A verb is an action word. Generally, when you
use verbs in signal phrases, the action being
described is that of the writer.
As Matt Sundeen has noted, . . .
Patti Pena, mother of a child killed by a driver
distracted by a cell phone, points out that . . .
. . . , writes Christine Haughney, . . .
. . ., claims wireless spokesperson Annette
Jacobs.
Radio hosts Tom and Ray Magliozzi offer a
persuasive counterargument: . . .

So Many Verbs. . .

s
e
v
e
i
l
e
b

argues

denies suggests declares responds

endor
comments
s
refutes
e
s
contends
s
e
t
i
r
confirms w acknowledges dsemphasizes
ad
s
t
illustrates
r
points
out
o
claims im
rep
plies thinks
r
e
grants ason
s observes
asserts rejects
compares notes
agrees
insists
disputes
admits
Jot down some of these great signal phrase verbs
and use them!

A Final Word About Quoting

Just because a writer has provided three
glorious sentences on your topic, this does
not mean that you must repeat them all
verbatim (word for word).
Quote only what is crucial to your argument,
and incorporate the quoted material into
your own sentence structure, in order to
avoid any abrupt shifts.

A Final Word About Quoting

Redemeier and Tibshrani (2011) found that
hands-free phones were not any safer in
vehicles than other cell phones. They suggest
that crashes involving cell phones may
result from a drivers limitations with regard
to attention rather than dexterity (p. 456).

A Final Word About Quoting

Redemeier and Tibshrani (2011) found that
hands-free phones were not any safer in
vehicles than other cell phones. They suggest
that crashes involving cell phones may
result from a drivers limitations with regard
to attention rather than dexterity (p. 456).

A Final Word About Quoting

In this example, only part of the original
quote has been used, and it has been
seamlessly incorporated into the writers own
sentence with the quoted material itself
appropriately signaled.

A Final Word About Quoting

Author
names

Signal
phrase

Redemeier and Tibshrani found that handsfree phones were not any safer in vehicles
than other cell phones. They suggest that
crashes involving cell phones may result
from a drivers limitations with regard to
attention rather than dexterity (p. 456).
Quote
begins

Which of the following do I need to cite?

Specific words or phrases used by another author
Common knowledge (general or field-specific)
Putting a new spin on the topic presented by
another author
Ideas by an author
Conclusions by an author
List of steps in a process

Only two of these are a no!

Dont
cite
these

Specific words or phrases used by another

author
Common knowledge (general or fieldspecific)
Putting a new spin on the topic presented
by another author
Ideas by an author
Conclusions by an author
List of steps in a process, as detailed in an article

Is it a legitimate paraphrase or plagiarism? A

checklist:
Paraphrase

Citations provided for authors

wording and ideas
Modification of language and
sentence structure, presented
in a logical order that doesnt
directly mimic original source
document
Addition of new material or
ways of thinking about a topic

source url: http://writing.wisc.edu/Handbook/QPA_paraphrase.html

plagiarism

When you borrow material

without acknowledgment of
source
Maintain authors wording,
sentence structure, or
presentation of material
When you falsely present the
wording or ideas of someone
else as your own

Things to Keep in Mind

Its better to over-cite than under-citeif youre not sure, cite it!
Word substitutions will not exempt you from a charge of
plagiarism. Good citing habits and the ability to re-write the
ideas in new words / order will.
Plagiarism is plagiarism, whether intentional or not. Motive
doesnt matter.
Avoid plagiarism by
Writing your paraphrase without the original document in front of
you
Changing not just words, but sentence structure and logical order
when paraphrasing
Using citations

Text pg. 337-338