INTEGRATING INFORMATION FROM SOURCES

There are various ways in which you can integrate information from sources into your own writing. Keep
in mind that you want to refer to sources to indicate that you have done research on the topic and that
you are familiar with other researchers’ writing on the subject, and to lend support to statements or
claims that you make. The emphasis is thus on the content – the ideas, evidence, examples and
explanations – and therefore you can most often convey the information in your own words by means of
a paraphrase.

Paraphrasing
Paraphrasing is one of most common techniques in academic writing, but also one of the most
dangerous because it is easy to plagiarise or lose the meaning of the original text. Paraphrasing entails
rewriting a section of the text in your own words. Remember that it is necessary to reference a
paraphrase because you are using someone else’s idea, even though it is in your own words.

When to paraphrase:
• When the ideas are more important than the author’s words or style.
• When the part you want to cite or refer to is rather extensive.
• When the original text is so difficult to understand that you are forced to paraphrase to make the
meaning clear.

How to paraphrase:
• Reread the original passage until you understand its full meaning.
• Cover the original passage and try to formulate the content in your own words. When
formulating your paraphrase, imagine that you are explaining the information to a friend or
roommate.
• Try to not rely too heavily on the vocabulary in the original text. If you struggle to recall the
content, look at the original text again.
• Now write down the paraphrase on a piece of paper or type it out.
• Compare your version with the original. Make sure that the meaning is exactly the same as the
original.
• Make sure that there is not too great a similarity with the original in terms of vocabulary and
sentence structure. Writing a synonym for every fourth word is not paraphrasing.
• Write the in-text reference for the paraphrase, and make sure you have all the information for
the entry that will go into the reference list.

The original passage:

“There are many reasons why students struggle to integrate successfully into university life. These include
social, academic and financial factors. For many students, the way of life at university is far removed from
the protected environment they enjoyed at home, and the sudden responsibility of having to make important
decisions without the support of family exacerbates an already daunting experience. In addition, there are
many students for whom the level and quantity of work is overwhelming. Some may get demotivated to the
extent that they stop attending classes or discontinue some subjects. A large percentage of students also
require financial assistance to be able to study, and the rising cost of course fees, accommodation, books
and meals may be too much for some.” (Extract taken from page 45.)
Source: Magwebu, J. 2011. Student success at tertiary education level. South African Journal of Higher Education, 23(7):41-54.

Paraphrase:

Various factors influence whether students are able to make a successful transition to university life, namely
social, academic and financial considerations. Some students are unable to handle the pressure of being
far from their families and not having their support, which can add to their sense of insecurity. There are
also those students who are unable to cope with the difficulty and volume of the work at university. When
they fail to meet all the demands of a course, they sometimes fall behind or may even decide to abandon
certain subjects altogether. Another factor that can negatively impact on students’ experience at university
is finances: many students may not be able to afford the significant costs of studying and staying on campus
(Magwebu, 2011:45).

Note that the text above is significantly different from the original, both in terms of sentence structure
and vocabulary. Also note that inverted commas are not used, because Magwebu’s original words were
not used. It is, however, necessary to give an in-text reference because the ideas expressed in the
paraphrase come from Magwebu.
Quotations

Quotations are another useful technique to incorporate the information from sources into your own work;
however, it is preferable to limit quotation in your writing. It is usually better to paraphrase the
information from a source as only about 10% of your final essay should consist of direct quotations. A text
that contains too many quotations then becomes a collection of quotes, and your own voice as author is
lost. It may also then seem that you either did not bother to integrate the information, or did not
understand the quotes and were unable to paraphrase them. Always indicate all words taken from the
original with inverted commas. Readers will assume that any words that do not appear in inverted
commas are the author's own words, and if these are not the author's own words, it constitutes
plagiarism.

Types of quotations

Selected words (fewer than 40 words)

Sometimes you will want to use the exact words by an author because their formulation is particularly apt
or important. If this is the case, carefully select which part you want to use: do not quote a whole sentence
if you really only want to highlight 5 words. Place the original words between quotation marks and
integrate the quoted words with your own sentence.

Example:
Many students find studying far from home particularly stressful because being far from home and their
support only “exacerbates an already daunting experience” (Magwebu, 2011:45) of going to university for
the first time.

