Visit the guide linked above to learn about the American Psychological Association (APA) citation style, including information on how to create in-text citations, a reference list, and how to cite different types of sources.
Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association by Quoting Sources
When you quote a source, use "quotation marks" around the author's exact words (just as they are).
Include signal phrases and an in-text citation to show where the quote is from.
Paraphrasing & Summarizing Sources
When you paraphrase or summarize a source, you restate the source's ideas in your own words and sentence structure. Do not use quotation marks.
Changing only a few words is not sufficient. Instead, you need to completely rephrase the author's ideas in your own words. Select what is relevant to your topic, and restate only that.
But, you do not not need to change names, nouns, or scientific terms, these stay the same.
Examples:
Always use in-text citations when you paraphrase or summarize, to let the reader know that the information comes from another source. Continue to use signal phrases as well.
Citing sources provides credibility to your ideas and places them in an academic context. It is also an important part of academic integrity. Giving credit to other researchers and acknowledging their ideas avoids plagiarism.
MC Writing, Reading, & Language Centers
Tutors at the WRL Centers can provide feedback on your writing, including questions on properly citing your sources.
