Quoting, Paraphrasing, and Summarizing:

How to avoid plagiarism

MLA & APA Styles
Prof. Safaa Abdelhalim
 Writing a good research paper
To write a good research paper that supports and enhances your topic, you must review relevant
literature and studies, incorporating other researchers’ findings and ideas into your own work.

To do this professionally:
• you have to master three main skills: Quoting, paraphrasing and summarizing. They are
methods of reviewing, shortening and referencing passages or other types information

• Avoid plagiarism. (Plagiarism “The practice of taking someone else's work or ideas and passing
them off as one's own” (Merriam Webster Dictionary).

Types of plagiarism
The consequences of plagiarism:
• Damage your reputation and Unintended Intentional
(accidental)
credibility
• Failure of an assignment ▪ Paraphrasing ▪ Pre-written papers
• Fired from a job poorly ▪ Copying directly (without quote
• Pay a fine or a jail time. ▪ Quoting poorly or citation) Having someone else
▪ Inaccurate citations do the work
 Quoting, paraphrasing, and summarizing
• Researchers frequently intertwine summaries, paraphrases, and quotations in writing their
research articles. However, using any of these techniques differ according to the closeness of
your writing to the source text.

1. Quotations. Repeating a passage the exact way it was spoken or written using quotation marks.
They must match the source document word for word and written with quotation marks. “_”
2. Paraphrasing (indirect quotation). Extracting the main point from a source material and
rephrasing it in your own words. Not concerned with length.
3. Summarizing involves putting the main idea(s) into your own words, including only the main
point(s). Summaries are significantly shorter than the original and take a broad overview of the
source material.

All must be attributed to the original author (in-text citation + references list).
 (1) Writing a proper quotation
Key points to consider:
• When directly quoting a text, please use double quotation marks. “ - ”

• The use of single quotation marks ‘-’ is generally restricted to terms with specific
meanings that are unique to a particular field.

• Brackets should be used when you replace or change a word in a quote to better fit
your sentence:
“The professor berated the class.” “The professor berated [his] class.”
 In-text citation of quotations APA style
Citing a short quotation (less than 40 words) Citing a block quotation (more than 40 words)

1. Include the 3rd name of the author(s) and year. 1. Include the 3rd name of the author(s) and year
2. provide a page number and use “p.5 or “pp.5-6” 2. Start the quotation on a new line and indent the first
line of any subsequent paragraph within the
3. Place the page number in one of two places: quotation 1/2 inch from the left margin.
• At the end of the quotation. 3. parenthetical citations outside the last period.
E.g., According to Jones (1998), "Students often had 4. Maintain double-spacing throughout.
difficulty using APA style, especially when it was • Example
their first time" (p. 199).
Jones's (1998) study found the following:
• After the year. Students often had difficulty using APA style,
E.g., She stated, "Students often had difficulty using especially when it was their first time citing sources.
APA style" (Jones, 1998, p. 199), but she did not 1/2 inch This difficulty could be attributed to the fact that many
offer an explanation as to why. students failed to purchase a style manual or to ask
their teacher for help. (p. 199)
 In-text citation of quotations MLA style
Citing a short quotation (less than 4 lines) Citing a block quotation (more than 4 lines)

1. uses the author's last name and the page 1. Introduce the quote with a colon and set it on a new line.
number from which the quotation or 2. Indent the whole quote 1/2 inch from the left margin.
paraphrase is taken, for example: (Smith 3. Place the MLA in-text citation after the period at the end
163). of the block quote.
4. Double space.
Examples: Example
As Johnson and Maiden explained, “MLA Nelly Dean treats Heathcliff poorly and dehumanizes him
style is easy for students to use” (34). throughout her narration:
They entirely refused to have it in bed with them, or
It is argued that ““MLA style is easy for even in their room, and I had no more sense, so, I put
students to use” (Johnson and Maiden, 34). 1/2 inch it on the landing of the stairs, hoping it would be
gone on the morrow. … I was obliged to confess,
and in recompense for my cowardice and inhumanity
was sent out of the house. (Bronte 78)
 (2) Paraphrasing: write it in your own words
• Steps to Effective Paraphrasing
1. Reread the original passage until you understand its full meaning.
2. Set the original aside, and write your paraphrase on a note card.
3. Jot down a few words below your paraphrase to remind you later how you envision using this material. At the
top of the note card, write a key word or phrase to indicate the subject of your paraphrase.
4. Check your rendition with the original to make sure that your version accurately expresses all the essential
information in a new form.
5. Use quotation marks to identify any unique term you have borrowed exactly from the source.
6. Compare the paraphrase to the original text
Different vocabulary Different structure Same meaning Similar length
7. Cite the source (including the page).
Online Paraphrasing tools
• https://www.grammarly.com/blog/summarizing-paraphrasing/paraphrasing-a-sentence/
• https://www.scribbr.com/working-with-sources/how-to-paraphrase/ https://quillbot.com/
• https://www.prepostseo.com/paraphrasing-tool
Good Example of Paraphrasing
https://plagiarismdetector.net/paraphrasing-tool
 In-text citation of a paraphrased text (APA style)
• Examples of in-text citation:

• According to Jones (1998), APA style is a difficult citation format for first-time learners.
=
APA style is a difficult citation format for first-time learners (Jones, 1998).

