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The real “art” to research writing is using quotes and summaries/paraphrases from evidence effectively in order to support your point. There are certain “rules,” dictated by the rules of style you are following, such as the ones presented by the MLA or the ones presented by the APA.
- A quote contains the exact words of another writer, along with quotation marks around those words.
- A paraphrase or summary is a restatement of the original words in a source. When writers summarize or paraphrase, they place the original ideas into their own in words and sentence structure.
- When you quote and summarize/paraphrase information, you must indicate where the information was found through citing your sources.
When all is said and done, the question of when to quote and when to paraphrase depends a great deal on the specific context of the writing and the effect you are trying to achieve. Learning the best times to quote and paraphrase takes practice and experience.
The difference between a summary and paraphrase:
Both a summary and paraphrase involve putting source material into your own words. A summary is shorter than a paraphrase.
In general, it is best to use a quote when:
- The exact words of your source are important for the point you are trying to make. This is especially true if you are quoting technical language, terms, or very specific word choices.
- You want to highlight your agreement with the author’s words. If you agree with the point the author of the evidence makes and you like their exact words, use them as a quote.
- You want to highlight your disagreement with the author’s words. In other words, you may sometimes want to use a direct quote to indicate exactly what it is you disagree about. This might be particularly true when you are considering the antithetical positions in your research writing projects.
In general, it is best to summarize or paraphrase when:
- There is no good reason to use a quote to refer to your evidence. If the author’s exact words are not especially important to the point you are trying to make, you are usually better off paraphrasing the evidence.
- You are trying to explain a particular a piece of evidence in order to explain or interpret it in more detail. This might be particularly true in writing projects like critiques.
- You need to balance a direct quote in your writing. You need to be careful about directly quoting your research too much because it can sometimes make for awkward and difficult to read prose. So, one of the reasons to use a paraphrase instead of a quote is to create balance within your writing.
Introduce your quotes and paraphrases to your reader, especially on first reference.
- Explain the significance of the quote or paraphrase to your reader.
- Cite your quote or paraphrase properly according to the rules of style you are following in your essay.
- Quote when the exact words are important, when you want to highlight your agreement or your disagreement.
- Paraphrase when the exact words aren’t important, when you want to explain the point of your evidence, or when you need to balance the direct quotes in your writing.
Examples of Quotes and Paraphrases
Here are four examples of what I mean about properly quoting and paraphrasing evidence in your research essays. In each case, I begin with a BAD example, or the way NOT to quote or paraphrase.
Quoting in MLA Style
Here’s the first BAD example, where the writer is trying to follow the rules of MLA style:
There are many positive effects for advertising prescription drugs on television. “African-American physicians regard direct-to-consumer advertising of prescription medicines as one way to educate minority patients about needed treatment and healthcare options” (Wechsler, Internet).
This is a potentially good piece of information to support a research writer’s claim, but the researcher hasn’t done any of the necessary work to explain where this quote comes from or to explain why it is important for supporting her point. Rather, she has simply “dropped in” the quote, leaving the interpretation of its significance up to the reader.
Now consider this revised GOOD (or at least BETTER) example of how this quote might be better introduced into the essay:
In her Pharmaceutical Executive article, Jill Wechsler writes about one of the positive effects of advertising prescription drugs on television noting that “African-American physicians regard direct-to-consumer advertising of prescription medicines as one way to educate minority patients about needed treatment and healthcare options.”
In this revision, it’s much more clear what point the writer is trying to make with this evidence and where this evidence comes from.
