paraphrasing in text citation

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Paraphrase: Write It in Your Own Words

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Paraphrasing is one way to use a text in your own writing without directly quoting source material. Anytime you are taking information from a source that is not your own, you need to specify where you got that information.

A paraphrase is...

Your own rendition of essential information and ideas expressed by someone else, presented in a new form.
One legitimate way (when accompanied by accurate documentation) to borrow from a source.
A more detailed restatement than a summary, which focuses concisely on a single main idea.

Paraphrasing is a valuable skill because...

It is better than quoting information from an undistinguished passage.
It helps you control the temptation to quote too much.
The mental process required for successful paraphrasing helps you to grasp the full meaning of the original.

6 Steps to Effective Paraphrasing

Reread the original passage until you understand its full meaning.
Set the original aside, and write your paraphrase on a note card.
Jot down a few words below your paraphrase to remind you later how you envision using this material. At the top of the note card, write a key word or phrase to indicate the subject of your paraphrase.
Check your rendition with the original to make sure that your version accurately expresses all the essential information in a new form.
Use quotation marks to identify any unique term or phraseology you have borrowed exactly from the source.
Record the source (including the page) on your note card so that you can credit it easily if you decide to incorporate the material into your paper.

Some examples to compare

Note that the examples in this section use MLA style for in-text citation.

The original passage:

Students frequently overuse direct quotation in taking notes, and as a result they overuse quotations in the final [research] paper. Probably only about 10% of your final manuscript should appear as directly quoted matter. Therefore, you should strive to limit the amount of exact transcribing of source materials while taking notes. Lester, James D. Writing Research Papers . 2nd ed., 1976, pp. 46-47.

A legitimate paraphrase:

In research papers, students often quote excessively, failing to keep quoted material down to a desirable level. Since the problem usually originates during note taking, it is essential to minimize the material recorded verbatim (Lester 46-47).

An acceptable summary:

Students should take just a few notes in direct quotation from sources to help minimize the amount of quoted material in a research paper (Lester 46-47).

A plagiarized version:

Students often use too many direct quotations when they take notes, resulting in too many of them in the final research paper. In fact, probably only about 10% of the final copy should consist of directly quoted material. So it is important to limit the amount of source material copied while taking notes.

A note about plagiarism: This example has been classed as plagiarism, in part, because of its failure to deploy any citation. Plagiarism is a serious offense in the academic world. However, we acknowledge that plagiarism is a difficult term to define; that its definition may be contextually sensitive; and that not all instances of plagiarism are created equal—that is, there are varying “degrees of egregiousness” for different cases of plagiarism.

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APA Citation Style, 7th Edition: In-Text Citations & Paraphrasing

APA 6/7 Comparison Guide
New & Notable Changes
Student Paper Layout
Journal Article with One Author
Journal Article with Two Authors
Journal Article with Three or more Authors
Help?! I can't find the DOI
One Author/Editor
Two Authors/Editors
Chapter in a Book
Electronic Books
Canvas Posts & Class Discussion Boards
Datasets, Software, & Tests
Dissertations & Thesis
Government Websites & Publications, & Gray Literature
Infographic, Powerpoint, or other visual works
Legislative (US & State House & Senate) Bills
Podcast or other audio works
Social Media Posts
StatPearls, UpToDate, DynaMedex
YouTube or other streaming video
Citing the use of AI
Interviews & Emails
Magazine Articles
Newspaper Articles
Posters & Conference Sessions
Photographs, Tables, & PDF's
In-Text Citations & Paraphrasing
References Page
Free APA 7th edition Resources, Handouts, & Tutorials

When do I use in-text citations?

When should you add in-text citations in your paper .

There are several rules of thumb you can follow to make sure that you are citing your paper correctly in APA 7 format.

Think of your paper broken up into paragraphs. When you start a paragraph, the first time you add a sentence that has been paraphrased from a reference -> that's when you need to add an in-text citation.
Continue writing your paragraph, you do NOT need to add another in-text citation until: 1) You are paraphrasing from a NEW source, which means you need to cite NEW information OR 2) You need to cite a DIRECT quote, which includes a page number, paragraph number or Section title.
Important to remember : You DO NOT need to add an in-text citation after EVERY sentence of your paragraph.

Paragraph Rules of Thumb: Cite after 1st paraphrase, continue writing, add a new cite for a new source or a direct quote.

What do in-text citations look like?

In-text citation styles: , let's look at these examples if they were written in text: .

An example with 1 author:

Parenthetical citation: Following American Psychological Association (APA) style guidelines will help you to cultivate your own unique academic voice as an expert in your field (Forbes, 2020).

Narrative citation : Forbes (2020) shared that by following American Psychological Association (APA) guidelines, students would learn to find their own voice as experts in the field of nursing.

An example with 2 authors:

Parenthetical citation: Research on the use of progressive muscle relaxation for stress reduction has demonstrated the efficacy of the method (Bennett & Miller, 2019).

Narrative citation: As shared by Bennett and Miller (2019), research on the use of progressive muscle relaxation for stress reduction has demonstrated the efficacy of the method.

An example with 3 authors:

Parenthetical citation: Guided imagery has also been shown to reduce stress, length of hospital stay, and symptoms related to medical and psychological conditions (Jones et al., 2020).

Narrative citation: Jones et al. (2020) shared that guided imagery has also been shown to reduce stress, length of hospital stay, and symptoms related to medical and psychological conditions.

An example with a group/corporate author:

Parenthetical citation: Dr. Philip G. Rogers, senior vice president at the American Council on Education, was recently elected as the newest chancellor of the university (East Carolina University, 2020).

Narrative citation: Recently shared on the East Carolina University (2020) website, Dr. Philip G. Rogers, senior vice president at the American Council on Education, was elected as the newest chancellor.

Tips on Paraphrasing

Paraphrasing is recreating someone else's ideas into your own words & thoughts, without changing the original meaning (gahan, 2020). .

Here are some best practices when you are paraphrasing:

How do I learn to paraphrase? IF you are thoroughly reading and researching articles or book chapters for a paper, you will start to take notes in your own words . Those notes are the beginning of paraphrased information.
Read the original information, PUT IT AWAY, then rewrite the ideas in your own words . This is hard to do at first, it takes practice, but this is how you start to paraphrase.
It's usually better to paraphrase, than to use too many direct quotes.
When you start to paraphrase, cite your source.
Make sure not to use language that is TOO close to the original, so that you are not committing plagiarism.
Use theasaurus.com to help you come up with like/similar phrases if you are struggling.
Paraphrasing (vs. using direct quotes) is important because it shows that YOU ACTUALLY UNDERSTAND the information you are reading.
Paraphrasing ALLOWS YOUR VOICE to be prevalent in your writing.
The best time to use direct quotes is when you need to give an exact definition, provide specific evidence, or if you need to use the original writer's terminology.
BEST PRACTICE PER PARAGRAPH: On your 1st paraphrase of a source, CITE IT. There is no need to add another in-text citation until you use a different source, OR, until you use a direct quote.

References :

Gahan, C. (2020, October 15). How to paraphrase sources . Scribbr.com . https://tinyurl.com/y7ssxc6g

Citing Direct Quotes

When should i use a direct quote in my paper .

Direct quotes should only be used occasionally:

When you need to share an exact definition
When you want to provide specific evidence or information that cannot be paraphrased
When you want to use the original writer's terminology

From: https://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/whaddyamean/

Definitions of direct quotes:

Western Oregon University's APA Guidelines on Direct Quotes This is an excellent quick tutorial on how to format direct quotes in APA 7th edition. Bookmark this page for future reference!