MODULE 2 ACTIVITIES

3. Quoting, summarizing, and paraphrasing: When is it appropriate to use each of these?

(For GROUP 4)

Quoting, summarizing, and paraphrasing make use of other people’s work in order to
guide the direction of our own points and support claims in our own papers. More importantly,
these are essential ways of upholding academic integrity and avoiding plagiarism. Direct
quotations are appropriate to use when we are more concerned on the accuracy and value of a
point. That is, when the exact statements from credible sources leave a significant impact to the
extent that altering the words may produce a different idea, or worse, a misleading one. Quoting
is applicable when the language used in a statement focuses on the concise words and phrases
which are effective enough for our target audience to understand. This leads them to convey the
sole purpose of our writing. Additionally, it is used when the author or the person behind the text
provides a strong identity to the development of our own ideas as well as the context of our
writing. Direct quotations are suitable for comparing and contrasting similar and different ideas;
stipulating agreements or disagreements on different positions. However, our work should not
just be a collection of a huge number of direct quotations that is why either paraphrasing or
summarizing (or both) are also regarded as efficient approaches to define our work.

Paraphrasing is appropriate to use when providing our own skillful understanding and
explanation of the specific details of a larger text; thus, providing our share of mastery of the
topic. It is made possible when simplifying a complex statement and only stating the most
relevant point to make sure that our audience will have a clear comprehension of our main ideas.
For instance, in reporting facts and statistics, audience will more appreciate pertinent figures if
they are not expressed in quotations that contain technical words and jargons. In this case, our
truthful interpretation through paraphrasing comes into action to guide them. Finally,
summarizing is appropriate to use when establishing an overview of a larger text; simplifying
ideas from several sources into a one sound position. It is helpful in disregarding ambiguous and
unnecessary information from a complex array of texts. Summarizing is a proper way of
affirming the essence of an idea that is more important than the character of the author or his/her
exact lengthy statement. Hence, it helps us grasp and point out only the particular points
provided by the various resources that we have acquired.

Why is putting in-text citations important?

It is indeed true. When we were establishing our foundation of research writing, the first
skill that we had to develop is citing references both in the text and in the bibliography. In my
own understanding, there are three defined reasons why putting in-text citations is important.
First, providing in-text citations is one way to uphold academic integrity. It is important because
we want to give credits to the people or the institutions who contributed to a body of knowledge
which is the basis of our own assumptions in the present time. It is relevant in our presentation of
ideas, since it shows that there are materials that relate to our topic and suggest the credibility or
validity of our arguments. In-text citations are the expression of acknowledgement to the people
behind the resources that are helpful for us to establish a comprehensive articulation of ideas.
Second, it is also done for us to avoid any form of biases, and that are paper is not purely based
on subjective sentiments. Putting in-text citations helps our audience determine which ideas are
properly supported by evidences. Third, it guides them to refer to the different kinds of materials
(e.g. books, articles, and journals) that they may use for further reading, in case of having a deep
interest about the topic or a possible study about it in the future. Therefore, we need in-text
citations to avoid committing plagiarism, to acknowledge the excellence of the sources of our
information, and to make use of the bibliography that reflects in-text citations to explore ideas
which may not be presented in the paper itself.