I Found My Sources. Now What?

Include Exact Quotations When:

• The quoted words constitute evidence that backs up your reasons.
• The words are from an authority who backs you up.
• The words are strikingly original.
• The words express your ideas so compellingly that the quotation can frame the rest of your discussion.
• The words state a view that you disagree with, and to be fair you want to state that view exactly.

Turabian, Kate. A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations: Chicago Style of Students & Researchers, 8th ed. Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press, 2010. 42.

Best Practices for Quotations:

• Use Quotation when you are repeating something from a source exactly word for word.
• You should use quotation marks even if you are only taking just a few words from a source.
• Quotes can help lend authority to an initial argument, but should not be relied upon too heavily in a paper. If you find yourself quoting an entire paragraph, a paraphrase or summary of that content may often be more appropriate.
• Quotes can and should be used when the original author’s wording is unusual, unique, or memorably states a point.

Paraphrase when you can state what the source says more clearly or concisely or when your argument depends on the details in a source, but not on its specific words.

Booth, Wayne et al. The Craft of Research, 4th ed. Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press, 2016. 200.

Best Practices for Paraphrasing

• Paraphrasing is taking the idea of a sentence or passage, and putting it into your own words.
• Paraphrasing is NOT copying the sentence and replacing or changing a few words to be different from the original. (This is called “patchwriting” and may trigger plagiarism-detecting programs.)
• You should paraphrase when the idea or point is more important than the actual words used.
• You should paraphrase when the words are complex but the point is simple.
• Paraphrasing should remain faithful to the original meaning of the material.

Summarize when details are irrelevant or a source does not warrant much space.

Booth, Wayne et al. The Craft of Research, 4th ed. Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press, 2016. 200.

Best Practices for Summarization

• As with paraphrasing, summarize when the idea or point is more important than the actual words used.
• However, summary can also condense much more material – even an entire book or article.
• Summary can often lead into your own points on the material.