Let’s talk about quoting, paraphrasing, and summarizing. These are three things you’ll be doing throughout college and beyond in both writing and speaking, so it’s helpful to know what they are and how they differ from one another.

First, let’s look at quoting. A direct quote is an exact copy of words found in a source. So when you quote something, it means you copy it from the source exactly as you found it. This can be helpful when you are taking notes so you can accurately track information, ideas, and arguments as you learn. You can also use direct quotes when you are reporting something that a person has said or if the idea you want to share is stated in such a unique and important way that your audience should see for themselves. Be sure to always use quotation marks around any text that you copied directly from your source.

Now, let’s talk about paraphrasing. This is when you restate a specific piece of information from a source in your own words. That last part is important. Restating a passage in your own words can help you understand and remember the material. It can be helpful to take paraphrased notes to save time later on when you want to include paraphrased information in your writing. Plus, it helps show that you have a strong understanding of the information you’re presenting.

It’s important to keep in mind, though, that paraphrasing isn’t just finding synonyms for words in a passage. To paraphrase, you have to read and understand the information and present it in your own way. To avoid copying the text too closely, it helps to look away while you put the idea in your own words.

Alright - one more thing: summarizing. Summarizing is when you make a short and concise statement of the main information and/or arguments in a source. Summaries document the purpose of a source and reference key reasons or pieces of evidence. As you research, keeping summaries of your sources handy can help you recall the significant ideas from each. Then, they’re great for helping you introduce and contextualize sources to your audience.

I wrote an overview of an article I read in Women’s Wear Daily that includes quoting, paraphrasing, and summarizing to show you what these might look like.

Arthur Zackiewicz for WWD (2022) reports that unnecessary waste is heading to landfills because of overflowing consumer recycling bins, according to a study released by DS Smith, a manufacturer of sustainable packaging. The study found that many consumers end up throwing recyclable materials in their regular garbage bins when they run out of space in their designated recycling bins. Zackiewicz explains that although the US has been better about recycling in recent years than ever before–recycling about 32% of waste–we are still behind many other countries: for example, South Korea recycles 65% of its waste, and Slovenia recycles as much as 72%. Zackiewicz asserts that the results of DS Smith’s study suggest that the “welling of waste” is partially due to the growth of online shopping during covid-19, which created more waste for consumers to dispose of and will probably continue to increase as people continue to shop online. 

Note that this paragraph starts off with a general idea of what the article is about: summarizing! 

And then it gets more specific about the evidence and statistics the author uses to support it, which I’ve put into my own words: paraphrasing! 

I also include some concise and clever language that I copied directly and put inside quotation marks: quoting!

Now that we’ve learned what these tools are and what they might look like in a paragraph, let’s break down each one more specifically. Check out the next video in this series!

Remember, these are all things we can work with you on at the Writing & Speaking Studio. To make an appointment, visit fit.mywconline.com or email writing_speaking@fitnyc.edu with any questions. See you soon! 

In the last video, we reviewed definitions and examples of quoting, paraphrasing, and summarizing. Now, let’s look more closely at how we use these tools.

Let’s start with quoting. Here’s an example. I recently read an article in Women’s Wear Daily called “As Bins Overflow, Consumers Demand More Options.” It was written by Arthur Zackiewicz, so when I want to share information from the article, it’s important that I make sure it’s accurate and credited to him.

This is an excerpt from the article that I found particularly interesting, referring to DS Smith, a sustainable packaging manufacturer. It says:

The company also said shoppers are committed to recycling packages but admit that they sometimes resort to bad habits when their at-home recycling bins are full. The survey was conducted in October and resulted in 1,000 respondents in the U.S.

Now, if I am writing about what consumers are reporting about their own recycling behavior, this is a great piece of evidence to use. But this information is already written pretty concisely, so I’m going to quote it directly. Here’s how I’ll do that.

DS Smith surveyed 1,000 people in the US, many of whom reported that they “sometimes resort to bad habits when their at-home recycling bins are full” (Zackiewicz, 2022).

Notice how I introduce the part that I am quoting with a reference to the source of the information, DS Smith’s survey and its participants. 

Then, I include a quotation mark to signal to my reader that the part coming up was taken from a source. 

You’ll see that I used only part of the sentences that Zackiewicz wrote because I was able to put the rest of the passage in my own words. By the way, it’s okay to use only part of a sentence when it works best for the context of your writing, as long as you aren’t changing its meaning by leaving out other information. 

Then, I ended the sentence with another quotation mark to signal the end of the direct quotation.

