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W
hen you start to use sources to build your argument, there are certain
strategies for working with the words and ideas of others that you
will need to learn. Often you can quote the words of an author directly; but
just as often you will restate and condense the arguments of others (para-
phrasing and summarizing) or make comparisons to the ideas of others in
the process of developing your own argument (synthesizing). We walk you
through these more challenging strategies in this chapter. We also briefly
discuss plagiarism and ways to avoid it and how to integrate quotations
into your writing.SummarieS, ParaPhraSeS, and QuotationS
In contrast to quotations, which involve using another writer’s exact words,
paraphrases and summaries are both restatements of another writer’s ideas
in your own words, but they differ in length:• ^ A paraphrase is usually about the same length as the original passage.
• ^ A summary generally condenses a significantly longer text, convey-
ing the argument not only of a few sentences but also of entire para-
graphs, essays, or books.
In your own writing, you might paraphrase a few sentences or even
a few paragraphs, but you certainly would not paraphrase a whole essay
(much less a whole book). In constructing your arguments, however, you
will often have to summarize the main points of the lengthy texts with
which you are in conversation.From Summary to Synthesis
Using Sources to Build an Argument
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