Summarizing, Paraphrasing, and Quoting
When writing an essay, you must convey the results of your research to the reader. This is usually done by summarizing, paraphrasing, or quoting.
- Summarizing: Summarizing means stating a source's main ideas or points in your own words. A summary does not include the source's supporting details or evidence and is therefore shorter and more concise than its source. A good summary will give the reader a general sense of what the original material is without his or her having to read it.
- Paraphrasing: Paraphrasing also means rewriting something in our own words. However, unlike a summary, a paraphrase is usually roughly the same length as the original.
- Quoting: You can support your ideas and make your essay more interesting with well-chosen quotations. Rather than detracting from your work, well-chosen quotations add to it, giving your argument validity and support. Be careful, however, to use quotations sparingly and only when there is something essential about the wording of the quotation that cannot be summarized or paraphrased. Use quotations to support your ideas, but not to speak for you.
Most of the time you should either summarize or paraphrase your research.