I need help with quoting and paraphrasing

When you use someone else's research or information, you will need to paraphrase or quote it. Quoting and paraphrasing add evidence to your research, and give credit where credit is due:

  • Quotation - This is when you use the exact words from the source. You must put quotation marks around the words that are not your own and cite it properly.
  • Paraphrasing - When you use ideas from another source but write them in your own words. Then, you need to cite where the idea or facts came from.

Simply changing a few words from the original source is plagiarism. If you cannot state an idea in your own words, you should quote the original source. Keep in mind that you must be able to understand a passage to be able to paraphrase it well. You should only quote if the author explained it in the best way possible that you could not say any better. Or if you are quoting a passage that you are going to respond to.

Use quotes and paraphrasing to support your own ideas, rather than relying solely on the author's work.

Always properly cite an author's original idea whether you have directly quoted or paraphrased it. If you have questions about how to cite properly in a citation style, check here.

This information has was originally from Owl Purdue. Check out their page on quoting and paraphrasing for more in-depth information.

Check out the Library’s Academic Integrity Portal’s section on paraphrasing