Paraphrasing is rewording someone else’s ideas or your own previously published ideas. Paraphrasing is a useful way of synthesising or emphasising certain information. You need to include the author's name and date when you paraphrase. 

Example 1

Mother-infant attachment became a leading topic of developmental research following the publication of John Bowlby's studies (Hunt, 1993). 

You can also cite the author at the end of a paraphrased section.

Example 2

Hunt (1993) noted that mother-infant attachment became a leading topic of developmental research after the publication of John Bowlby's studies. 

Sometimes you may need to include longer paraphrases over multiple sentences. In this case, you only need to mention the original source at the beginning as long as it is clear to the reader that the citation is continuing. If you continue paraphrasing in a new sentence, reintroduce the source again. 

You don’t have to include a page number if you are paraphrasing from a book.

Quotations are word for word citations, that is, you have used the exact wording from another piece of writing. When using quotes that are shorter than 40 words:

• Use quotation marks

• Incorporate the quote (introduce it and explain it)

• Include the author, year of publication and page number in parentheses. Punctuate after the closing parenthesis if it is at the end of a sentence.

• There are two formats you can use: parenthetical and narrative style.

Parenthetical Example:

Jerome's vulnerability and innocence is emphasised, with the opening lines "How small I look. Laid flat, my stomach touching ground. My right knee bent and my brand-new Nikes stained with blood"  (Parker Rhodes, 2018, p. 1).

Narrative Example:

Parker Rhodes (2018)  emphasises Jerome's vulnerability and innocence in the opening lines: "How small I look. Laid flat, my stomach touching ground. My right knee bent and my brand-new Nikes stained with blood" (p.1).

• Indent the block quotation from the left margin. You can do this quickly, by selecting the long quote and pressing the ‘tab’ key. 

• Double space the quote

• Do not use quotation marks or include any extra spacing around it

• Cite the source at either the beginning or the end of the quote

Example

At the end of Lord of the Flies the boys are struck with the realization of their behaviour:

The tears began to flow and sobs shook him. He gave himself up to them

now for the first time on the island; great, shuddering spasms of grief 

that seemed to wrench his whole body. His voice rose under the black 

smoke before the burning wreckage of the island; and infected by that 

emotion, the other little boys began to shake and sob too. (Golding, 1960, p.186)

It is best to cite the primary source if you have access to it, however, sometimes you may need to cite a secondary source. 

When citing a secondary source, APA Style (2023) recommends:

• Including the secondary source in your reference list.

• State the primary source followed by ‘as cited in’ the secondary source when in text referencing. Include the year of publication if known. 

Example

According to Culver (2006, as cited in Jones, 2009), learning APA "can be tough, but like any skill, it just takes practice" (p. 23).