What's the difference?
A good paper uses both direct quotes taken word-for-word from your article, and paraphrases of other important ideas. When deciding whether to quote or paraphrase, think about whether or not you will be able to put a quote into your own words. Paraphrases should generally be simpler and shorter than the quotes from the author.
Direct Quotes |
Whenever you use the exact words you find in your source, you need to put quotation marks around the phrase. This is called a "direct quote." When you use a direct quote, you should make sure that you explain how the quote fits in with or supports your arguments. You can't just quote your whole paper; you need to include your thoughts and analysis along with quotes to support your ideas. A direct quote needs to be identical to the source. It's also a good idea to make sure the quote you choose is long enough to be meaningful, but not so long that it takes up a whole paragraph of your paper!
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Paraphrasing |
Your paraphrase should represent the author's ideas, but using only your own words to express them. Paraphrasing can be a lot trickier than using direct quotes, but with practice you can become an expert paraphraser. Swapping out synonyms or adding extra words to change a quote is not good paraphrasing! Try following these steps:
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