You Just Used Something from a Source.

Do You "Direct Quote" or Paraphrase?

A direct quote is when you use a piece of text by another author (this can be from a book, website, movie, a live interview etc.) and use it in your own work. You take care to put quotation marks around the author’s original wording. This makes it obvious which words are your own, and which are not. The end of your sentence with the quote will always have an in-text citation. This lets your reader know where to look in your Works Cited page for the full source of information.

Example:

...as a point of reference, "in 1955, a 405-pound giant squid--six foot six minus the tentacles--was recovered intact from the stomach of a sperm whale caught off the Azores" (Roach 150). This is not the only...

Here is the same piece of information, from the same book, but this time presented as a paraphrase...

A paraphrase is when you take an idea or fact from a source but completely change the wording and structure of the original. The reason for the complete change isn't because you're trying to hide anything, but because the wording of the original might not be a perfect fit for what you are trying to say. Sometimes, what matters is the idea from a source, not the way it is expressed. Or sometimes it's only a small part of the information that you want. And that is when you paraphrase.

Example:

...as a point of reference, a giant squid measuring 6.5 feet (excluding the tentacles) and weighing over 400 pounds was once found, whole, inside the stomach of a sperm whale (Roach 150). This is not the only...

Paraphrasing is a little trickier than direct quoting, but worth the effort when done well (making you look super smart). Ask your teacher or the librarian if you have doubts about a paraphrase you're attempting, or about anything covered here. Good luck!