Using direct quotes and paraphrases in academic writing

Office for Learning and Teaching in Economics and Business

www.econ.usyd.edu.au/OfficeOfLearningAndTeaching
Last Updated January, 2006 Voice over by James Whisker Click here to read About this presentation

Educational outcomes
The purpose of this presentation is to explain how to reference using both direct quotes and paraphrases.

After completing this PowerPoint presentation, you will be better able to:

Explain how to reference using (a) direct quotes and (b) paraphrases Describe the advantages of paraphrasing Describe some important steps involved with the process of creating a paraphrase

Why we use quotes and paraphrases

The use of direct quotes and paraphrases to support your discussion and argument is vital for quality academic writing and to avoid claims of plagiarism. Students can use direct quotes and paraphrases, to achieve many purposes such as:

To orientate the reader in the introduction of an essay to key research in the field

To show how significant a topic is

To support the claims made in the essay or task To outline, explain, compare and / or give examples of varying opinions in the field or highlight a position that a student may wish to agree or disagree with To demonstrate broad reading and knowledge on a topic
(Note: this list is not exhaustive) 3

Direct quotes
In general, quotations should be used infrequently in academic writing. You should use a quotation only when you need to: 1. Include an authors language that is particularly effective, well-stated, important within the discipline, historically significant, or striking or unique Present an idea or opinions that either cannot be paraphrased concisely or cannot be paraphrased without changing the meaning in some way Present an idea or position to critique, comment upon or agree/disagree with (this position should be one that cannot be easily stated through paraphrasing)
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2.

3.

An example of a direct quote

This is an appropriate use of a direct quote because it used the authors own emotive words to provide a strong opinion and also because it combines the direct quote with paraphrasing from the original text. On the basis of empirical evidence, Weller and Webber (2001) argue that there has been growing polarisation of the Australian labour force and that precarious and unstable careers have been the outcome of the structural changes in the economy (p.192), at least in the textiles, clothing and footwear industries.

Source of example: Weller & Webber (2001).

Direct quote: summary

Students should understand that while the use of direct quotes is an important part of academic writing, direct quotes should only be used sparingly (i.e., very little). The preferred method of incorporating sources into academic writing is through the use of paraphrases. The remainder of this PowerPoint presentation will focus on explaining in detail how to develop high quality paraphrases.

Paraphrasing
A paraphrase is a restatement of someone elses ideas, evidence or opinions using your own words. A paraphrase is usually of similar length to the original. In academic writing, a paraphrase is usually confined to restating sentences or key findings of a study. Summaries, on the other hand, are more appropriate for longer pieces of text. Summaries are always shorter than the original text.
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Why is paraphrasing often preferred?

1. Paraphrasing helps students learn 2. Paraphrasing is concise (See example) 3. Paraphrasing helps to limit the temptation to overuse quotes 4. Paraphrasing helps to better demonstrate a synthesis of evidence (See example)

The 2 major steps of paraphrasing

There are 2 major steps involved with paraphrasing original text.

1.
2.

Technical changes to the original text

Interpreting and synthesising source material into the discussion via selecting, condensing, interpreting and/or evaluating

Technical changes
The first step to successfully paraphrase an idea from source material requires making technical changes to the original text. The types of technical changes can be summarised as: a. Substituting similar words (changing the vocabulary) b. Changing the sentence structure c. Changing the word order

Reference: Hoysted, A. (no date). Paraphrasing. Unpublished teaching material, The University of Newcastle.

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Interpreting and synthesising

The second step needed to create a successful paraphrase involves synthesising the original idea into the essay to build an argument or substantiate a particular position. This type of paraphrasing is very important in terms producing quality academic writing. These interpretative changes that are part of the second step of paraphrasing can be summarised as: a. Selecting text b. Condensing text c. Clarifying text and / or d. Interpreting text
Reference: Hoysted, A. (no date). Paraphrasing. Unpublished teaching material, The University of Newcastle.

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Interpreting source material

These interpretative changes of paraphrasing (i.e., selecting, condensing and clarifying the text) assist students to interpret their sources and evidence so that students can:

Comment on or interpret the original source Evaluate the original the source Compare the original with other sources

Reference: Hoysted, A. (no date). Paraphrasing. Unpublished teaching material, The University of Newcastle.

