Whenever you use other writers’ ideas you must acknowledge your sources. Doing so allows you to distinguish between your ideas and those of others and it allows you to give credit to others people work.

In this page some correct and effective use of sources are available:

Quotations

Use quotation marks and a citation when you use another writer’s exact words even when using only a short phrase. You must make clear to the reader which words are your own and which are another writer’s. For direct quotations, citations alone are NOT sufficient. You must enclose the quoted material in quotation marks and put the page number. When used judiciously, quotations serve a number of important functions in a well-crafted paper.

Select quotations that

  • develop a step in your argument
  • present striking, memorable phrasing
  • provide a strong, specific example
  • introduce a claim open to interpretation
  • summarize an author’s main points

When selecting quotations, avoid

  • quoting details
  • padding a thin argument with unnecessary quotations
  • quoting commonly known information, e.g., “The Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941.”
  • quoting blocks of text that could be summarized or quoted more selectively
  • quoting information you could state in your own words

Paraphrases

Paraphrasing is the rewriting of an author’s idea in your own words. Paraphrase rather than quote when you want to present an author’s idea but the exact language is not significant. When you paraphrase, you must cite the source. You also must fully rewrite the original language and original sentence structure. A common mistake is partial paraphrasing.
Do not keep the author’s exact wording or the same sentence structure. If you retain even a short phrase or a distinctive word, use quotation marks.

Examples of paraphrasing:

Original text: "Descartes introduces the possibility that the world is controlled by a malicious demon who has
employed all his energies to deceive him (Lu 24)."

Incorrect paraphrase
Descartes suggests that the world is controlled by an evil demon who may be using his energies to
deceive (Lu 24).

Comment: Plagiarism: even though the citation is provided, the sentence still has exact wording (italicized).

Correct paraphrase
Descartes suggests that the evil power who rules the world may be attempting to mislead him (Lu 24).

Comment: Not plagiarism: the language is fully rewritten, and a citation is provided.

Combination of paraphrase and quotation
Descartes suggests that the evil power who rules the world may be using “all his energies to deceive
him” (Lu 24).

Comment: Not plagiarism: the paraphrased portion is fully rewritten, the exact language is quoted, and a citation is provided.

When paraphrasing, you must rewrite the original language, change the original sentence structure, and cite the source according to the expectations of the discipline.

Borrowed Ideas

Acknowledge sources from which you borrow ideas even when you don’t directly quote the text. Borrowed ideas come in many forms, including original concepts, observations, data, and logic.
Include a citation when you use

  • another author's tables, maps, or graphs
  • another author's data, even if using the data for a different argument
  • the organization or logic of another author's argument

These guidelines include the use of reference materials such as encyclopedias and study
aids, e.g., SparkNotes.

Common Knowledge

You do not need to cite an idea that is standard information of the discipline, such as
material discussed in class or general information your reader knows or can locate
easily (e.g., momentum equals mass times velocity, or Daniel Moi became president of
Kenya in 1978). Such information is widely available and not disputed.
You do need to cite a fact that is not common knowledge, e.g, “Moi's election came
after a heated succession struggle that allegedly included an assassination plot against
Moi himself” (Karimi and Ochieng 1980: 109).

Beware of over-citing, which is usually the result of unnecessary citing of general
knowledge or excessive reliance on source material.

 

(Source: Using_Sources.pdf, Nesbitt-Johnston Writing Center, Available at http://www.hamilton.edu/academics/)