Introduction
One of the challenges of academic writing is incorporating that evidence without losing the flow and general tone of your own words. Taking a little time to develop your confidence in the key techniques for incorporating evidence will greatly enhance the quality and coherence of your work, as well as helping you to cite and reference more effectively.
Quote or paraphrase?
Essentially you have two options when referring to evidence - you can quote directly, or you can paraphrase (put the ideas into your own words).
Note that in both cases you need to cite the evidence – even if you put it into your own words, you are still using someone else’s ideas.
Different subjects have different conventions, so it’s very important that you establish what is preferred or permitted in your subject area.
For example, in the Sciences quotation is used very sparingly – the vast majority of the time you’d be expected to paraphrase. In other disciplines there will be more choice.
So how do you decide when to take one approach over the other? The video below provides some good suggestions:
Using direct quotation
When quoting directly, there are a few things to bear in mind.
First of all, how you lay out the quote will depend on its length. Shorter quotations (no more than 2 -3 lines in your work) should be included as part of the body of the text, and enclosed in single quotation marks. A short quote should never appear in your work as a freestanding sentence – it should always be part of a longer sentence.
Longer quotations should be presented in a separate, indented block, and do not require quotation marks. They should still however be introduced in the text which precedes them.
Generally, however, quoting large chunks of text should be avoided where possible, so consider paraphrasing instead or use selected extracts from the quote rather than the whole thing.
Developing your paraphrasing skills
Paraphrasing can be a difficult skill to master but it is just that – a skill. With practice you can become confident in your ability to put other people’s ideas into your own words without falling into the trap of word substitution.
Word substitution (sometimes known as ‘paraphrase plagiarism) is where you leave the sentence as it is but change certain words to others with the same meaning. This is considered a form of plagiarism because you’re not really showing your understanding and synthesis of ideas – you’re simply showing your ability to find synonyms.
In addition, word substitution usually leads to torturous, clumsy sentences that are far less effective than the original.
The key is to understand that you are paraphrasing the idea or argument and not the sentence. Try thinking about how you would explain the idea to a friend, a tutor, or a family member without having the original text in front of you. This will allow you to move away from the structure of the original sentence and instead think about the underlying subject matter.
Have a look at our video below for more detailed advice on paraphrasing.
Direct vs indirect citation
Regardless of whether you choose to quote or paraphrase your evidence, you will have two options in terms of how you present it – direct or indirect citation. Depending on the referencing system, this may affect the format and/or position of the citation.
Direct citation occurs when you refer to the author(s) directly in the sentence. The example below shows direct citation in the Harvard style:
Smith (2020) contends that the current penalties for weak or missing citations are too lenient.
Indirect citation occurs when there is no direct reference to the author(s) in your sentence. Note how in the Harvard system the content and position of the citation changes as a result:
It is argued that the current penalties for weak or missing citations are too lenient (Smith, 2020).
There are no hard or fast rules regarding whether to use direct or indirect citation; indeed, good writing will often intentionally combine both.
However, you should pay attention to the conventions of your discipline (for example when reading journal articles and books) and establish whether there is a preferred approach, or specific situations in which you would use one of these approaches over the other.
Practical ways you can develop your use of evidence
- Identify the conventions in your own discipline regarding quotation and paraphrasing. It’s important that you know whether quotation is common or whether you’re expected for the most part to paraphrase. If you’re not sure, read a few journal articles or book chapters in your subject area and pay attention to how these authors present evidence.
- Practice paraphrasing. It takes time to master, but once you do it will become a natural process and will add immeasurably to the effectiveness with which you use evidence, even if quotation is also permitted in your discipline.
- Be aware of the distinction between direct and indirect citation, both in your own work and in the sources you read for research. Are there particular situations where one is more effective than the other?
Summing Up
It’s easy to get bogged down in details of specific referencing systems, and to worry about plagiarism. It is important to take care of these things, but beyond the basics the more important thing is how you’re using that evidence and how you’re incorporating it into your own writing.
By seeing that wider context, and by working on the craft of integrating evidence into your work, you can move beyond the basic concerns and start to see evidence – and the referencing that goes with it – as something that is part of a much bigger and more important picture.
