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How to Use Quotations and Paraphrasing

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on June 1, 2010 at 2:13:29 pm
 

 

How to Use Quotations and Paraphrasing

 

For information on APA and MLA citation styles, click on the links below:

APA Citation Style

MLA Citation Style

 

Quotations vs. Paraphrasing

A quotation is taken word-for-word from the original text, and the author(s) of the source must be acknowledged. A paraphrase requires the writer to reword a idea from the source text into his/her own words. Like a quotation, the source author(s) must be acknowledged.

 

Why use quotations and paraphrasing?

There are a number of reasons why using quotations and paraphrasing is useful. Among them, writers can:

  • Enhance the credibility of writing
  • Provide support for claims 
  • Offer examples of specific aspects of a topic
  • Highlight a position the writer wishes to agree/disagree with
  • Call attention to a particularly striking concept in a text

 

 

HIT AND RUN QUOTING

 

 

In producing an original piece of academic writing, students are expected to coherently incorporate the works of others into their own writing, whether through paraphrasing or in-text citations. Failure do so may result in an incomplete assessment of a topic, unclear writing,or even plagiarism. The best way to ensure that students effectively incorporate the works of others into their own writing is to remember these three steps:

 

1. Introduce the quote: set the context

Any time the writer is going to quote a text or paraphrase an idea from that text, it is necessary to construct a context in which the quote/paraphrase can be viewed as appropriate. For example, consider the following example:

 

These days everyone knows that smoking is unhealthy. As Brandt (2006) notes, "Continued smoking or exposure to second-hand smoke leads to heart disease, lung cancer, and emphysema; in addition, smoking can intensify the effects of asthma and other respiratory conditions" (54). 

 

While the first sentence above could serve as a topic sentence in a paragraph discussing the dangers of smoking, more context would be useful to ground the quote that follows. On possible revision could be as follows:

 

Fifty years ago, the effects of smoking were not well documented; however, recent studies have clearly demonstrated the dangers of consuming tobacco, both for smokers and non-smokers. As Brandt (2006) notes, "Continued smoking or exposure to second-hand smoke leads to heart disease, lung cancer, and emphysema; in addition, smoking can intensify the effects of asthma and other respiratory conditions" (54).

 

Note that the use of the phrase "these days" implies differential treatment in the past. This differential treatment (smoking as not dangerous, or even healthy) in the past can be used to introduce the quote that follows. Also, note that in the revised version above, the writer has commented on the dangers of smoking to non-smokers as well as smokers. This revised version above provides a more appropriate context for the use of the quote, thus rendering the quote itself more rhetorically effective.

 

2. Provide the quote/paraphrased idea

Once the writer has created an appropriate context, the quote/paraphrase can be inserted.

 

3. Significance: What does this quote/idea illustrate?

After giving the quote/paraphrase itself, it is necessary to provide some discussion of that quote/paraphrase. It is important to discuss what the quote/paraphrase illustrates in order to ensure that readers take away the information that the writer wants them to. While the example above includes an introduction to the quote as well as the quote itself, the writer still needs to discuss the significance of this quote--how it supports (or refutes) the writers claim.

 

Fifty years ago, the effects of smoking were not well documented; however, recent studies have clearly demonstrated the dangers of consuming tobacco. As Brandt (2006) notes, "Continued smoking leads to heart disease, lung cancer, and emphysema; in addition, continued exposure to secondhand smoke can lead to the aforementioned conditions and can intensify the effects of asthma and other respiratory conditions" (54). Here we see that smoking is an issue of concern to non-smokers as well as smokers themselves. Smoking endangers everyone; therefore, UNM should ban smoking on campus in order to provide a safer, more healthy environment for students, staff, and faculty.

 

 

Try to avoid ending paragraphs with quotes/paraphrases.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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