However you use your borrowed information—whether directly quoting, paraphrasing, or summarizing—remember that you must cite your sources. That's called documenting your sources of borrowed information. That is covered in documentation. Important too is attributing your borrowed information, presented here.
Quoting Directly
For various reasons, you may feel compelled to throw in a lot of quotations in your technical documents. It's true: direct quotation can provide authority to your documents, but so can paraphrasing and summarizing (covered below).
Reasons for Direct Quotations
In technical texts, you can reduce your reasons for direct quotations to these:
Rely on authority:
According to Stephen Hawking in an interview with Nature, "There is no escape from a black hole in classical theory, Quantum theory, however, enables energy and information to escape from a black hole."
Dr. Avijit Banerjee, chair of cardiology and operative dentistry at King's College London, said "the potential harmful effects of fluoride cited have not been associated with the very low levels of fluoride used in water fluoridation programs."
Avoid guilt by association:
Imagine that some politician makes hopelessly misinformed comments about vaccines. You don't want readers to think that you have that idea about vaccines so you quote the politician, perhaps loading the attribution:
In his presidential campaign, he has put forth the widely discredited notion that fluoridated water is "associated with arthritis, bone fractures, bone cancer, IQ loss, neurodevelopmental disorders, and thyroid disease."
Crazy, quirky expression:
In Into a Black Hole transcribed by https://www.hawking.org.uk/, Hawking stated that "black holes ain't as black as they are painted."
The legendary H. Ross Perot, in his famous criticism on NAFTA (a free-trade agreement), argued that it would create "a giant sucking sound going south," meaning U.S. jobs leaving of the U.S. because lower wage expectations elsewhere.
Methods of Direct Quotation
Block quotation
According to APA style:
Source: Guidelines for direct quotations. APA.
Check APA style for the format of narrative citations and parenthetical citations.
Complete-sentence direct quotation
If you need to quote a complete sentence, remember to attach some sort of attribution to it, and use appropriate punctuation:
Colon: Research from the Encyclopedia Britannica states that distance learning was not universally accepted by colleges and universities across the United States: "the introduction of distance learning in traditional institutions raised fears that technology will someday completely eliminate real classrooms and human instructors” based on research from the Encyclopedia Britannica" [3].
Comma: According to the United States Distance Learning Association, "in 2015, an estimated quarter of a million people were participating in some level of undergraduate distance learning in the United States alone" [2].
See the next section on attribution
Run-in direct quotation
In plenty of instances, it's better to run in parts of a direct quotation to the syntax of your own writing, for example:
Dewey stated that "by 1987, for example, the interest in distance learning was sufficient to create the United States Distance Learning Association (USDAL)" [2].
Another advantage of online learning is that it more readily enables "adaptation of training materials that address students' individual needs" [1].
Direct Quotations: Attribution
An attribution for a quotation indicates who made the quoted statement and possibly other related details. The attribution is highlighted in red:
Dewey also argues that “this shift has significant implications and allows distance educators to play an important role in the fulfillment of the promise of the right to universal education” [2].
Now, here is an example containing the unattributed quotations highlighted in red (using bracketed-format for citations):
The bracketed numbers in the above example identify the sources of the quotations. But that is inadequate. In this revision, attributions have been added and are highlighted in teal:
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Technology changed the game of distance learning entirely. Just a few of the technologies that are commonly used in distance learning courses include video chat, webinars, chat room digital forums and e-mail based on details from the Essential Guide [1] and are the foundation of virtual classrooms. Dewey states that "by 1987, for example, the interest in distance learning was sufficient to create the United States Distance Learning Association (USDAL)" [2]. And as technology has continued to improve, access to computers and internet in most homes, as well as high speed cellular connections, the growth and interest in distance learning in many forms has skyrocketed. According to the United States Distance Learning Association, "in 2015, an estimated quarter of a million people were participating in some level of undergraduate distance learning in the United States alone" [2]. While this number may seem like distance learning was accepted by colleges and universities across the United States, research presented in the Encyclopedia Britannica states that "the introduction of distance learning in traditional institutions raised fears that technology will someday completely eliminate real classrooms and human instructors" [3]. Because of this unrealistic fear, many colleges and universities still offered limited or no remote or online course options even as recent as five years ago. But the major driver that brought distance learning into the mainstream and helped to solidify this education method as just as valuable as a regular classroom model was the COVID pandemic. |
Paraphrasing
In a technical document, usually the better approach to note-taking is to paraphrase if you need the full detail in the source. When you paraphrase, you convey the information fact-by-fact, idea-by-idea, and point-by-point in your own words. The writer of the original passage ought to be able to read your paraphrase and say that it is precisely what she or he had meant.
