Paraphrase

The First Method

The first way to integrate others' thoughts into your syntax, or sentence structure, is paraphrase. This is different from summary in that in summary we could have gotten the information from almost any sources whereas in paraphrase the information we are alluding to is more text specific. In other words, if it is considered common knowledge (e.g., it could have been found in an encyclopedia or a half dozen sources) and if we are generalizing the information presented, we are mostly likely summarizing. When we paraphrase, we take the ideas of a sentence, paragraph, or entire work by another author, synthesize them, and present them in our own words, but this information tends to be more text specific (arguably unique to the text we have read and from which we want to quote). In this style of quoting, our ideas are most obvious and the other author's ideas are somewhat subordinated. However, because we are still using someone else's ideas, we must give credit where it is due.

Example:
Say you have the following section, and you want to refer to it in your paper:

Nonetheless, we do have an SA race to consider, and a big one at that. A whopping six candidates want a shot at next year's presidency. Each has vowed to make the SA respectable once again--an uphill battle considering all they've been through this year. That's why our choice of leadership is extremely important. We can't just haul off and vote for the first name on the ballot. That would be impossible. It changes several times a day.

Taken from NIU's newspaper, the editorial section.
Gaby, Josh. "Vote for Anderson, more fun." Northern Star [DeKalb]. 22 Mar 2000:13.

Now you want to integrate Gaby's ideas into your paper. There are a few ways of doing this. MLA format states that the preferred way to paraphrase is to have the author's name mentioned in your sentence structure, but sometime you may choose not to do this. I will give examples of both methods:

One:

John Gaby, in his editorial about the SA presidential race, suggests that this year's race for president is not only big but also important (13).

Notice that not only is the author's name integrate but so is the title of the work. Likewise, note that you also put the page number in the parenthetical citation. See Citing the MLA Way for more clarification on correct citation.

Two:

Some people on campus believe that students need to pay closer attention to this years SA presidential race than they have in previous elections because of the number of people running and because of the contention between the candidates (Gaby 13).

Notice now that the author's name appears in the parenthetical citation at the end of the sentence. If you are summarizing an entire essay, book, etc. and not just a few sentences or paragraph, you should put the author(s) name in your sentence structure. Otherwise, put the last name of the author(s) in parenthetical citations with the year of publication. This last method is not recommended by MLA anymore, but some teachers will still accept it.

NOW if we were going to summarize this information, our sentence may appear more like this:

NIU is having its SA election soon and there are many candidates running.

NOTE:
When in doubt, cite your source. If you're not sure if you're paraphrasing or summarizing, go ahead and write down where you got your information. No one will mind if you do, but some may hurt you if you don't (see Plagiarism with questions).

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