Quoting, Paraphrasing, Summary, and Incorporating In-text Citations

In-text Citations

In MLA style, referring to the works of others in your text is done by using what is known as parenthetical citation This method involves placing relevant source information in parentheses after a quote or a paraphrase

Quotation

Used sparingly, can lend credibility to your work or capture a memorable passage.

Citations or Parentheticals

The source information required in a parenthetical citation depends Upon the source's entry on the Works Cited (bibliography) page Any source information that you provide in-text must correspond to the source information on the Works Cited page More specifically, whatever signal word or phrase you provide to your readers in the text, must be the first thing that appears on the left-hand margin of the corresponding entry in the Works Cited List. See example. In the text (body of paper): Romantic poetry is characterized by the "spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings" (Wordsworth 263). On the Works Cited Page: Wordsworth, William. Lyrical Ballads. London: Oxford U.P., 1967. Print.

The Signal Phrase: Introducing the Quote

A phrase, clause, or even sentence which leads into a quotation or statistic. These generally include the speaker/author's 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. According to Riley, "It is extremely important to cite carefully to show your own credibility and to make sure to acknowledge borrowed information" (12). According to the professor, "It is extremely important to cite carefully to show your own credibility and to make sure to acknowledge borrowed information" (Riley 12).

ICE METHOD of Quoting

I—Introduce the quote According to Wordsworth, romantic poetry is characterized by the "spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings" (263). Cite—Cite the source: (Wordsworth 263) Explain or Expand—why are you using the quote? What does it mean? What Wordsworth is saying here is that romantic poetry displays a vast amount of powerful emotions and that's what makes it different from other forms of poetry

Summarizing Content

Summarizing involves putting the main idea(s) into your own words, including only the main point(s) Once again, it is necessary to attribute summarized ideas to the original source Summaries are significantly shorter than the original and take a broad overview of the source material

More on quotes:

No more than 10-15 % of your paper should be quotes Use quotes when you can't say it as clearly Or because by paraphrasing you will lose the essential meaning

Paraphrasing—what is it?

A restatement of a text in another form or other words, often to simplify or clarify meaning. your own rendition of essential information and ideas expressed by someone else, presented in a new form. one legitimate way (when accompanied by accurate documentation) to borrow from a source. a more detailed restatement than a summary, which focuses concisely on a single main idea.

Paraphrase

Although written in your own words, is used to relate the details or the progression of an idea in your source.

More . . .

In-text citation: when you provide information about the source in the text of their paper Often, in-text citations include a signal phrase which gives the author's name and a parenthetical reference, which can include the author's name and the page number (Angelou 14)

Why Do I Need to Learn This?

Paraphrasing is a valuable skill because... it is better than quoting information from an undistinguished passage. it helps you control the temptation to quote too much. the mental process required for successful paraphrasing helps you to grasp the full meaning of the original.

Why is This Necessary?

To avoid Plagiarism What Is It? stealing somebody's work or idea: the process of copying another person's idea or written work and claiming it as original something plagiarized: a piece of written work or an idea that somebody has copied and claimed as his or her own

How Do I Do This?

Paraphrase passages that present important points, explanations, or arguments but that don't contain memorable or straightforward wording. Follow these steps: Quickly review the passage to get a sense of the whole, and then go through the passage carefully, sentence by sentence. State the ideas in your own words, defining words as needed. If necessary, edit for clarity, but don't change the meaning. If you borrow phrases directly, put them in quotation marks. Check your paraphrase against the original for accurate tone and meaning. (R. VanderMey, The College Writer. Houghton, 2007)

Titles

Profile Paper: Include the person's name Consider using a colon State something that connects to the focus of your paper Marilyn Monroe: Legend of a Lost Little Girl LeBron James: Shows His Hometown the Money Michelle Obama: The First of the First Ladies JJ Watt: Houston's Hero

As quoted . . .

Quotations must be identical to the original, using a narrow segment of the source They must match the source document word for word and must be attributed to the original author They also must be enclosed in quotation marks and correctly attributed to the original source

Three Ways to Incorporate Sources

Quoting, Paraphrasing and Summary All of them need to be cited within the text Citation: Giving credit to the original author by citing sources is the only way to use other people's work without plagiarizing These three ways of incorporating other writers' work into your own writing differ according to the closeness of your writing to the source writing.

Summary

Written in your own words, briefly restates the writer's main points