Reasons for Paraphrasing
Here are some reasons for paraphrasing as opposed to directly quoting:
- There is nothing special or unusual in the direct quote.
- The quotation is too long (True, you could reduce the length with ellipses, but the result would be a hard-to understand collection of fragments.
- You can make the paraphrase fit the context and terminology of your discussion.
- It's much easier to transition into and out of the paraphrase.
As for punctuation, you punctuate the paraphrase as you would your own writing.
Paraphrases: Attribution
Here is an example of original text followed by a paraphrase of it:
| Original passage (Numbers in parentheses are source citations.) Estimates of the mass of plastic waste carried by particular waterways range from <<1 kg per day (Hilo, HI) to 4.2 MT (4200 kg) per day (Danube River) (10, 11). Because of their dependence on local watershed characteristics, these results cannot be easily extrapolated to a global scale. Here we present a framework to calculate the amount of mismanaged plastic waste generated annually by populations living within 50 km of a coast worldwide that can potentially enter the ocean as marine debris. For each of 192 coastal countries with at least 100 permanent residents that border the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian oceans and the Mediterranean and Black seas, the framework includes: (i) the mass of waste generated per capita annually; (ii) the percentage of waste that is plastic; and (iii) the percentage of plastic waste that is mismanaged and, therefore, has the potential to enter the ocean as marine debris (12) (data S1). By applying a range of conversion rates from mismanaged waste to marine debris, we estimated the mass of plastic waste entering the ocean from each country in 2010, used population growth data (13) to project the increase in mass to 2025, and predicted growth in the percentage of waste that is plastic. Lacking information on future global infrastructure development, the projection represents a business-as-usual scenario. We estimate that 2.5 billion MT of municipal solid waste was generated in 2010 by 6.4 billion people living in 192 coastal countries (93% of the global population). This estimate is broadly consistent with an estimated 1.3 billion MT of waste generated by 3 billion people in urban centers globally (5). Approximately 11% (275 million MT) of the waste generated by the total population of these 192 countries is plastic. We expect plastic waste to roughly track plastic resin production (270 million MT in 2010) (3), with differences resulting from the time lag in disposal of durable goods (lifetime of years to decades), for example. Scaling by the population living within 50 km of the coast (those likely to generate most of the waste becoming marine debris), we estimate that 99.5 million MT of plastic waste was generated in coastal regions in 2010. Of this, 31.9 million MT were classified as mismanaged and an estimated 4.8 to 12.7 million MT entered the ocean in 2010, equivalent to 1.7 to 4.6% of the total plastic waste generated in those countries. Our estimate of plastic waste entering the ocean is one to three orders of magnitude greater than the reported mass of floating plastic debris in high-concentration ocean gyres and also globally (14–17). Although these ocean estimates represent only plastics that are buoyant in seawater (mainly polyethylene and polypropylene), in 2010 those resins accounted for 53% of plastic production in North America and 66% of plastic in the U.S. waste stream (4, 18). Because no global estimates exist for other sources of plastic into the ocean (e.g., losses from fishing activities or at-sea vessels, or input from natural disasters), we do not know what fraction of total plastic input our land-based waste estimate represents. Our framework was designed to compute, from the best-available data, an order-of-magnitude estimate of the amount of mismanaged plastic waste potentially entering the ocean worldwide. It is also a useful tool to evaluate the factors determining the largest sources of mismanaged plastic waste. The amount of mismanaged plastic waste generated by the coastal population of a single country ranges from 1.1 MT to 8.8 million MT per year, with the top 20 countries’ mismanaged plastic waste encompassing 83% of the total in 2010 (Fig. 1Opens in image viewer and Table 1Opens in image viewer). Total annual waste generation is mostly a function of population size, with the top waste-producing countries having some of the largest coastal populations. However, the percentage of mismanaged waste is also important when assessing the largest contributors of waste that is available to enter the environment. Sixteen of the top 20 producers are middle-income countries, where fast economic growth is probably occurring but waste management infrastructure is lacking (the average mismanaged waste fraction is 68%). Only two of the top 20 countries have mismanaged fractions <15%; here, even a relatively low mismanaged rate results in a large mass of mismanaged plastic waste because of large coastal populations and, especially in the United States, high per capita waste generation. Science, Vol. 347, No. 6223 |