Longer quotes (more than 40 words)

If you wish to quote longer extracts, first determine whether it is in fact necessary to quote the
information, or whether it could be paraphrased. Quotes of more than 40 words are integrated and
indicated differently than shorter quotes. Longer extracts must be separated from your text with an open
line, must be indented and justified on both sides, and do not have any quotation marks. Some style guides
require that the font size of the quote is reduced by one point. The in-text reference appears at the end
of the text as with shorter quotes. The writer’s own paragraph continues after the quote, also separated
from the text with an open line.

Example: Several factors contribute to the ease with which a student adapts to life at a tertiary
institution, not all of them academic. For an increasing number of students the way of life at university
is far removed from the protected environment they enjoyed at home, and the sudden responsibility of
having to make important decisions without the support of family exacerbates an already daunting
experience. In addition, there are many students for whom the level and quantity of work is
overwhelming (Magwebu, 2011:45).

Those involved in student recruitment should therefore be aware of the challenges that new students
face and offer relevant support and guidance to those who are finding integration difficult.

In the example above the quote is fully integrated into the writer’s own sentence, despite it being
separated from the text in terms of formatting. This is ideally the way one should strive to incorporate
quotes: by combining quotes with your own text so that the information you cite is truly integrated with
your own ideas.

Making changes to a quote

There may be times that you will need to make some minor changes to a quote. You may (a) leave a part
out that is not really necessary or relevant to your point, (b) change the punctuation or (c) the form of a
word to make the quote fit in with your sentence grammatically, or (d) add or change a word to clarify
what is being spoken about. It is however very important that the changes do not alter the meaning of the
quote – this is fraud and wilful deception and is completely unethical. ALL changes must be written in
square brackets [ ].
Consider the following original passage:

“Recycling minimises pollution, and thereby helps to protect wildlife and the environment.
It furthermore reduces the use of toxic chemicals and the amount of carbon dioxide
released into the atmosphere – reportedly CO2 emissions can be reduced by as much as
3 tons. Recycling your paper, cans and plastic also creates jobs, and can also help promote
economic development among populations that have no other income. This practice
therefore benefits not only the environment, but also communities.” (Extract taken from
page 110.)

Source: Alberts, H. 2013. Rewards of recycling. Cape Town: Van Schaik.

In the examples below, the author wrote about recycling and integrated Alberts’ text, but made some
changes to the original text for the reasons indicated below. Note how the cited information is
incorporated into the author’s own text.

A - Leave a part out that is not really necessary or relevant to your point
For example, you are briefly listing the reasons why one should recycle, but do not want to give too much
detail, such as the amount by which emissions will decrease:

There are several ways in which recycling is beneficial. “Recycling minimises pollution,
and thereby helps to protect wildlife and the environment. It furthermore reduces the use
of toxic chemicals and the amount of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere. [...]
Recycling your paper, cans and plastic also creates jobs” (Alberts, 2013:110). It also
reduces the need for landfills, which means the land can be used for other purposes, such
as housing or agriculture.

B - Change the punctuation to make the quote fit in with your sentence grammatically
For example, you would like to start quoting from the first words “Recycling minimises…”, but you would
like to integrate that sentence into your own, and cannot have a capital letter in the middle of a
sentence.*

There are those who suggest that “[r]ecycling minimises pollution, and thereby helps to
protect wildlife and the environment. It furthermore reduces the use of toxic chemicals
and

the amount of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere” (Alberts, 2013:110). Others,
however, feel that recycling is only a small and short-term solution, and that the focus
should rather be on large industries that pollute the environment on a larger scale.

* Please note that the spell check programme will most likely indicate a problem with a word that contains square
brackets (such as [r]ecycling in the example above), but academically it is absolutely correct.

C - Change the form of a word to make the quote fit in with your sentence grammatically or stylistically
This would be necessary if the tense in the text of your paragraph is different from the tense used in the
quoted text, or if the style is different, for example if in your text you refer to “one” and the quoted text
refers to “you”.

“Recycling [one’s] paper, cans and plastic also creates jobs, and can also help promote
economic development among populations that have no other income. This practice
therefore benefits not only the environment, but also communities” (Alberts, 2013:110).
One should thus strive to recycle as much material as possible, so as to benefit not only
the environment, but also the economy.

D - Add or change a word to clarify what is being spoken about

If, for example, you want to quote a sentence containing a word like “it”, but what it is referring to is not
clear (you are not quoting the part that explains what “it” refers to), you can replace “it” with the word
that will help the reader understand what was referred to.

Recycling is argued to be advantageous for reasons that are less obvious. It can, for
example, create jobs and stimulate the economy through businesses that generate
products from recycled material, and it is for reasons such as this that Alberts notes that
“[recycling] therefore benefits not only the environment, but also communities” (Alberts,
2013:110).
Please note: If it is necessary to make too many changes to a quote to make it fit into your sentence,
rather paraphrase.