Now, let’s talk about paraphrasing. Here’s an example of some text from the same Women’s Wear Daily article. Zackiewicz wrote:

The authors of the report said the waste generated in households that needs to be recycled “has grown in part due to the rise in e-commerce that accelerated during the pandemic.” 

In this passage, Zackiewicz describes a likely explanation for the increase in recyclable waste according to a study by DS Smith, and he even quotes them directly. I want to paraphrase this information. After looking away from the text for a bit to make sure I didn’t copy it too closely, here’s what I came up with.

According to Zackiewicz, the study by DS Smith suggests that the growth of online shopping during the covid-19 pandemic created more trash and recycling for consumers to dispose of, which is partially why we’ve seen an increase in waste from consumers’ homes.

The original meaning of the passage remains the same, but the wording is different. It might not be as concise as the original, but that’s okay. If I’m a student, I can remember that I’m not a professional writer with an editor. The point here is for me to learn and to practice communicating what I learn as clearly as possible.

Okay, now let’s look at summarizing. To summarize this article, I might say:

The article, “As Bins Overflow, Consumers Demand More Options,” by Arthur Zackiewicz explores the results of a study by DS Smith, a manufacturer of sustainable packaging, regarding how consumers feel about recycling. Zackiewicz reports that many consumers find they do not have enough space for all their recycling needs, so they end up putting recyclable materials in their regular trash bins. He also addresses the disparities between the amount of recycling in the US compared to other countries, adding that this problem has been exacerbated by the rise of online shopping due to the covid-19 pandemic. 

With this kind of summary, you now have a pretty good understanding of the article even though you might not have read the whole thing. 

One note about this summary: you’ll notice that the subject of my sentences is almost always the author, Arthur Zackiewicz. Instead of using language like “the article says” or “it states,” I’m using language that places the author at the forefront of the ideas. 

This is part of what we like to call looking at research as a conversation. Instead of using the article itself as a set of facts, we are viewing it as an extension of a real person. To learn more about this, check out our video called Research as a Conversation.

Now that we’ve talked about quoting, paraphrasing, and summarizing, it’s important to remember that there isn’t one right way to do all of this. We all have our own ways of thinking, speaking, writing, and that’s great! The goal is to do our very best to accurately represent the ideas of others.

Check out the next video in this series to test your understanding of these tools! Remember, these are all things we can work with you on at the Writing & Speaking Studio. To make an appointment, visit fit.mywconline.com or email writing_speaking@fitnyc.edu with any questions. See you soon! 

So you’ve learned what it means to quote, paraphrase, and summarize, and you’ve explored how to do all of it. Now, let’s see what you remember.

Question 1: When paraphrasing, how can you avoid copying a text too closely?

A. Find synonyms for the words in the passage.
B. Change the structure of the sentence using the text’s vocabulary.
C. Look away from the text and explain it like you would to a friend.
D. Just quote it directly.

If you thought C, you’re correct! Reading the source and then looking away for a bit helps you to absorb and understand the information. Then, you can write about it in your own way.

Question 2: Summarizing is…

A. A thorough representation of information or ideas in a specific passage.
B. A concise statement of a text’s main information and/or arguments.
C. Copied exactly as a passage appears in the original text.
D. All of the above.

The correct answer here is B! Summaries are shorter than the original text and contain a brief explanation of the main ideas.

Question 3: When are quotation marks required?

A. Quotation marks are never actually required.
B. When text is copied exactly as it is in the original.
C. When an idea is paraphrased.
D. Quotation marks are always required.

The answer is B! Quotation marks must be used any time text is copied directly from the original source to signal to the reader that it is borrowed language.

Question 4: What can you do while reading to maximize your understanding of the text?

A. Briefly summarize the main idea of each section.
B. Note down direct quotes to accurately keep track of information.
C. Restate part of the text in your own words.
D. All of the above.

If you thought D, all of the above, you’re correct! These are all great tools to use while reading and researching to help make sure you absorb and remember the information from your sources and know exactly where to look when you need to come back to a particular idea.

Question 5: How do you know when text should be quoted directly?

A. When you don’t understand the main idea.
B. When it mentions a proper noun.
C. When you can easily put the idea into your own words.
D. When the idea cannot be said in any other way.

The answer here is D! When an idea is written so perfectly that you want your audience to read or hear it the same way you did, that’s a great time to use a direct quote.

So how did you do? If you answered these questions confidently, that’s great! If not, no worries! These videos are here to help you when you need them. Keep them bookmarked so you can refer back to them whenever you need.

And remember, these are all things we can work with you on at the Writing & Speaking Studio. To make an appointment, visit fit.mywconline.com or email writing_speaking@fitnyc.edu with any questions. 

Thanks for watching, and we hope to see you soon!