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Paraphrased version (This version shorter than the above because irrelevant text was omitted.) The estimation of plastic waste in the oceans was derived from a framework that assessed the quantity of mismanaged plastic waste produced annually by populations residing within 50 kilometers of coastlines globally. This study involved 192 coastal countries, each with at least 100 permanent residents adjacent to major oceans and seas. The framework accounted for three key factors: the annual waste generation per person, the proportion of waste that is plastic, and the portion of plastic waste that is poorly managed and thus likely to become marine debris. Using various conversion rates from mismanaged waste to marine debris, researchers estimated the volume of plastic waste entering the ocean in 2010 from these countries, projected this increase to 2025, and forecasted a rise in the share of waste that is plastic, assuming no significant changes in global infrastructure. In 2010, about 2.5 billion metric tons of municipal waste were produced by 6.4 billion people in these countries, with approximately 11% (or 275 million metric tons) being plastic. It was estimated that 99.5 million metric tons of plastic waste originated from coastal regions, with 31.9 million metric tons identified as mismanaged. Consequently, between 4.8 and 12.7 million metric tons of plastic waste entered the ocean that year, representing 1.7% to 4.6% of the total plastic waste produced. This figure exceeds known amounts of floating plastic debris found in high-density ocean gyres and globally. The study emphasizes the significant role coastal population size and inadequate waste management play in contributing to oceanic plastic waste. The findings underline that middle-income countries, often experiencing rapid economic growth but lacking effective waste management systems, are major contributors to mismanaged plastic waste. — ChatGPT-4o, January 2025 |
As of fall 2025, these paraphrasing tools were available:
Quillbot Paraphrasing Tool l
Quillbot AI-Detector
Scribbr Paraphrasing Tool
Grammarly may also offer a paraphrasing tool.
Summarizing
Reasons for Summaries
Here are some reasons for summarizing as opposed to quoting or paraphrasing:
- You just want to cite the main idea of the source.
- You want to enable readers to read further, dive deeper.
- You want to state that the source provides further support for the point you're making.
As for punctuation, you punctuate the summary as you would your own writing.
Summaries: Attribution
Here is an example of original text followed by different summaries of it:
| Original text Please see eSoil: A low-power bioelectronic growth scaffold that enhances crop seedling growth |
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Summarized versions Extended (like an abstract): Active hydroponic substrates that stimulate on demand the plant growth have not been demonstrated so far. Here, we developed the eSoil, a low-power bioelectronic growth scaffold that can provide electrical stimulation to the plants’ root system and growth environment in hydroponics settings. eSoil’s active material is an organic mixed ionic electronic conductor while its main structural component is cellulose, the most abundant biopolymer. We demonstrate that barley seedlings that are widely used for fodder grow within the eSoil with the root system integrated within its porous matrix. Simply by polarizing the eSoil, seedling growth is accelerated resulting in increase of dry weight on average by 50% after 15 d of growth. The effect is evident both on root and shoot development and occurs during the growth period after the stimulation. The stimulated plants reduce and assimilate NO3− more efficiently than controls, a finding that may have implications on minimizing fertilizer use. However, more studies are required to provide a mechanistic understanding of the physical and biological processes involved. eSoil opens the pathway for the development of active hydroponic scaffolds that may increase crop yield in a sustainable manner. Single sentence (main point): The scientist in this research demonstrate that barley seedlings growth is enhanced as the dry weight increased on average by 50% after electrical stimulation. |
As of fall 2024, this summarizing tool was available:
I would appreciate your thoughts, reactions, criticism regarding this chapter: your response.
