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Quoting, summarizing, and paraphrasing

Learn how to quote, summarize, and paraphrase other scholars' works and avoid plagiarism

Pop quiz!

1. If you put quotation marks around a sentence, you don’t need to change it to fit grammatically with the
other text.

A. True
B. False 

2. An ellipsis can be used to cut out words from the quote that aren’t necessary to include.

A. True
B. False

3. Brackets are used just like parenthesis inside quotation marks.

A. True
B. False

 

Quiz answers

1. False. You need to make sure that the direct quotation makes sense grammatically and is clear. If necessary, you can use 
brackets to make change to a pronoun or verb tense. 

2. True. You can replace unnecessary words in the quotation with an ellipsis. 

3. False. 

Author credit

Adapted from "Using someone else's words: Quote, summarize, and paraphrase your way to success" © Center for Teaching and Faculty Development at San Francisco State University. Adapted with permission.