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Here are some guidelines for properly quoting, paraphrasing, and summarizing someone
else’s text. The quote, paraphrase, and summary are from the following source:
| Source: Fossey, D. (1983). Gorillas in the mist. Boston: Houghton-Mifflin. |
Quoting
If you quote another work word-for-word, you must put this passage in quotation marks
and use an in-text citation as well as a full citation at the end of your paper.
| Example "This unique observation provides only one
example of the strong maternal inclinations of female gorillas. An amazing aspect of the
incident was that Effie, whose back was turned toward her infant, was aware of
Poppy’s silent plight even before the human onlooker facing both animals realized
that something was amiss" (Fossey, 1983, p. 89). |
Paraphrasing
Paraphrasing is putting another person’s words in your own words. You may wish to
paraphrase in order to maintain your particular style of phrasing things. Paraphrased
material must be cited!
| Example
"In Gorillas in the Mist, Fossey (1983) gives
an example to demonstrate that gorillas are very protective
mothers. As a tiger approached her offspring Effie, a
mother gorilla, sensed the danger even though she was
not facing Effie. The researcher observing them did not
notice the danger, but the mother gorilla’s vigilance
allowed her to take steps to save the baby gorilla (p.
89).
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Summarizing
Summarizing is condensing another person’s words so that you present the basics of
what has been said. A common instance of summarizing is annotating a list of bibliographic
sources for a paper. The summary or annotation presents the heart of the material being
described. It also needs to be properly cited!
| Example
In Gorillas in the Mist, Fossey (1983) illustrates
that female gorillas instinctively protect their offspring
as much or more so than female humans (p. 89).
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You may wish to test your knowledge of quoting, paraphrasing, and summarizing by
looking at Eight Guidelines to Help You Avoid Plagiarism.
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