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Examples of technical changes to text

Original Text Researchers have come to recognize that many of the alleged distortions induced by financial leverage rest on the factually incorrect premise that managers interests are identical with those of shareholders. (30 words) Change the vocabulary (and condense) Authors have realised that many possible distortions caused by financial leverage result from the mistaken premise that managers interests are the same as shareholders interests. (25 words) Now change the structure (and condense further) The mistaken premise that managers interests are the same as shareholders interests causes many possible distortions related to financial leverage. (20 words)
Source of example: Garvey & Mawani (2005).

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Examples of interpretation & synthesis

Original Text Researchers have come to recognize that many of the alleged distortions induced by financial leverage rest on the factually incorrect premise that managers interests are identical with those of shareholders. Synthesis into another argument for an essay The mistaken premise that shareholders interests are the same as managers interests causes many problems with various theoretical models relating to risk incentives. Garvey and Mawani (2005) argue, for example, that this mistaken premise results in possible distortions related to financial leverage errors. Another problem is that ...
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Paraphrasing: longer text examples

Original text: Wong et al The high rate of turnover has been a substantial problem in managing Chinese employees in joint ventures in the Peoples Republic of China. This is particularly true for two groups of employees. First, there has been shortage of middle-level managers because of the increased economic development over the past twenty years. This shortage has hindered many multinational corporations localization plans because local managers who have been trained for succession have usually ended up as the focus of aggressive recruiting efforts by other organizations.

Source of example: Wong, Hui, Wong, & Law (2001, p.328).

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Technical changes
ORIGINAL PARAPHRASE Vocabulary changes (& condense text where possible & appropriate)
A high rate of turnover among local staff has been a significant challenge in joint ventures in China.

PARAPHRASE Word order changes (+ condense text where possible & appropriate)
A significant challenge for joint ventures in China has been the high levels of local staff turnover.

The high rate of turnover has been a substantial problem in managing Chinese employees in joint ventures in the Peoples Republic of China. This is particularly true for two groups of employees. First, there has been shortage of middle-level managers because of the increased economic development over the past twenty years. This shortage has hindered many multinational corporations localization plans because local managers who have been trained for succession have usually ended up as the focus of aggressive recruiting efforts by other organizations.

First, there has been a shortage of middle-level managers to due to rapid economic development during the past two decades. This shortage has proved an obstacle to many multinationals localization plans because local managers who have been trained to take over the roles of expatriates have regularly been poached by rival organizations.

First, the rapid economic development during the past two decades has caused a shortage of middle-level managers.

Fierce competition to recruit these managers has led to poaching by rival organizations. As these local managers have often been training to take over the roles of expatriates, this has proved an obstacle to the localization of many joint ventures involving multinationals.

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Interpreting and synthesising

The role of organisational commitment in staff turnover has been less well researched in developing countries, despite the research being needed for effective joint venture planning. For example, a significant challenge for joint ventures involving multinationals in China has been the high levels of local staff turnover. A shortage of middlelevel managers and resulting fierce competition to recruit them, has led to poaching by rival organisations. As these local managers have often been training to take over the roles of expatriates, high turnove has proved an obstacle to the localisation of many joint ventures (Wong et al., 2001). Thus, lack of organisational commitment by local managers can have implications beyond the individual employee. An improved understanding of organisational commitment across various cultural contexts, informed by research, would assist planning and implementation for joint ventures.
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Conclusion
You should now have a better understanding of:

Why paraphrasing is often the preferred method of incorporating sources into academic writing

The technical steps involved with the process of creating a paraphrase

The importance of interpreting and synthesising sources into your work

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More information or help?

