The following writing guide explores when to summarize, paraphrase, or quote, and it describes what each type of citation should include.
Summary
Summary: A condensed version of an author’s main ideas, written in your own words.
When to summarize
- When you want to contextualize or provide background information for a larger argument you will make
- When you want to present previous findings or existing arguments before laying out your own analysis or response to these
Features of effective summary
- Accurately and fairly represents the original text
- Presents material that is clearly relevant and useful to your argument
- Is cited effectively
- Uses precise, strong verbs to capture authorial action
- Uses details sparingly
- Distills the ideas of the original text transparently or simply
Paraphrase
Paraphrase: A restatement of a text’s ideas, written in your own words.
When to paraphrase
- When you want to incorporate a specific part of a source in an essay, in order to respond to those ideas
- When you want to separate the style of the original from its content
- When you want to translate from one readership to another
Features of effective paraphrasing
- Accurately and fairly represents the original text
- Presents material that is clearly relevant and useful to your argument
- Is cited effectively
- Consistently uses your own words
Quotation
Quotation: A piece of direct textual evidence that preserves the exact language of the original.
When to quote
- When you plan to ‘close read’ or analyze the language of the original text
- When you want to preserve or reveal the style of the original
- When you want to present the original as evidence
- When you want to emphasize the authority of the writer of the original text
Features of effective quotation
- Accurately and fairly represents the original text
- Presents material that is clearly relevant and useful to your argument
- Is cited effectively
- Uses strong, precise verbs to capture authorial action Introduces the quote in a way that explains to the reader your reason for using the quote
- Embeds the quoted material within your own syntax/sentence
This resource from the Baruch College Writing Center is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. You are free to share, adapt, transform, or otherwise use this material in any medium, with attribution.
