Paraphrase, Summary, and Quotation

Choose between quoting, paraphrasing, and summarizing when using a source.

When you use a source, you have three options. A quotation copies the author's exact words inside quotation marks; use it when the wording itself is powerful or precise. A paraphrase restates one specific passage in your own words and sentence structure, at about the same length. A summary condenses a larger section or whole text into a much shorter version of its main points.

Here is an original source sentence: 'Although the desert seems lifeless at noon, at night it fills with foxes, owls, and insects that have waited out the heat. ' Quotation: the author writes that the desert 'fills with foxes, owls, and insects' at night. Paraphrase: Many animals in the desert hide from the daytime heat and come out after dark. Summary of the whole article: The article explains how desert animals survive extreme heat.

A paraphrase that only swaps a few words but keeps the original structure is too close and counts as copying, so change both words and structure.

• 1Quotation: exact words in quotation marks
• 2Paraphrase: one passage in your own words, similar length
• 3Summary: main points of a larger text, much shorter
• 4A paraphrase must change both words and structure