Very important: Find out what secondary referencing is, when it is used, when it is acceptable, and how
to deal with it in the reference list. You may ask your lecturer to explain and illustrate this. Please ensure
you know how it works.

Task: individual
Read the text below and follow the instructions.

Pills of the future: nanoparticles; researchers design drug-carrying nanoparticles that can be
taken orally

“Drugs delivered by nanoparticles hold promise for targeted treatment of many diseases, including
cancer. However, the particles have to be injected into patients, which has limited their usefulness so far.
Now, researchers from MIT and Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) have developed a new type of
nanoparticle that can be delivered orally and absorbed through the digestive tract, allowing patients to
simply take a pill instead of receiving injections.

In a paper appearing in the Nov. 27 online edition of Science Translational Medicine, the researchers
used the particles to demonstrate oral delivery of insulin in mice, but they say the particles could be used
to carry any kind of drug that can be encapsulated in a nanoparticle. The new nanoparticles are coated
with antibodies that act as a key to unlock receptors found on the surfaces of cells that line the intestine,
allowing the nanoparticles to break through the intestinal walls and enter the bloodstream. This type of
drug delivery could be especially useful in developing new treatments for conditions such as high
cholesterol or arthritis. Patients with those diseases would be much more likely to take pills regularly than
to make frequent visits to a doctor's office to receive nanoparticle injections, say the researchers.”

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 2013. Pills of the future: Nanoparticles; Researchers design drug-carrying nanoparticles that can be taken
orally. ScienceDaily, 27 Nov. [Online]. Available:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/11/131127170411.htm [2013, November 29].

(i) Integrate the following quote so that it fits grammatically into the sentence below. Your sentence must
contain all the information encapsulated in the quote and must be grammatically correct. Please
include an in-text reference.

Quote:
“The new nanoparticles are coated with antibodies that act as a key to unlock receptors found on
the surfaces of cells that line the intestine, allowing the nanoparticles to break through the
intestinal walls and enter the bloodstream.”

Sentence: Nanoparticles have a particular function in the drugs in that they…

(ii) Integrate the following quote so that it fits grammatically into the sentence below. Your sentence must
contain all the information encapsulated in the quote and must be grammatically correct. Please
include an in-text reference.

Quote:
“Patients with those diseases would be much more likely to take pills regularly than to make
frequent visits to a doctor's office to receive nanoparticle injections, say the researchers.”

Sentence: Researchers feel that this new method of administering drugs is one step closer to
finding new treatments for various conditions, including high cholesterol or arthritis, as …

(iii) Paraphrase the first paragraph of the text. Please remember to include an in-text reference as you
are conveying an idea taken from a source, even though it is in your own words.
Citing from sources - where to place the quote/citation in the paragraph

It is not necessarily a good idea to put the quote/citation at the beginning of the paragraph and
to then spend the rest of the sentences explaining why it is a good quote/citation. Instead you
should start the paragraph by making your point/argument, explain it and support it with the
quote/citation so that your own point or idea is the focus and the quote or citation is used to
support it and give it credibility.

Handy phrases to refer to authors/texts in your writing:

• According to Molefi, the internet is a useful tool when doing research (2011:13).
• Molefi (2011:13) argues/states/suggests/is of the opinion that the internet is a useful research tool.
• Writing in Technology in Education, Molefi (2011:13) reasons/posits/postulates/ explains that the internet is
useful when doing research.
• The author of the article makes the point that the internet can be very useful for research purposes (Molefi,
2011:13).
• The internet can be very useful when doing research (Molefi, 2011:13).

Note the following:

Whether or not an author’s name is mentioned as part of the sentence, an in-text reference is needed.
The author’s surname does not replace the in-text reference.

Usually only an author’s surname is used when it is included in the sentence. The author’s first name is
never used on its own in the sentence.

You do not always have to mention the author’s name in the sentence as is shown above. It is possible
to make a statement without any reference to the author as part of the sentence.

• Example: As Jones points out, child mortality rates in South Africa have dropped by almost 30% in
the last decade (2012:45).

OR

• Child mortality rates in South Africa have dropped by almost 30% in the last decade (Jones, 2012:45).

Reference list:
Jones, A. 2012. Primary health care in Africa. Pretoria: Van Schaik.

© 2019 Language Communication and Development, Language Centre, Stellenbosch University

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