Additional resources for academic writing can be found at:

University of Melbourne
http://tlu.ecom.unimelb.edu.au/pdfs/Lecture%206-Plagiarism_and_paraphrasing.pdf

University of South Australia

http://www.unisanet.unisa.edu.au/learningconnection/student/default.asp

The University of Sydney Learning Centre

http://www.usyd.edu.au/stuserv/academic_support/learning_centre/resour.shtml

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Thank you
For additional & individual support with your writing, you may contact Dr Michael Paton on 9351 5569 or via email: m.paton@econ.usyd.edu.au

To provide feedback about this PowerPoint, you may email Kellie Morrison: k.morrison@econ.usyd.edu.au
Office for Learning and Teaching in Economics and Business www.econ.usyd.edu.au/OfficeOfLearningAndTeaching

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Vocabulary for Slide 5

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Precarious:

Dependent on chance circumstances, unknown conditions, or uncertain developments or characterised by a lack of security or stability
GO BACK not constant, not steady in action or movement, wavering in purpose or intent

Unstable:

(Definitions were abbreviated and adapted from: Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary http://www.m-w.com/home.htm)

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What is plagiarism?
Plagiarism means presenting another person's ideas, findings or work as one's own by copying or reproducing them without due acknowledgement of the source
(Academic Honesty in Coursework, The University of Sydney: http://www.econ.usyd.edu.au/content.php?pageid=2534 ).

For more information, see the Academic Honesty module in Blackboard.

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Additional examples for Slide 7

In this example, Chong and Tak-Wing use end of sentence citations to list several studies that used a single item to measure job performance. This type of reference is useful to show your breadth of reading on a topic. While not technically a paraphrase, it is a concise synthesis and paraphrases could be used in similar ways. Job performance was measured by a self-rated, one item, seven point Likert-type scale adapted from Kenis (1979). The one item used in this study is how would you rate your overall job performance? This approach is in line with numerous studies that have also used a single-item to measure job performance (see Merchant, 1981, 1984; Chenhall & Brownell, 1988; Mia & Chenall, 994; Dunk, 1995).
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Source of example: Chong & Leung Tak-Wing (2003).

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Additional examples for Slide 7

In this example, Waslander and Thrupp synthesise research using a mid-sentence citation to list several studies that all use the term producer capital. They therefore advocate a change in policy relating to investment in both physical and human capital. They advocate what has become known as producer capital (Dore, 1987; Thurow, 1993; Hutton, 1995) in which low-cost, long-term investment is linked to the development of human capital.
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Source of example: Waslander & Thrupp (1997).

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References
Garvey, G., & Mawani, A. (2005). Risk-taking incentives of executive stock options and the asset substitution problem. Accounting and Finance, 45(1), 3-23. Hoysted, A. (No date). Paraphrasing. Unpublished teaching material. The Learning Support Unit, The University of Newcastle. Waslander, S., & Thrupp, M. (1997). Choice, competition and segregation: an empirical analysis of a New Zealand secondary school market, 1990-93. In A.H. Halsey., H. Lauder, P. Brown, & A. Stuart Wells (Eds.), Education: culture, economy, society , pp. 439-459. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press.

Chong, V. K & Leung Tak-Wing, S. (2003). Testing a model of the motivational role of budgetary participation on job performance: a goal setting theory analysis. Asian Review of Accounting, 11(1), 1-17.
Weller, S., & Webber, M. (2001). Precarious employment and occupational change. In J.Borland., Gregory, B., & P. Sheehan (Eds.), Work rich, work poor: inequality and economic change in Australia, pp. 160-195. Victoria: Centre for Strategic Economic Studies, Victoria University. Wong, C.S, Hui, C., Wong, Y.T., & Law, K.S. (2001). The significant role of Chinese employees: organizational commitment implications for managing employees in Chinese societies. Journal of World Business, Fall, 36(3), 326-340.
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This PowerPoint presentation briefly explains how to directly quote or paraphrase from a source. Although this presentation was developed within the Faculty of Economics and Business, given the wide diversity of referencing formats, the advice presented here may not always align with every Unit of Study outline (UoS). Furthermore, some lecturers will have different expectations about specific tasks. In addition, tasks and assignments vary, as does the type of writing required in different contexts. Therefore, the advice here may or may not apply to your writing requirements. In most cases, it is generally best to follow the particular instructions of your lecturer / tutor and to use these materials as guidelines only. It is therefore important to always check your UoS outline or lecturer for each of your specific UoS requirements.
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