Writing Toolkit: Direct Quoting, Partially Quoting, Paraphrasing

To reiterate what is addressed in your textbook, be sure to review differences between directly quoting, partially quoting, and paraphrasing.

Direct Quote: Complete sentences are taken word-for-word from the source. 

In “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” King states, “Nourished by the Negro’s frustration over the continued existence of racial discrimination, this movement is made up of people who have lost faith in America, who have absolutely repudiated Christianity, and who have concluded that the white man is an incorrigible devil” (605).

(Notice that King's name does not appear in the parenthetical citation because it appears in the speaker tag or signal phrase.)

One example can be seen in her poem “The Chuppah,” in which Piercy uses a chuppah, an object similar to an alter used in traditional Jewish weddings, to symbolize her most recent marriage. According to Schneider, "Piercy will use these symbols as a springboard for lyrics that represent her distinctive relationship to Judaism […] and makes such ritual objects her own by integrating them into her life and poetry" (234).

A couple of points--

Notice the speaker tags or signal phrasesAccording to Schneider and King states. You will need to attribute your direct quote to the source. Don't just shove a quote into the text without a speaker tag or signal phrase.

Regarding direct quotations: Use them sparingly. If you can paraphrase and still convey the author’s original meaning, do so. Direct quotations are often longer than necessary and contain material irrelevant to your discussion and thereby only distract your reader.

Notice the quotations marks: They must be there.

Partial Quote: Clauses, phrases, or keywords are taken directly from the outside source. 

In Tan’s essay “Mother Tongue,” Tan states that “people in department stores, at banks, and at restaurants did not take her seriously, did not give her good service, pretended not to understand her, or even acted as if they did not hear her” (489). 

In addition to Piercy, other poets’ works were influenced by Judaism as well. Jacqueline Osherow, a fellow Jewish poet, was greatly influenced by her religion and in her collection Dead Men’s Praise, in which Osherow describes “the tensions between being a Jew, a woman, and a poet” (Schneider 654).

Paraphrase: The text is written in your own words; however, the ideas/points come from the readings.

In Stanton’s Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions, she states that men have a history of wrongdoings and act as if they own the women or as if men are better than women. Even though women deserved and demanded equal rights, many men in the American society still questioned their reasoning and capability of such rights (591).

As a child, Piercy had a severe case of the German measles, putting her close to death, and during this time her grandmother gave her the Hebrew name Mara, meaning bitter, because of a superstition in her culture that a bad name would keep death away. While her family tried to change her Hebrew name, she decided to keep the original name her grandmother had given her (Rodden 76).

This is very important: notice the parenthetical citations that appear following each reference to the research. Every time you use information that you read in another source--whether you directly quoted, partially quoted, or paraphrased from that source, you must include a parenthetical citation

If you are in doubt about whether you need to cite a source, ask me. Failing to cite a source with a parenthetical citation appropriately is plagiarism, regardless of whether you directly quoted, partially quoted, or paraphrased.  The penalty for plagiarism can range from a verbal/written reprimand, a lower grade on the assignment, automatically failing the assignment, automatically failing the course, or being expelled from school. Again, when in doubt, ask your instructor.