When you quote you copy exactly what the author has said. You are not only using the author’s ideas but also how they expressed the ideas. It is imperative that you indicate that you are quoting by using “quotes.”

For example, consider the following paragraph:
“Higher Education and society benefit when colleges and universities have standards of integrity that provide the foundation for a vibrant academic life, promote scientific progress, and prepare students for responsible citizenship.” (Center for Academic Integrity, 1999, p.4)

• The following is an appropriate quote:
  The Center for Academic Integrity (1999) states in their policy document that universities and colleges gain when they ensure that they “have standards of integrity that provide the foundation for a vibrant academic life, promote scientific progress, and prepare students for responsible citizenship” (p. 4).
• The following is an inappropriate quote:
  Academic integrity is an important part of university life. “Each group needs to uphold [its] own responsibility and do it well, without making excuses, for academic integrity to truly flourish” (The Center for Academic Integrity, 1999, p.9).
  (This quote is inappropriate because: there is no obvious connection to the previous sentence, it is 'added on' rather than integrated, it does not appear to be quoting someone in authority, and it is not saying something in a novel way).

When you summarize you are presenting a concise explanation of a book or the main ideas of article. For example, the book The Life of Pi could be summarized as “a young boy survives his ship sinking at sea and lives for months on a life boat with a tiger.” A summary can be brief, like the one above or more complex depending on how you are using it. For example, you might be noting other research in passing (a brief summary) or explaining a theory in detail (a complex summary). For more information on summarizing, see the handout developed by the Learning Assistance Centre.

When you paraphrase you present other people’s ideas, theories and data in your own words. Paraphrasing focuses on a smaller section (usually a paragraph or a couple sentences) of text. Please note that paraphrasing is not plagiarism if it done properly. It is very important that as a graduate student you know how to properly paraphrase. When paraphrasing, you must not re-create the original text in word or in style and even though you are using your own words, you must include a reference. For more information on paraphrasing, see the handout developed by the Learning Assistance Centre. Additional examples of correct and incorrect paraphrasing may be found here.