When using resources for a paper or project avoid plagiarism by summarizing. When you summarize, you restate a fact or idea in your own words. You do not use the same words used in the resource. If you do use words that are in the resource do not use more than two words together in a row. For example, after reading some of Benjamin Franklin's writings you could summarize that:

• Learning will help you succeed in life.

If an idea is too big to be summarized or you need more detail to get the full meaning across to your audience, you can paraphrase. When you paraphrase you reword the idea, but keep some of the original author's words. However, the words are not in the exact order, so you cannot use quotation marks. You must give an author credit when you paraphrase. One way to do this is by letting your audience know you are paraphrasing by using, words such as:

According to Benjamin Franklin, it is a wise choice to spend time and money to educate yourself so you can make good decisions in life.

Direct quotes are used when you find a fact or idea that you cannot summarize or paraphrase without losing the meaning. When this happens, you need to add quotation marks around the words, and make sure you use the words exactly as they appear in the resource. For example:

• Benjamin Franklin tells us, “An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest.”

There are different ways to formally cite the resources you use when creating a project or writing a paper. It is best to check with your teacher to find out which way your teacher wants you to do this. It is always important to note the author, title of the resource, and date of publication. For example:

• Franklin, Benjamin. The Way to Wealth. 1848.

When you get into middle school you will need more information such as place of publication and the page the information was located on.