• Hyland (2003) states that writing is a product constructed from the writer’s command of
grammatical and lexical knowledge, and the writing development is considered to be a
result of imitating and manipulating models provided by the teacher.

• In line with the statement above, Hamp-Lyons (1990 cited in O’Malley&Pierce, 1996,
p.136) examines that writing is an act in which the writers take ideas and transfer them into
“self-initiated” topics. To produce a piece of writing, a process of creating and recreating is
needed until the writer is able to clarify and express the ideas in a clear way (Gebhard,
2000).
 Citing a Work with More Than One Author
• When one work has two or more authors, use and in the text but use & in the citation.

• According to APA version 7 - For three or more authors, employ “et al.” in the first and in
all subsequent instances (e.g., Fredericks et al., 2012).

• If you must cite information from an indirect source, mention the author of the original
source in the body of your text and place the name of the author of the source you actually
consulted. Begin your in-text citation with ‘cited in.’
Example: Dörnyei (2018) defined motivation as ……………… (cited in Lee, 2021).
 In-text citation of a paraphrased text (MLA style)
• Examples of in-text citation:
• A few researchers in the linguistics field have developed training programs designed to improve
native speakers' ability to understand accented speech (Thomas 15).

• Derwing and Gebhard conducted their training with students preparing to be social workers, but
note that other professionals who work with non-native speakers could benefit from a similar
program (258).

• Writing a research paper needs good planning and lots of practice (Moore and Patel 37).

• Shakespeare adopted this unique style of writing due to some key reasons (Moore et al. 37)

## If you must cite information from an indirect source, mention the author of the original source in
the body of your text and place the name of the author of the source you actually consulted. Begin
your in-text citation with 'qtd. in.’
Kumashiro notes that lesbian and bisexual women of colour are often excluded from both queer
communities and communities of colour (qtd. in Dua 188).
 (3) Summarizing
To write an effective summary
• Ask yourself Three main questions:
1. What is the main idea of the source text?
2. What details are necessary?
3. What is the shortest way I can get the point across?

• Avoid two:
1. Unnecessary details.
2. Including your own analysis in the summary.
 Reference list examples:

• MLA • APA
• Citing a Book • Citing a Book
• Boyle, Jimmy. The Pain of Confinement: Prison Diaries. Arnott, G. D. (2017). The disability support worker (2nd ed.).
Canongate, 1984. Cengage Learning.

• Citing a journal article Citing a journal article

• Brown, C. (2018). Creating better learners through learning science: A
• Etherington, Ben, and Jarad Zimbler. "Field, Material,
sample of methods. Journal of Library Administration, 58(4), 375-381.
Technique: On Renewing Postcolonial Literary Criticism." The https://doi.org/10.1080/01930826.2018.1448652
Journal of Commonwealth Literature, vol. 49, no. 3, pp. 279-97,
https://doi.org/10.1177/0021989414538435. • Marion, T., Reese, V., & Wagner, R. F. (2018). Dermatologic
features in good film characters who turn evil: The
transformation. Dermatology Online Journal, 24(9), 21-34.
https://escholarship.org/uc/item/1666h4z5
 Writing in the Proper Tense for an APA Paper
• Verb tense is an indicator that distinguishes papers in the humanities from those in the natural and
social sciences.

• MLA style requires you to use present tense when you refer to a cited work “Jeffries stipulates”
or “the work of Mills and Maguire shows”

• In contrast, APA style requires you to use past tense or present perfect tense (“Jeffries indicated
” or “the work of Mills and Maguire has demonstrated”).

• The APA style does require present tense when you discuss the results (e.g., “the results
confirm” or “the study indicates”).

• According to APA style, use the present tense (exists) for established knowledge and the present
perfect (has reported) or the past tense (reported) for a citation.
 Important Tips
• When citing material in parentheses, set off the citation with a comma:
………………… (Jones, 1998, p. 199). vs. John (1998) highlighted that ………………
• Sentences containing quotes should be varied in structure for greater readability:
In the words of researcher Herbert “……………………”
As Flora Davis has noted……
Gardner(1998) has pointed out that……
Terrance answers these objections with the following analysis:……
• When introducing a quote, add information about the author that will either establish
his/her expertise or question his/her credibility or motives:
Smith, president of the NSS, argues that “. . . ”
Jones, who seems to make a career out of disagreeing with Smith, has this to say: “. . .”
 Voice and Language
• use personal pronouns where appropriate
use: We conducted an experiment…

• use the active voice rather than passive voice

use: We asked participants questions.
Avoid: The participants have been asked / questions by the researchers.

Check for mechanical errors

• Errors in grammar and style slow your reader down. Sometimes they even obscure your
meaning. Always proofread your text before passing it on to your reader.
In-text Citation
In-text Citation
 Time to practice

• Refer to the in-text citation worksheet.