3.3: Methods of Representing the Ideas of Others

Citation

• Whenever you present someone else’s ideas, whether you use their exact words or not, you must clearly communicate to your reader exactly where and who the information came from.
• There are many different standardized styles for citation, and in English courses we usually use that of the Modern Language Association (MLA). Different fields of academic and professional work require different citation styles.
• Citation formatting is one of the few areas of English class in which there are right and wrong answers, so my recommendation is that you get used to seeking out and following the directions. That’s pretty much it–people can’t really be taught how to follow the rules. They can be shown where the rules are (the Excelsior Online Writing Lab is a good comprehensive resource for this), but individual students and professionals have to read them and follow them on their own.

Summary and Paraphrase

• Summary and paraphrase are methods of presenting the ideas of others in your own style. In other words, you change the diction (word choice) and the syntax (word order).
• When you want to present a condensed version of someone else’s ideas but with your own diction and syntax, you summarize.
• When you want to present a complete version of someone else’s ideas but with your own diction and syntax, you paraphrase.
• A summary is considerable shorter than the original text, whereas a paraphrase is usually the same length (if not longer). This is because a paraphrase includes all of the detail of the original text’s content, while the summary just relays the main points.
• For example, we’ve all had to write a book report. This is a kind of summary because the main ideas of the book are briefly communicated in different words. This is not a paraphrase because much of the book’s detail is left out. If an English teacher asks you to summarize a 200-page book, read it and jot down the text’s main ideas in your own style. If an English teacher asks you to paraphrase a book, initiate a withdrawal from the course (because your paraphrase would be at least as long, and would likely be longer).
• Summary and paraphrase must be accurate to the original text’s meaning. Especially in the case of paraphrase, you will want to include inferences or connotations in your rewriting of their words. For example, if I were to simply tell you that my English teacher said that ours was the best class she’s ever had, you would take it literally. If, however, she said it originally with an ironic tone, then her meaning would have been the opposite and in order for me to accurately communicate the meaning to you, I would need to relate the tone as well.
• To recap, in order for a paraphrase to be acceptable, it must

1. change the words
2. change the sentence structure
3. cite the source (according to required format, if applicable)
4. accurately reflect the meaning of the original content.

Quotation

• When you want to present someone else’s ideas in their exact, original words, you quote.
• Make sure that your quotations are anchored in your text. Simply put, this means that every quote in your text is connected to your own voice by way of appropriate punctuation:
  • Formal introduction (use a colon)
    • My friend was clear about his position on Pop Rocks: “They’re the best candy ever.” (or)
    • “They’re the best candy ever”: my friend was clear about his position on Pop Rocks.
  • Narrating expressions (use a comma)
    • When I asked him about Pop Rocks, my friend said, “They’re the best candy ever.” (or)
    • “They’re the best candy ever,” my friend said when I asked him about Pop Rocks. (or)
    • “They’re the best candy,” my friend said, “ever.”
  • Grammatical integration (no punctuation necessary)
    • “The best candy ever” to my friend is Pop Rocks. (or)
    • My friend’s “best candy ever” is Pop Rocks.
  • NOT OKAY (unanchored)
    • My friend really likes Pop Rocks. “They’re the best candy ever.”
• MLA note: If you are presenting words from a source that was paginated (i.e. that had page numbers), the page number on which the quote can be found must be in parentheses at the end of the sentence (before the period):
  • My friend said, “They’re the best candy ever” (34).

For additional guidance on incorporating quotations, see

[UNC CHAPEL HILL QUOTATIONS DOC]

It’s about 11 pages long, so you don’t need to read the whole thing like you would a short story, but please be sure to use it as a reference since you are responsible for its content.

Do your best to apply these details to your presentation of ideas in the future writing assignments. You will especially want to make sure that

• You place quotations around the exact words of a source that you’re representing
• You significantly change the language of a passage that you are summarizing or paraphrasing
• Your sources are always cited with appropriate attributions

Source Information:

Using Research to Support Scholarly Writing- A Critical Thinking and Research Methodology Sandbox for First year Composition (Bloom, et. al.)

• Pressbooks
• https://open.maricopa.edu/researchsandbox/
• Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial ShareAlike