SUMMARIZING

PARAPHRASING

QUOTING

Integrating evidence into your writing:

SUMMARIZE--- To summarize means to take facts, statistics, ideas and

condense them. (Summarizing should use your own

ideas and words.)

What to Summarize:

Well known, general, factual information

General story lines from a book

Events in a narrative

NO NEED TO CITE A SOURCE

FOR THIS GENERAL

INFORMATION!

PARAPHRASE--- To paraphrase means to take someone else’s idea and

put it into your own words.

What to Paraphrase:

Specific ideas or events from a text

Specific factual information

An author’s opinions

YOU MUST CITE A SOURCE WHEN

YOU PARAPHRASE. YOU ARE

BORROWING SOMEONE’S IDEAS.

QUOTE--- To quote means to take someone else’s words exactly.

What to Quote:

Particularly well-said ideas

Quotable language or words

YOU MUST CITE A SOURCE WHEN

YOU QUOTE. YOU ARE BORROWING

SOMEONE’S WORDS.

When to Cite a Source Include a citation whenever you can. If you are

not sure whether or not to cite a source, cite it. You should reference and cite whenever you:

Quote directly from a source.

Summarize or paraphrase another writer’s ideas, concepts or opinions.

Anywhere you find data, facts and information used in your paper.

Images, visuals, graphs and charts you use in your work.

When Not to Cite a Source You do not have to cite your source if the

information you use is common knowledge.

For example, the first African American President of the U.S. is Barack Obama; however, if you aren’t sure if it is common knowledge or not, go ahead and cite it, just to be safe.

The Main Types of Sources There are three main types of sources: primary, secondary and peer-reviewed.

Primary Primary sources may be in their original form or

digitized, or reprinted or reproduced in some form. They are first-hand accounts of an event or period in history, or original documents. Primary sources include:

Texts – Novels, letters, diaries, government reports, newspaper articles and autobiographies. Images – Paintings, photographs and advertisements.

Artifacts – Sculptures, buildings and clothing. Audio-Visual – Oral history like interviews, songs, films

and photos.

Secondary Secondary sources are written about primary

sources and are one or more steps away from the original source. They include discussions, comments and interpretations regarding the primary source or original material. Examples of secondary source materials are as follows:

Articles from magazines, journals and newspapers. Textbooks, histories and encyclopedias. Book, play, concert and movie reviews, criticisms and

commentaries. Articles from scholarly journals that assess or discuss

the original research of others.

When offering paraphrase or quotes,

ALWAYS introduce ideas with

SPEAKER and CONTEXT!

Never – Apathy is a problem in our society. “Among the factors that

cause apathy is our society’s orientation toward

entertainment.” (David Solmitz 2)

INSTEAD –

How to integrate into your writing…

Apathy is a problem in our society. David Solmitz, when

discussing the problems that lead to apathy, explains, “Among

the factors that cause apathy is our society’s orientation toward

entertainment” (2).

How to cite sources in MLA! In general, citations call for an author’s last name and page number. The citation tells you what one word will appear on the “Works Cited” page. If the citation is (Green 3), I know there will be the name Green on the left margin of the Works Cited page! A citation has one word and page number or just a page number if you’ve offered the speaker before the quote…

MLA Citation Example---

Examples… Atticus Finch, in To Kill a Mockingbird, says, “You don’t really know a person until you climb into his skin and walk around in it” (Lee 46). (character speaks, we need to know author and pg #) Harper Lee, in To Kill a Mockingbird, explains that you don’t really know a person until you really take the time to understand his situation (46). (author speaking, we just need to know pg #)

How to cite sources in MLA!

NOTICE!

Examples… Atticus, in To Kill a Mockingbird, says, “You don’t really know a person until you climb into his skin and walk around in it” (Lee 46). (character speaks, we need to know author and pg #) Harper Lee, in To Kill a Mockingbird, explains that you don’t really know a person until you really take the time to understand his situation (46). (author speaking, we just need to know pg #)

Period comes

AFTER the citation!

Paraphrase also gets citation!