Short quotations should be enclosed in quotation marks and incorporated within your sentence.
Longer quotations should be started on a new line, be single line spaced and are not enclosed in quotation marks.
Quotations should generally be used sparingly - paraphrasing is considered the more skilled approach to drawing on your research sources.
Incorporate the copied text into your writing and enclose it in quotation marks. Include the in text reference alongside the quotation:
| To write well at University, you must ensure you "understand what your tutor wants you to do in the assignment and why" (Godfrey 2022, p.11). |
Indent the quoted text on a new line and use single line spacing; do not include quotation marks. Include the in text reference alongside the quotation:
|
Students can often find that they need to work on their writing skills once they start their course in order to be able to produce work that will achieve the marks they are hoping for. Writing well at University can be achieved by paying attention to several key considerations: To produce a successful piece of writing you need to understand what your tutor wants you to do in the assignment and why. The three main factors in determining this writing context and purpose are the nature of your discipline, your tutor's approach to the subject, and your assignment title and/or task. Being aware of these will help you to unlock and open the door to more successful and effective written assignments (Godfrey 2022, p.11). |
You would then include a full reference to the source you quoted in the reference list at the end of your work.
| GODFREY, J., 2022. Writing for university. 3rd ed. London: Bloomsbury Academic |
Paraphrasing is where you take a key point from a source you are using - for example: a sentence or a paragraph - and put it in your own words.
You need to ensure you retain the original meaning from the point you are using, but you can convey this in your writing via your own words and writing style.
Paraphrasing is a key skill to develop as it demonstrates that you have understood the information you are referring to.
You must ensure you don't just change a few words in the text you are paraphrasing as that would be too close to the original and may be considered academic misconduct. It needs to be distinctly within your own style but retains and reflects the meaning of the original piece of text.
Here is an example of an original quote and the paraphrased version. Note that the paraphrased version is different to the original in terms of wording and structure but the point conveyed reflects the original:
| Original quote: | Paraphrased version |
|
“Success in creating AI would be the biggest event in human history. Unfortunately, it might also be the last, unless we learn how to avoid the risks” (Hawking et. al. 2014) |
The creation of artificial intelligence could be the most significant and high-risk development in history (Hawking et. al. 2014). |
You need to include an in-text citation for the source you have summarised (as in the examples above) and then include a full reference to the source in your final reference list e.g.:
| HAWKING, S. et al., 2014. Rise of the machines. The Independent, 2 May, 44 |
Summarising is where you take a longer piece of information - for example: a whole chapter, a whole book, a complete journal article - and condense it down to just an overview of the key points that need to be included. You do this in your own words, rather than by including quotations.
You need to include an in-text citation for the source you have summarised and then include a full reference to the source in your final reference list.
The Using Others' Work in Your Own Work video, which is also embedded below, takes you through much of what is discussed on this page above, but in a visual way. There is also a quiz embedded part of the way through for you to test your learning, and a demonstration of how to approach paraphrasing.
We have also produced a written version of this guide using the script of the video which you can access below as a PDF: