paraphrasing sources citing

Decoding Academic Integrity: Mastering the Art of Citing Paraphrased Texts

Paraphrasing might seem like a way of avoiding plagiarism, but it can be considered a form of plagiarism if you don’t cite the original source. Citing paraphrases involves more than just mentioning the author’s name. Each formatting style—APA, MLA, or Chicago—has its own particular rules about how to cite paraphrased information, and these contrasting styles can be confusing.

Below, we review the rules for citing paraphrases in MLA, APA, and Chicago formats. We’ll break down the guidelines and share a paraphrase citation example or two for each style so you can see how to do it yourself.

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How to cite a paraphrase

Paraphrasing is when you restate someone else’s text or speech in your own words, keeping the original meaning. There are two challenges to doing this. One, which we’ll come back to in a minute, is that you have to cite a source, even though you’re not quoting it directly. The other challenge is that it’s not always easy to find a new way of saying what your source already said. Need help with that? In addition to the techniques mentioned in our paraphrasing guide , you can also check out our free paraphrasing tool , which lets you paste in up to 500 characters of text and then suggests a few different paraphrases for you to choose from. Navigate responsible AI use with Grammarly’s  AI checker , trained to identify AI-generated text.

One important point. You don’t need quotation marks if you are paraphrasing. Quotation marks are only for direct quotes, where you copy the original source’s wording exactly.

Now, back to the other challenge we mentioned. When you paraphrase, in order to avoid plagiarism , you need to include a citation. Citing a paraphrase in writing usually involves adding the author’s name and other information in parentheses next to the passage. This is called an in-text citation or parenthetical citation . Sometimes footnote or endnote citations can be used instead.

In academic writing , the formatting of an in-text citation and the information to include depend on the style you’re following: APA , MLA , or Chicago . Each style has its own unique rules, though there are some similarities between them. Below, we discuss the rules of citing paraphrases, based on which style you’re using.

Here’s another essential point. Along with creating an in-text citation or a footnote or endnote citation, you also need to add a full citation for the source in the bibliography at the end of your writing. Full citations usually include details about the publication, such as the publishing company or internet URL. Which details to include and in what order again depends on the formatting style. You can read all about that in our APA, MLA, and Chicago guides linked above. And you can use our free citation generator to help you along.

Citing paraphrases: APA

The APA format uses an author-date system for citing a paraphrased passage. This involves placing the author’s surname (last name) and the year of publication in parentheses, separated by a comma. An APA-style in-text citation for a work with two authors would look like this:

(Bell & Offen, 1983)

The in-text citation should occur at the end of the passage, but before the concluding punctuation: at the end of a sentence before the period, or at the end of a clause before the semicolon or comma.

If you mention either the author’s name or the year of publication in the words of your own text, known as a narrative citation, you can omit that information from the APA paraphrasing citation. In narrative citations that mention only the author, put the year in parentheses after the author’s name instead of the end of the passage. This may sound complicated, but it’ll be more clear if you look at some examples.

APA paraphrasing citation example

Researchers recently discovered that Kundalini yoga improved cognition and memory in several older women at risk for Alzheimer’s disease (Lavretsky, 2024).

In a 2024 study, researchers discovered that Kundalini yoga improved cognition and memory in several older women at risk for Alzheimer’s disease (Lavretsky).

The research team of Dr. Helen Lavretsky (2024) recently discovered that Kundalini yoga improved cognition and memory in several older women at risk for Alzheimer’s disease.

In a 2024 study, the research team of Dr. Helen Lavretsky discovered that Kundalini yoga improved cognition and memory in several older women at risk for Alzheimer’s disease.

Citing paraphrases: MLA

Paraphrase citing in MLA uses the author’s surname in parentheses, but with the page numbers instead of the year of publication. There is no comma to separate them, so numbers in MLA in-text citations generally refer to a page.

If you mention either the author or the page in the text—a narrative citation—you can omit that information from the citation. This is more common with the author than the page number, so in MLA papers you will often see only the page number in parentheses.

MLA paraphrasing citation example

Someone whose words and actions are not genuine, but instead represent those of another person, is considered to be an “artificial person” (Hobbes 113).

Someone whose words and actions are not genuine, but instead represent those of another person, is considered to be what Hobbes calls an “artificial person” (113).

Citing paraphrases: Chicago

The Chicago style provides for two different systems of citing sources. We’ll briefly describe each, but you don’t necessarily get to take your pick. If you’re writing for school, you’ll probably be told which system to apply. One is called the author-date system; it’s commonly used in the sciences. The other, known as the notes-and-bibliography system, is more often used in the humanities. Bear with us—this can be complicated!

The author-date system calls for using brief, in-text citations and giving full details in a reference list. The in-text citation is like APA but slightly different. You give the author’s last name followed by a space (but no comma) and the year of publication; then you add a comma and the page number if one is needed.

In the notes-and-bibliography system, you simply put a superscript number in your text ( after the punctuation ending your paraphrase), and you provide the relevant citation information in a footnote or endnote. Footnotes go at the bottom of the page; endnotes go in a separate section after the main body of your text. Under this system, you can either:

• Give all the needed details in the notes (a full citation the first time you reference that source, but a short form for later references) and omit a bibliography, or
• Give concise information in the notes (the author’s surname, an abbreviated title of the source, and the relevant page numbers) and give a full citation in a bibliography.

Chicago paraphrasing citations example

The first ruler to create a navy as we know it today was Minos of Crete, who used his to control what he called the Hellenic Sea, today known as the Aegean Sea (Thucydides 1972, 37).

The first ruler to create a navy as we know it today was Minos of Crete, who used his to control what he called the Hellenic Sea, now known as the Aegean Sea. 1

1. Thucydides, The History of the Peloponnesian War , 37.

How to Cite a Paraphrased Text FAQs

Do i have to cite a source if i paraphrase and don’t directly quote.

Yes, in formal writing like research papers you still need to cite a source after you paraphrase its message. You need to include both an in-text citation, such as a parenthetical citation, as well as a full citation in the bibliography at the end of your work.

What are the differences in citing a paraphrase between MLA, APA, and Chicago styles?

MLA, APA, and Chicago styles can all use in-text citations, also known as parenthetical citations. For APA and Chicago, this includes the author’s last name and the year of publication, whereas in MLA it includes the author’s last name and page number. Chicago also has the option of using footnotes or endnotes instead of a parenthetical citation.

Where does the citation go when citing a paraphrase?

In-text or parenthetical citations appear at the end of the passage before the concluding punctuation. For example, you could put them at the end of a sentence before the period or at the end of a clause before the semicolon or comma. For footnotes and endnotes, the superscript number appears at the end of the passage after the punctuation.

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Paraphrasing in APA

Paraphrasing is the art of putting information into your own words while writing a research paper, in order to maintain the academic integrity of your project. This is important because you need to use solid evidence as a researcher, but you need to put information into the proper format to avoid plagiarism. The American Psychological Association (APA) created a writing style in 1929 that calls for uniformity and consistency in giving credit to sources in your research.

How to properly paraphrase

If you do not properly paraphrase your source material following the APA style, you are at the risk of losing credibility as a writer and possibly plagiarizing. Although paraphrasing is not difficult, it does take time and a little forethought to do it correctly. There are several steps you should follow in order to achieve success.

1. Read the original source

The first step in creating an effective paraphrase is to carefully read the original source. Read it the first time to get the overall understanding, and then do a second closer reading in order to gather details and material that will help you formulate your argument.

2. Take notes in your own words

After reading the original source and determining what details can help you formulate your argument, take a minute to jot down some notes. Be careful to put everything into your own words. Change the structure of the sentence as well as the vocabulary.

Also, take a moment to take notes on the context of the source. Why was it written? Who wrote it? When was it written?

3. Construct a paraphrase

In order to construct a paraphrase, you need to include the same information, but with different sentence structure and different vocabulary. APA rules say that a paraphrase should be approximately the same length as the original.

You also need to add contextual text around the paraphrase so it fits within your paper.

4. Double check the original source to avoid duplication

Although an extra step, it is always a good idea to read through the original source one more time to make sure that you have chosen different words and varied the sentence structure. This is a good time to add the APA requirements of author and year of the source so that you have it handy.

5. Include an APA in-text citation

Even though you are putting a paraphrase into your own words, APA requires an in-text citation for paraphrasing. You can create a parenthetical citation or a narrative citation to accomplish this.

Remember: All in-text citations will also need a corresponding APA reference in the APA reference page . For this article, we’re just focusing on in-text citations in paraphrases.

For both types of in-text citation, you will need the following source information:

• Author’s last name
• Year published
• single page: p. #
• page range: pp. #-#

Parenthetical citation

For an APA parenthetical citation , write your paraphrase and then add the author and year in parenthesis at the end. Use a comma between the author and the year inside the parenthesis, and put the period for the end of the sentence outside the parenthesis.

Oh, say can you see by the dawn’s early light What so proudly we hailed at the twilight’s last gleaming? (Key, 1814).

My parents traveled from Italy to Germany and then France. As the oldest child, I traveled with them after being born in Naples. They were very close, and shared that love they had for each other with me (Shelley, 1818, p. 78).

Narrative citation

In a narrative citation, you introduce the author’s name as part of the sentence, and put the year in parenthesis.

Francis Scott Key (1814) wrote very special words while overlooking a battle: Oh, say can you see by the dawn’s early light, what so proudly we hailed at the twilight’s last gleaming?

For further details, visit this guide on APA in-text citations.

Paraphrasing example

Franklin Delano Roosevelt gave an inaugural address in January 1933 during the Great Depression. This is an excerpt taken from an online source :

This is preeminently the time to speak the truth, the whole truth, frankly and boldly. Nor need we shrink from honestly facing conditions in our country today. This great Nation will endure as it has endured, will revive and will prosper….

1. Read original source text

In order to paraphrase, read through the text once to get the gist of it, and then again for deeper understanding. The context of this passage is also significant. It was given by a U.S. president during the Great Depression. What do you think he was trying to achieve?

Next take notes in your own words. Without immediately looking at the text, jot down what you think is the main point or concept of it. Next, take notes on the context of the source (you can look at the source for this).

For this passage, a few example notes could be:

• Facing truth
• Harsh current reality
• Believing that this great nation will endure and eventually prosper again
• Speech by President Roosevelt in 1933
• Given during the Great Depression
• He was addressing his citizens

Now’s the time to construct the paraphrase. Based on the notes above, a paraphrase would look something like this:

With his inaugural speech, Roosevelt was carefully trying to prepare citizens of the Nation to face the harsh reality that the Great Depression had caused, while also reassuring them that the country would endure and eventually prosper again.

4. Double check with the original source

The paraphrase above doesn’t not look too similar to the original, but we could still change a few words that were also in the original phrase (like “Nation,” “endure,” and “prosper). Revised, it looks like this:

With his inaugural speech, Roosevelt was carefully trying to prepare citizens of the United States to face the harsh reality that the Great Depression had caused, while also reassuring them that the country would eventually bounce back .

5. Add an APA in-text citation

An APA in-text citation means including the source’s author, year published, and page numbers (if available). The paraphrase already has the author’s name, but the year published needs to be added in parentheses. This is from an online source so no page number is needed.

With his inaugural speech, Roosevelt (1933) was carefully trying to prepare citizens of the United States to face the harsh reality that the Great Depression had caused, while also reassuring them that the country would eventually bounce back.

Examples of poor paraphrasing

Most people who fail at paraphrasing use the same sentence as the original source, and just change a word or two. If this is the case, the paraphrase would look something like this:

This great country will endure as it has endured, will come back to life and will prosper. So, first of all, let me show my strong belief that the only thing we have to worry about is fear itself…”

Another problem with paraphrasing occurs when you do half the job. Although the first and third sentences change the sentence structure and vocabulary in the sample below, there are some sections that are taken word-for-word from the original.

“From Italy they visited Germany and France. I, their eldest child, was born at Naples, and as an infant accompanied them in their rambles. I remained for several years their only child. Much as they were attached to each other, they seemed to draw inexhaustible stores of affection from a very mine of love to bestow them upon me.

Paraphrase:

My parents visited Italy and then Germany and France. I, their eldest child, was born at Naples. I traveled with them and was their only child for a few years. They loved each other and they seemed to draw inexhaustible stores of affection from a very mine of love.

In addition to the word-for-word similarities, this paraphrase doesn’t mention the original source’s author, year published, or page number (Shelley, 1818, p. 78).

Key takeaways

• In order to avoid plagiarism, APA delineates the way to give credit to sources when you are paraphrasing.
• In APA style, parenthetical citations demand the author and year of source.
• In order to create a stellar paraphrase, you need to change the structure and the words, but keep the main idea intact.

Published October 28, 2020.

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APA Style: Basics

Citations for Paraphrased Sources

If you paraphrase a source you need to include an in-text citation for that source using either the narrative or parenthetical citation formats. Unsure how to paraphrase? Check out the video below from Academic Support.

Page Numbers

Page numbers are not required, but you can include them.

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Harvard Guide to Using Sources 

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Summarizing, Paraphrasing, and Quoting

Depending on the conventions of your discipline, you may have to decide whether to summarize a source, paraphrase a source, or quote from a source.

Scholars in the humanities tend to summarize, paraphrase, and quote texts; social scientists and natural scientists rely primarily on summary and paraphrase.

When and how to summarize

When you summarize, you provide your readers with a condensed version of an author's key points. A summary can be as short as a few sentences or much longer, depending on the complexity of the text and the level of detail you wish to provide to your readers. You will need to summarize a source in your paper when you are going to refer to that source and you want your readers to understand the source's argument, main ideas, or plot (if the source is a novel, film, or play) before you lay out your own argument about it, analysis of it, or response to it.

Before you summarize a source in your paper, you should decide what your reader needs to know about that source in order to understand your argument. For example, if you are making an argument about a novel, you should avoid filling pages of your paper with details from the book that will distract or confuse your reader. Instead, you should add details sparingly, going only into the depth that is necessary for your reader to understand and appreciate your argument. Similarly, if you are writing a paper about a journal article, you will need to highlight the most relevant parts of the argument for your reader, but you should not include all of the background information and examples. When you have to decide how much summary to put in a paper, it's a good idea to consult your instructor about whether you are supposed to assume your reader's knowledge of the sources.

Guidelines for summarizing a source in your paper

• Identify the author and the source.
• Represent the original source accurately.
• Present the source’s central claim clearly.
• Don’t summarize each point in the same order as the original source; focus on giving your reader the most important parts of the source
• Use your own words. Don’t provide a long quotation in the summary unless the actual language from the source is going to be important for your reader to see.

Stanley Milgram (1974) reports that ordinarily compassionate people will be cruel to each other if they are commanded to be by an authority figure. In his experiment, a group of participants were asked to administer electric shocks to people who made errors on a simple test. In spite of signs that those receiving shock were experiencing great physical pain, 25 of 40 subjects continued to administer electric shocks. These results held up for each group of people tested, no matter the demographic. The transcripts of conversations from the experiment reveal that although many of the participants felt increasingly uncomfortable, they continued to obey the experimenter, often showing great deference for the experimenter. Milgram suggests that when people feel responsible for carrying out the wishes of an authority figure, they do not feel responsible for the actual actions they are performing. He concludes that the increasing division of labor in society encourages people to focus on a small task and eschew responsibility for anything they do not directly control.

This summary of Stanley Milgram's 1974 essay, "The Perils of Obedience," provides a brief overview of Milgram's 12-page essay, along with an APA style parenthetical citation. You would write this type of summary if you were discussing Milgram's experiment in a paper in which you were not supposed to assume your reader's knowledge of the sources. Depending on your assignment, your summary might be even shorter.

When you include a summary of a paper in your essay, you must cite the source. If you were using APA style in your paper, you would include a parenthetical citation in the summary, and you would also include a full citation in your reference list at the end of your paper. For the essay by Stanley Milgram, your citation in your references list would include the following information:

Milgram, S. (1974). The perils of obedience. In L.G. Kirszner & S.R. Mandell (Eds.), The Blair reader (pp.725-737).

When and how to paraphrase

When you paraphrase from a source, you restate the source's ideas in your own words. Whereas a summary provides your readers with a condensed overview of a source (or part of a source), a paraphrase of a source offers your readers the same level of detail provided in the original source. Therefore, while a summary will be shorter than the original source material, a paraphrase will generally be about the same length as the original source material.

When you use any part of a source in your paper—as background information, as evidence, as a counterargument to which you plan to respond, or in any other form—you will always need to decide whether to quote directly from the source or to paraphrase it. Unless you have a good reason to quote directly from the source , you should paraphrase the source. Any time you paraphrase an author's words and ideas in your paper, you should make it clear to your reader why you are presenting this particular material from a source at this point in your paper. You should also make sure you have represented the author accurately, that you have used your own words consistently, and that you have cited the source.

This paraphrase below restates one of Milgram's points in the author's own words. When you paraphrase, you should always cite the source. This paraphrase uses the APA in-text citation style. Every source you paraphrase should also be included in your list of references at the end of your paper. For citation format information go to the Citing Sources section of this guide.

Source material

The problem of obedience is not wholly psychological. The form and shape of society and the way it is developing have much to do with it. There was a time, perhaps, when people were able to give a fully human response to any situation because they were fully absorbed in it as human beings. But as soon as there was a division of labor things changed.

--Stanley Milgram, "The Perils of Obedience," p.737.

Milgram, S. (1974). The perils of obedience. In L.G. Kirszner & S.R. Mandell (Eds.), The Blair reader (pp.725-737). Prentice Hall.

Milgram (1974) claims that people's willingness to obey authority figures cannot be explained by psychological factors alone. In an earlier era, people may have had the ability to invest in social situations to a greater extent. However, as society has become increasingly structured by a division of labor, people have become more alienated from situations over which they do not have control (p.737).

When and how much to quote

The basic rule in all disciplines is that you should only quote directly from a text when it's important for your reader to see the actual language used by the author of the source. While paraphrase and summary are effective ways to introduce your reader to someone's ideas, quoting directly from a text allows you to introduce your reader to the way those ideas are expressed by showing such details as language, syntax, and cadence.

So, for example, it may be important for a reader to see a passage of text quoted directly from Tim O'Brien's The Things They Carried if you plan to analyze the language of that passage in order to support your thesis about the book. On the other hand, if you're writing a paper in which you're making a claim about the reading habits of American elementary school students or reviewing the current research on Wilson's disease, the information you’re providing from sources will often be more important than the exact words. In those cases, you should paraphrase rather than quoting directly. Whether you quote from your source or paraphrase it, be sure to provide a citation for your source, using the correct format. (see Citing Sources section)

You should use quotations in the following situations:

• When you plan to discuss the actual language of a text.
• When you are discussing an author's position or theory, and you plan to discuss the wording of a core assertion or kernel of the argument in your paper.
• When you risk losing the essence of the author's ideas in the translation from their words to your own.
• When you want to appeal to the authority of the author and using their words will emphasize that authority.

Once you have decided to quote part of a text, you'll need to decide whether you are going to quote a long passage (a block quotation) or a short passage (a sentence or two within the text of your essay). Unless you are planning to do something substantive with a long quotation—to analyze the language in detail or otherwise break it down—you should not use block quotations in your essay. While long quotations will stretch your page limit, they don't add anything to your argument unless you also spend time discussing them in a way that illuminates a point you're making. Unless you are giving your readers something they need to appreciate your argument, you should use quotations sparingly.

When you quote from a source, you should make sure to cite the source either with an in-text citation or a note, depending on which citation style you are using.  The passage below, drawn from O’Brien’s  The Things They Carried , uses an MLA-style citation.

On the morning after Ted Lavender died, First Lieutenant Jimmy Cross crouched at the bottom of his foxhole and burned Martha's letters. Then he burned the two photographs. There was a steady rain falling, which made it difficult, but he used heat tabs and Sterno to build a small fire, screening it with his body holding the photographs over the tight blue flame with the tip of his fingers.

He realized it was only a gesture. Stupid, he thought. Sentimental, too, but mostly just stupid. (23)

O'Brien, Tim. The Things They Carried . New York: Broadway Books, 1990.

Even as Jimmy Cross burns Martha's letters, he realizes that "it was only a gesture. Stupid, he thought. Sentimental too, but mostly just stupid" (23).

If you were writing a paper about O'Brien's The Things They Carried in which you analyzed Cross's decision to burn Martha's letters and stop thinking about her, you might want your reader to see the language O'Brien uses to illustrate Cross's inner conflict. If you were planning to analyze the passage in which O'Brien calls Cross's realization stupid, sentimental, and then stupid again, you would want your reader to see the original language.

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APA Style Guidelines

• About this Guide
• Blogs, Podcasts, and Social Media
• Content Marketing
• Popular Magazines
• Professional Organizations
• Trade Publications
• Scholarly Journals
• Attributive Tags or Signal Phrases
• Citation Generators - Problems & Limitations
• Date Retrieved for Website Reference Entries & When to Use “n.d.” (no date)
• Differentiating between Sources with the Same Author and Date
• Hyperlinks & Attribution: "Citation" for Digital Documents
• Identifying & Citing Content Marketing
• Indirect Citations, or How to Cite a Quote or Paraphrase from a Source
• In-text Citations: Conveying Credibility
• In-text Citations: Using a Source Multiple Times
• In-text Citations: Principles & Formatting
• References Page: Principles & Formatting
• Synthesizing Multiple Sources
• URLs - When to Include to Entire Address
• Company Report
• General Website, Non-government Website
• Government Publication or Website
• Industry Report from IBISWorld
• Informational Interview
• Job Advertisement
• Lecture or Conference Presentation
• O*Net Online
• Popular Business Magazine
• Professional/Trade Organization Website
• Reference Works (Dictionary, Investopedia, Wiki, etc.)
• Review Sites
• Scholarly Journal Article
• Social Media Posts
• Trade Journal or Magazine Article

Indirect Citations, or How to Cite a Quote from a Source

How to Use Your Sources’ Interviews or Quoted/Paraphrased Materials

Use an indirect citation when you want to cite material from someone else that is quoted or paraphrased in one of your sources. 

For instance, a reporter may interview a communications coach and use direct quotes from the coach in their article. If you want to use a quote from the coach, use an indirect citation. Clearly attribute the quote to the coach (the person who said it), but then credit the author of the text (the reporter, in this example) in which you found the quote in the parenthetical citation and on the references page.

In-text Citation Example

When preparing for a meeting, Barbara Miller, a communications skills coach, recommended “writing down all the thoughts that might distract […] from listening and setting the paper aside until later” (as cited in Shellenbarger, 2014). 

References Page Entry  

Shellenbarger, S. (2014, July 22).Tuning in: Improving your listening skills. The Wall Street Journal . https://www.wsj.com/articles/tuning-in-how-to-listen-better-1406070727

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Quoting and Paraphrasing

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College writing often involves integrating information from published sources into your own writing in order to add credibility and authority–this process is essential to research and the production of new knowledge.

However, when building on the work of others, you need to be careful not to plagiarize : “to steal and pass off (the ideas and words of another) as one’s own” or to “present as new and original an idea or product derived from an existing source.”1 The University of Wisconsin–Madison takes this act of “intellectual burglary” very seriously and considers it to be a breach of academic integrity . Penalties are severe.

These materials will help you avoid plagiarism by teaching you how to properly integrate information from published sources into your own writing.

1. Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, 10th ed. (Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster, 1993), 888.

How to avoid plagiarism

When using sources in your papers, you can avoid plagiarism by knowing what must be documented.

Specific words and phrases

If you use an author’s specific word or words, you must place those words within quotation marks and you must credit the source.

Information and Ideas

Even if you use your own words, if you obtained the information or ideas you are presenting from a source, you must document the source.

Information : If a piece of information isn’t common knowledge (see below), you need to provide a source.

Ideas : An author’s ideas may include not only points made and conclusions drawn, but, for instance, a specific method or theory, the arrangement of material, or a list of steps in a process or characteristics of a medical condition. If a source provided any of these, you need to acknowledge the source.

Common Knowledge?

You do not need to cite a source for material considered common knowledge:

General common knowledge is factual information considered to be in the public domain, such as birth and death dates of well-known figures, and generally accepted dates of military, political, literary, and other historical events. In general, factual information contained in multiple standard reference works can usually be considered to be in the public domain.

Field-specific common knowledge is “common” only within a particular field or specialty. It may include facts, theories, or methods that are familiar to readers within that discipline. For instance, you may not need to cite a reference to Piaget’s developmental stages in a paper for an education class or give a source for your description of a commonly used method in a biology report—but you must be sure that this information is so widely known within that field that it will be shared by your readers.

If in doubt, be cautious and cite the source. And in the case of both general and field-specific common knowledge, if you use the exact words of the reference source, you must use quotation marks and credit the source.

Paraphrasing vs. Quoting — Explanation

Should i paraphrase or quote.

In general, use direct quotations only if you have a good reason. Most of your paper should be in your own words. Also, it’s often conventional to quote more extensively from sources when you’re writing a humanities paper, and to summarize from sources when you’re writing in the social or natural sciences–but there are always exceptions.

In a literary analysis paper , for example, you”ll want to quote from the literary text rather than summarize, because part of your task in this kind of paper is to analyze the specific words and phrases an author uses.

In research papers , you should quote from a source

• to show that an authority supports your point
• to present a position or argument to critique or comment on
• to include especially moving or historically significant language
• to present a particularly well-stated passage whose meaning would be lost or changed if paraphrased or summarized

You should summarize or paraphrase when

• what you want from the source is the idea expressed, and not the specific language used to express it
• you can express in fewer words what the key point of a source is

How to paraphrase a source

General advice.

• When reading a passage, try first to understand it as a whole, rather than pausing to write down specific ideas or phrases.
• Be selective. Unless your assignment is to do a formal or “literal” paraphrase, you usually don?t need to paraphrase an entire passage; instead, choose and summarize the material that helps you make a point in your paper.
• Think of what “your own words” would be if you were telling someone who’s unfamiliar with your subject (your mother, your brother, a friend) what the original source said.
• Remember that you can use direct quotations of phrases from the original within your paraphrase, and that you don’t need to change or put quotation marks around shared language.

Methods of Paraphrasing

• Look away from the source then write. Read the text you want to paraphrase several times until you feel that you understand it and can use your own words to restate it to someone else. Then, look away from the original and rewrite the text in your own words.
• Take notes. Take abbreviated notes; set the notes aside; then paraphrase from the notes a day or so later, or when you draft.

If you find that you can’t do A or B, this may mean that you don’t understand the passage completely or that you need to use a more structured process until you have more experience in paraphrasing.

The method below is not only a way to create a paraphrase but also a way to understand a difficult text.

Paraphrasing difficult texts

Consider the following passage from Love and Toil (a book on motherhood in London from 1870 to 1918), in which the author, Ellen Ross, puts forth one of her major arguments:

• Love and Toil maintains that family survival was the mother’s main charge among the large majority of London?s population who were poor or working class; the emotional and intellectual nurture of her child or children and even their actual comfort were forced into the background. To mother was to work for and organize household subsistence. (p. 9)

Children of the poor at the turn of the century received little if any emotional or intellectual nurturing from their mothers, whose main charge was family survival. Working for and organizing household subsistence were what defined mothering. Next to this, even the children’s basic comfort was forced into the background (Ross, 1995).

According to Ross (1993), poor children at the turn of the century received little mothering in our sense of the term. Mothering was defined by economic status, and among the poor, a mother’s foremost responsibility was not to stimulate her children’s minds or foster their emotional growth but to provide food and shelter to meet the basic requirements for physical survival. Given the magnitude of this task, children were deprived of even the “actual comfort” (p. 9) we expect mothers to provide today.

You may need to go through this process several times to create a satisfactory paraphrase.

Successful vs. unsuccessful paraphrases

Paraphrasing is often defined as putting a passage from an author into “your own words.” But what are your own words? How different must your paraphrase be from the original?

The paragraphs below provide an example by showing a passage as it appears in the source, two paraphrases that follow the source too closely, and a legitimate paraphrase.

The student’s intention was to incorporate the material in the original passage into a section of a paper on the concept of “experts” that compared the functions of experts and nonexperts in several professions.

The Passage as It Appears in the Source

Critical care nurses function in a hierarchy of roles. In this open heart surgery unit, the nurse manager hires and fires the nursing personnel. The nurse manager does not directly care for patients but follows the progress of unusual or long-term patients. On each shift a nurse assumes the role of resource nurse. This person oversees the hour-by-hour functioning of the unit as a whole, such as considering expected admissions and discharges of patients, ascertaining that beds are available for patients in the operating room, and covering sick calls. Resource nurses also take a patient assignment. They are the most experienced of all the staff nurses. The nurse clinician has a separate job description and provides for quality of care by orienting new staff, developing unit policies, and providing direct support where needed, such as assisting in emergency situations. The clinical nurse specialist in this unit is mostly involved with formal teaching in orienting new staff. The nurse manager, nurse clinician, and clinical nurse specialist are the designated experts. They do not take patient assignments. The resource nurse is seen as both a caregiver and a resource to other caregivers. . . . Staff nurses have a hierarchy of seniority. . . . Staff nurses are assigned to patients to provide all their nursing care. (Chase, 1995, p. 156)

Word-for-Word Plagiarism

Critical care nurses have a hierarchy of roles. The nurse manager hires and fires nurses. S/he does not directly care for patients but does follow unusual or long-term cases. On each shift a resource nurse attends to the functioning of the unit as a whole, such as making sure beds are available in the operating room , and also has a patient assignment . The nurse clinician orients new staff, develops policies, and provides support where needed . The clinical nurse specialist also orients new staff, mostly by formal teaching. The nurse manager, nurse clinician, and clinical nurse specialist , as the designated experts, do not take patient assignments . The resource nurse is not only a caregiver but a resource to the other caregivers . Within the staff nurses there is also a hierarchy of seniority . Their job is to give assigned patients all their nursing care .

Why this is plagiarism

Notice that the writer has not only “borrowed” Chase’s material (the results of her research) with no acknowledgment, but has also largely maintained the author’s method of expression and sentence structure. The phrases in red are directly copied from the source or changed only slightly in form.

Even if the student-writer had acknowledged Chase as the source of the content, the language of the passage would be considered plagiarized because no quotation marks indicate the phrases that come directly from Chase. And if quotation marks did appear around all these phrases, this paragraph would be so cluttered that it would be unreadable.

A Patchwork Paraphrase

Chase (1995) describes how nurses in a critical care unit function in a hierarchy that places designated experts at the top and the least senior staff nurses at the bottom. The experts — the nurse manager, nurse clinician, and clinical nurse specialist — are not involved directly in patient care. The staff nurses, in contrast, are assigned to patients and provide all their nursing care . Within the staff nurses is a hierarchy of seniority in which the most senior can become resource nurses: they are assigned a patient but also serve as a resource to other caregivers. The experts have administrative and teaching tasks such as selecting and orienting new staff, developing unit policies , and giving hands-on support where needed.

This paraphrase is a patchwork composed of pieces in the original author’s language (in red) and pieces in the student-writer’s words, all rearranged into a new pattern, but with none of the borrowed pieces in quotation marks. Thus, even though the writer acknowledges the source of the material, the underlined phrases are falsely presented as the student’s own.

A Legitimate Paraphrase

In her study of the roles of nurses in a critical care unit, Chase (1995) also found a hierarchy that distinguished the roles of experts and others. Just as the educational experts described above do not directly teach students, the experts in this unit do not directly attend to patients. That is the role of the staff nurses, who, like teachers, have their own “hierarchy of seniority” (p. 156). The roles of the experts include employing unit nurses and overseeing the care of special patients (nurse manager), teaching and otherwise integrating new personnel into the unit (clinical nurse specialist and nurse clinician), and policy-making (nurse clinician). In an intermediate position in the hierarchy is the resource nurse, a staff nurse with more experience than the others, who assumes direct care of patients as the other staff nurses do, but also takes on tasks to ensure the smooth operation of the entire facility.

Why this is a good paraphrase

The writer has documented Chase’s material and specific language (by direct reference to the author and by quotation marks around language taken directly from the source). Notice too that the writer has modified Chase’s language and structure and has added material to fit the new context and purpose — to present the distinctive functions of experts and nonexperts in several professions.

Shared Language

Perhaps you’ve noticed that a number of phrases from the original passage appear in the legitimate paraphrase: critical care, staff nurses, nurse manager, clinical nurse specialist, nurse clinician, resource nurse.

If all these phrases were in red, the paraphrase would look much like the “patchwork” example. The difference is that the phrases in the legitimate paraphrase are all precise, economical, and conventional designations that are part of the shared language within the nursing discipline (in the too-close paraphrases, they’re red only when used within a longer borrowed phrase).

In every discipline and in certain genres (such as the empirical research report), some phrases are so specialized or conventional that you can’t paraphrase them except by wordy and awkward circumlocutions that would be less familiar (and thus less readable) to the audience.

When you repeat such phrases, you’re not stealing the unique phrasing of an individual writer but using a common vocabulary shared by a community of scholars.

Some Examples of Shared Language You Don’t Need to Put in Quotation Marks

• Conventional designations: e.g., physician’s assistant, chronic low-back pain
• Preferred bias-free language: e.g., persons with disabilities
• Technical terms and phrases of a discipline or genre : e.g., reduplication, cognitive domain, material culture, sexual harassment

Chase, S. K. (1995). The social context of critical care clinical judgment. Heart and Lung, 24, 154-162.

How to Quote a Source

Introducing a quotation.

One of your jobs as a writer is to guide your reader through your text. Don’t simply drop quotations into your paper and leave it to the reader to make connections.

Integrating a quotation into your text usually involves two elements:

• A signal that a quotation is coming–generally the author’s name and/or a reference to the work
• An assertion that indicates the relationship of the quotation to your text

Often both the signal and the assertion appear in a single introductory statement, as in the example below. Notice how a transitional phrase also serves to connect the quotation smoothly to the introductory statement.

Ross (1993), in her study of poor and working-class mothers in London from 1870-1918 [signal], makes it clear that economic status to a large extent determined the meaning of motherhood [assertion]. Among this population [connection], “To mother was to work for and organize household subsistence” (p. 9).

The signal can also come after the assertion, again with a connecting word or phrase:

Illness was rarely a routine matter in the nineteenth century [assertion]. As [connection] Ross observes [signal], “Maternal thinking about children’s health revolved around the possibility of a child’s maiming or death” (p. 166).

Formatting Quotations

Short direct prose.

Incorporate short direct prose quotations into the text of your paper and enclose them in double quotation marks:

According to Jonathan Clarke, “Professional diplomats often say that trying to think diplomatically about foreign policy is a waste of time.”

Longer prose quotations

Begin longer quotations (for instance, in the APA system, 40 words or more) on a new line and indent the entire quotation (i.e., put in block form), with no quotation marks at beginning or end, as in the quoted passage from our Successful vs. Unsucessful Paraphrases page.

Rules about the minimum length of block quotations, how many spaces to indent, and whether to single- or double-space extended quotations vary with different documentation systems; check the guidelines for the system you’re using.

Quotation of Up to 3 Lines of Poetry

Quotations of up to 3 lines of poetry should be integrated into your sentence. For example:

In Julius Caesar, Antony begins his famous speech with “Friends, Romans, Countrymen, lend me your ears; / I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him” (III.ii.75-76).

Notice that a slash (/) with a space on either side is used to separate lines.

Quotation of More than 3 Lines of Poetry

More than 3 lines of poetry should be indented. As with any extended (indented) quotation, do not use quotation marks unless you need to indicate a quotation within your quotation.

Punctuating with Quotation Marks

Parenthetical citations.

With short quotations, place citations outside of closing quotation marks, followed by sentence punctuation (period, question mark, comma, semi-colon, colon):

Menand (2002) characterizes language as “a social weapon” (p. 115).

With block quotations, check the guidelines for the documentation system you are using.

Commas and periods

Place inside closing quotation marks when no parenthetical citation follows:

Hertzberg (2002) notes that “treating the Constitution as imperfect is not new,” but because of Dahl’s credentials, his “apostasy merits attention” (p. 85).

Semicolons and colons

Place outside of closing quotation marks (or after a parenthetical citation).

Question marks and exclamation points

Place inside closing quotation marks if the quotation is a question/exclamation:

Menand (2001) acknowledges that H. W. Fowler’s Modern English Usage is “a classic of the language,” but he asks, “Is it a dead classic?” (p. 114).

[Note that a period still follows the closing parenthesis.]

Place outside of closing quotation marks if the entire sentence containing the quotation is a question or exclamation:

How many students actually read the guide to find out what is meant by “academic misconduct”?

Quotation within a quotation

Use single quotation marks for the embedded quotation:

According to Hertzberg (2002), Dahl gives the U. S. Constitution “bad marks in ‘democratic fairness’ and ‘encouraging consensus'” (p. 90).

[The phrases “democratic fairness” and “encouraging consensus” are already in quotation marks in Dahl’s sentence.]

Indicating Changes in Quotations

Quoting only a portion of the whole.

Use ellipsis points (. . .) to indicate an omission within a quotation–but not at the beginning or end unless it’s not obvious that you’re quoting only a portion of the whole.

Adding Clarification, Comment, or Correction

Within quotations, use square brackets [ ] (not parentheses) to add your own clarification, comment, or correction.

Use [sic] (meaning “so” or “thus”) to indicate that a mistake is in the source you’re quoting and is not your own.

Additional information

Information on summarizing and paraphrasing sources.

American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (4th ed.). (2000). Retrieved January 7, 2002, from http://www.bartleby.com/61/ Bazerman, C. (1995). The informed writer: Using sources in the disciplines (5th ed). Boston: Houghton Mifflin. Leki, I. (1995). Academic writing: Exploring processes and strategies (2nd ed.) New York: St. Martin?s Press, pp. 185-211.

Leki describes the basic method presented in C, pp. 4-5.

Spatt, B. (1999). Writing from sources (5th ed.) New York: St. Martin?s Press, pp. 98-119; 364-371.

Information about specific documentation systems

The Writing Center has handouts explaining how to use many of the standard documentation systems. You may look at our general Web page on Documentation Systems, or you may check out any of the following specific Web pages.

If you’re not sure which documentation system to use, ask the course instructor who assigned your paper.

• American Psychological Assoicaion (APA)
• Modern Language Association (MLA)
• Chicago/Turabian (A Footnote or Endnote System)
• American Political Science Association (APSA)
• Council of Science Editors (CBE)
• Numbered References

You may also consult the following guides:

• American Medical Association, Manual for Authors and Editors
• Council of Science Editors, CBE style Manual
• The Chicago Manual of Style
• MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers
• Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association

Academic and Professional Writing

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Analysis Papers

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A Short Guide to Close Reading for Literary Analysis

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Planning and Writing a Grant Proposal: The Basics

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Research and Citation Resources

Welcome to the Purdue OWL

This page is brought to you by the OWL at Purdue University. When printing this page, you must include the entire legal notice.

Copyright ©1995-2018 by The Writing Lab & The OWL at Purdue and Purdue University. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, reproduced, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our terms and conditions of fair use.

If you are having trouble locating a specific resource please visit the  search page  or the  Site Map . The Citation Chart  provides a detailed overview of MLA Style, APA Style, and Chicago Manual of Style source documentation by category.

Conducting Research

These OWL resources will help you conduct research using primary source methods, such as interviews and observations, and secondary source methods, such as books, journals, and the Internet. This area also includes materials on evaluating research sources.

Using Research

These OWL resources will help you use the research you have conducted in your documents. This area includes material on quoting and paraphrasing your research sources, as well as material on how to avoid plagiarism.

APA Style (7th Edition)

These OWL resources will help you learn how to use the American Psychological Association (APA) citation and format style. This section contains resources on in-text citation and the References page, as well as APA sample papers, slide presentations, and the APA classroom poster.

These OWL resources will help you learn how to use the Modern Language Association (MLA) citation and format style. This section contains resources on in-text citation and the Works Cited page, as well as MLA sample papers, slide presentations, and the MLA classroom poster

Chicago Manual of Style

This section contains information on the Chicago Manual of Style method of document formatting and citation. These resources follow the 17th edition of the Chicago Manual of Style, which was issued in 2017.

Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Style

These resources describe how to structure papers, cite sources, format references, and handle the complexities of tables and figures according to the latest Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) guidelines.

American Medical Association (AMA) Style

These resources provide guidance on how to cite sources using American Medical Association (AMA) Style, 10th Ed., including examples for print and electronic sources.

Research Overview

We live in an age overflowing with sources of information. With so many information sources at our fingertips, knowing where to start, sorting through it all and finding what we want can be overwhelming! This handout provides answers to the following research-related questions: Where do I begin? Where should I look for information? What types of sources are available?

Conducting Primary Research

Primary research involves collecting data about a given subject directly from the real world. This section includes information on what primary research is, how to get started, ethics involved with primary research and different types of research you can do. It includes details about interviews, surveys, observations, and analysis.

Evaluating Sources of Information

Evaluating sources of information is an important step in any research activity. This section provides information on evaluating bibliographic citations, aspects of evaluation, reading evaluation, print vs. online sources, and evaluating Internet sources.

Searching Online

This section covers finding information online. It includes information about search engines, Boolean operators, Web directories, and the invisible Web. It also includes an extensive, annotated links section.

Internet References

This page contains links and short descriptions of writing resources including dictionaries, style manuals, grammar handbooks, and editing resources. It also contains a list of online reference sites, indexes for writers, online libraries, books and e-texts, as well as links to newspapers, news services, journals, and online magazines.

Archival Research

This resource discusses conducting research in a variety of archives. It also discusses a number of considerations and best practices for conducting archival research.

This resources was developed in consultation with Purdue University Virginia Kelly Karnes Archives and Special Collections staff.

APA Citation Guide (7th edition) : Paraphrasing

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On This Page

Paraphrasing examples.

• In-Text Citation for More Than One Author

In-Text Citation for Group or Corporate Authors

No author and/or no date.

When you write information from a source in your own words, cite the source by adding an in-text citation at the end of the paraphrased portion as follows:

Mother-infant attachment became a leading topic of developmental research following the publication of John Bowlby's studies (Hunt, 1993).

Note : If you refer to the author's name in a sentence you do not have to include the name again as part of your in-text citation, instead include the year of publication following his/her name:

Hunt (1993) noted that mother-infant attachment became a leading topic of developmental research after the publication of John Bowlby's studies.

Original Source

Homeless individuals commonly come from families who are riddled with problems and marital disharmony, and are alienated from their parents. They have often been physically and even sexually abused, have relocated frequently, and many of them may be asked to leave home or are actually thrown out, or alternatively are placed in group homes or in foster care. They often have no one to care for them and no one knows them intimately.

Source from: 

Rokach, A. (2005). The causes of loneliness in homeless youth. The Journal of Psychology , 139, 469-480. 

Example: Incorrect Paraphrasing

The homeless come from families with problems. Frequently, they have been physically or sexually abused, or have lived in group homes. Usually no one cares for them or knows them intimately (Rokach, 2005). 

Note : In this incorrect example the writing is too similar to the original source. The student only changed or removed a few words and has not phrased the ideas in a new way. 

Example: Correct Paraphrasing

Many homeless experience isolation in part due to suffering from abuse or neglect during their childhood (Rokach, 2005).

Note : The example keeps the idea of the original writing but phrases it in a new way.

In-Text Citation For Two or More Authors/Editors

No Known Author:

Note that in most cases where a personal author is not named, a group author may be cited instead (eg. Statistics Canada). However, in certain cases, such as religious ancient texts, the author is unknown. Where you'd normally put the author's last name, instead use the first one, two, or three words from the title. Don't count initial articles like "A", "An" or "The". You should provide enough words to make it clear which work you're referring to from your References List.

If the title in the References list is in italics, italicize the words from the title in the in-text citation.

If you are citing an article, a chapter of a book or a page from a website, put the words in double quotation marks.

Capitalize the titles using title case (every major word is capitalized) even if the reference list entry uses sentence case (only first word is capitalized).

( Cell Biology , 2012, p. 157)

("Nursing," 2011, p. 9)

No Known Date of Publication :

Where you'd normally put the year of publication, instead use the letters "n.d.".

(Smith, n.d., p. 200)

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Citations - MLA: In-Text Citations - Quotations & Paraphrasing

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On This Page

• About In-text Citations

Paraphrasing

• In-Text Citation for One, Two, or More Authors/Editors

Unknown Author

Repeated use of sources, long quotations.

• In-Text Citation for More Than One Source

Citing a Source that you Found in Another Source (Secondary Source)

Order of authors, physician credentials, about in-text citations.

In MLA, in-text citations are inserted in the body of your research paper to briefly document the source of your information. Brief in-text citations point the reader to the full citation on the works cited list at the end of the paper.

Create in-text citations for the following:

• Direct quotes

If you're using information from a single source more than once in succession (i.e., no other sources referred to in between), you can use a simplified in-text citation.

Cell biology is an area of science that focuses on the structure and function of cells (Smith 15). It revolves around the idea that the cell is a "fundamental unit of life" (17). Many important scientists have contributed to the evolution of cell biology. Mattias Jakob Schleiden and Theodor Schwann, for example, were scientists who formulated cell theory in 1838 (20). 

 Note: If using this simplified in-text citation creates ambiguity regarding the source being referred to, use the full in-text citation format.

What Is a Long Quotation?

If your quotation extends to more than four lines as you're typing your essay, it is a long quotation.

Rules for Long Quotations

There are 4 rules that apply to long quotations that are different from regular quotations:

• The line before your long quotation, when you're introducing the quote, usually ends with a colon.
• The long quotation is indented half an inch from the rest of the text, so it looks like a block of text.
• There are no quotation marks around the quotation.
• The period at the end of the quotation comes  before  your in-text citation as opposed to  after , as it does with regular quotations.

Example of a Long Quotation

At the end of  Lord of the Flies  the boys are struck with the realization of their behaviour:

The tears began to flow and sobs shook him. He gave himself up to them now for the first time on the island; great, shuddering spasms of grief that seemed to wrench his whole body. His voice rose under the black smoke before the burning wreckage of the island; and infected by that emotion, the other little boys began to shake and sob too . (Golding 186)

Direct Quote  - Add an in-text citation at the end of the quote with the author name and page number:

Mother-infant attachment has been a leading topic of developmental research since John Bowlby found that "children raised in institutions were deficient in emotional and personality development" (Hunt 358).

Authors Name in the Sentence & with a Direct Quote -  If you refer to the author's name in a sentence you do not have to include the name in the in-text citation, instead include the page number (if there is one) at the end of the quotation or paraphrased section. For example:

Hunt explains that mother-infant attachment has been a leading topic of developmental research since John Bowlby found that "children raised in institutions were deficient in emotional and personality development" (358).

No Page Numbers & with a Direct Quote -  When you quote from electronic sources that do not provide page numbers (like Web pages), cite the author name only.

"Three phases of the separation response: protest, despair, and detachment" (Garelli).

  Note: The period goes outside the brackets, at the end of your in-text citation.

In-Text Citation For One, Two, or More Authors/Editors

Author Known: 

• "Here's a direct quote" (Smith 8).

In-Text Citation For More Than One Source

If you would like to cite more than one source within the same in-text citation, simply record the in-text citations as normal and separate them with a semi-colon.

(Smith 42; Bennett 71). 

( It Takes Two ; Brock 43).

 Note: The sources within the in-text citation do not need to be in alphabetical order for MLA style.

When creating an in-text citation or full citation, the authors should be listed in the original order displayed on the item (book, article, ...). 

Do not include academic credentials (e.g., MD, MPH, PhD,. DDS) when citing doctors in the in-text or full citation. 

The writer may refer to the physician by Dr. (name), when writing a paraphrase or inserting a direct quotation, although, it is not required.

Using the medical credential in the sentence:

Dr. Higgins, said the reason behind the complication was "direct quote here" (257). 

Dr. Price realized that nutrition was tied to health outcomes and encountered this observation in various regions of the world during his travels (390). 

Omitting the medical credential from the sentence:

He sad the reason behind the complication was "direct quote here" (Higgins 257). 

Price observed that nutrition was tied to health outcomes and encountered this in various regions of the world during his travels (390). 

When you write information or ideas from a source in your own words, cite the source by adding an in-text citation at the end of the paraphrased portion.

Paraphrasing from One Page

Include a full in-text citation with the author name and page number (if there is one). For example:

Mother-infant attachment became a leading topic of developmental research following the publication of John Bowlby's studies (Hunt 65).

Hunt discussed mother-infant attachment becoming a leading topic of developmental research following the publication of John Bowlby's studies (65).

Paraphrasing from Multiple Pages

If the paraphrased information/idea is from several pages, include them. For example:

Mother-infant attachment became a leading topic of developmental research following the publication of John Bowlby's studies (Hunt 50, 55, 65-71).

Author Unknown:

• If the author's name is not given, then use the first word or words of the title. Follow the same formatting that was used in the works cited list, such as quotation marks. This is a paraphrase ("Trouble" 22).
• Where you'd normally put the author's last name, instead use the first one, two, or three words from the title. Don't count initial articles like "A", "An" or "The". You should provide enough words to make it clear which work you're referring to from your Works Cited list.
• If the title in the Works Cited list is in italics, italicize the words from the title in the in-text citation.
• If the title in the Works Cited list is in quotation marks, put quotation marks around the words from the title in the in-text citation.

( Cell Biology  12)

("Nursing" 12)

Sometimes an author of a book, article or website will mention another person’s work by using a quotation or paraphrased idea from that source. ( This may be called a secondary source.) 

For example, the Kirkey article you are reading includes a quotation by Smith that you would like to include in your essay.

• The basic rule: in your Works Cited and in-text citation you will still cite  Kirkey NOT Smith.
• A dd the words “qtd. in” to your in-text citation.  

Examples of in-text citations :

According to a study by Smith (qtd. in Kirkey) 42% of doctors would refuse to perform legal euthanasia.

Smith (qtd. in Kirkey) states that “even if euthanasia was legal, 42% of doctors would be against this method of assisted dying” (A.10).

Example of Works Cited list citation:

Kirkey, Susan. "Euthanasia."  The Montreal Gazette , 9 Feb. 2013, p. A.10.  Canadian Newsstand Major Dailies.

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Citing Sources: Citing Generative AI

• Citation Basics
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Introduction

AI tools are rapidly evolving, and the guidance on how to cite content from or acknowledge the use of generative AI from publishers and other scholarly organizations is still being refined. Make sure you know and follow the policies for the class or publication you for which you are writing.

On This Guide

General Principles

When should you cite, elements to save when using chatgpt or other ai tools.

• Sources cited by AI

While generative AI tools are relatively new, the reasons we cite (to give credit for ideas you present and allow readers to understand the process and sources you consulted in your work) remain the same. Accordingly, you should cite when an AI tool was used to:

• Gather information
• Synthesize ideas or find connections
• Clean/manipulate data

Regardless of the citation style or system of references you are using, you will need:

• Tool name and version (e.g., ChatGPT 4.0)
• Time and date of usage
• Prompt or query
• Output from generative AI tool (as a document, image, or webpage, if the tool does not allow for stable links )
• Follow up queries and responses
• Name of person who queried

Generative AI tools can provide different outputs in response to identical same prompts, so documenting your use of these tools is essential for you to cite them transparently and for later readers to understand your use of the tool.

• Saving AI Content for Replication and Citations [MIT Libraries] - Tips for how to document generative AI interactions.

Sources Cited by Generative AI

The nature of large language models (LLM) behind many generative AI products leads the tools to fabricate (or hallucinate) facts, such as sources that may not exist.

• These citations may even seem to be highly plausible, using the names of real authors or journal titles in a given field.
• Even tools that provide direct links to sources (such as those that are connected to some form of internet search) may misrepresent the content of the materials they cite.
• Always check a source yourself to make it less likely you end up using false or misleading information.

It would also be a good idea to cite reputable sources in your work, in addition to attributing your use of generative AI. In this way you can give direct credit to authors and institutions instead of AI tools that are trained on this human-generated information.

Citing Generative AI in APA

How to cite ChatGPT [APA Style Blog]

APA recommends that you credit the AI tool as an author in a reference list, as:

• "the results of a ChatGPT 'chat' are not retrievable by other readers ,
• and although non-retrievable data or quotations in APA Style papers are usually cited as personal communications, with ChatGPT-generated text there is no person communicating .
• Quoting ChatGPT’s text from a chat session is, therefore, more like sharing an algorithm’s output; thus, credit the author of the algorithm with a reference list entry and the corresponding in-text citation "  [Quoted from APA Style Blog above, last updated Feb 23, 2024.]

APA's position can be extended to output from other generative AI tools. APA uses the Software reference list format to cite material created by generative AI.

In-Text Citation

Reference format.

Author. (YYYY). Name of software (Date version) [Type of AI model]. URL

OpenAI. (2023). ChatGPT (Mar 14 version) [Large language model]. https://chat.openai.com/chat

Guidelines for Acknowledging AI Use:

• FOR RESEARCH METHODS: "Describe how you used the tool in your Method section."
• FOR LITERATURE REVIEWS or ESSAYS: "Describe how you used the tool in your introduction. In your text, provide the prompt you used and then any portion of the relevant text that was generated in response."
• FOR REFERENCES: "Credit the author of the algorithm with a reference list entry and the corresponding in-text citation"

Citing Generative AI in Chicago

How do you recommend citing content developed or generated by artificial intelligence, such as ChatGPT? [Chicago Style Q&A]

Chicago recommends that you credit the AI tool as an author:

• "you must credit ChatGPT when you reproduce its words within your own work,
• but unless you include a publicly available URL , that information should be put in the text or in a note—not in a bibliography or reference list." [Quoted from Chicago Style Q&A above]

Chicago uses the Personal correspondence reference list format to cite material created by generative AI (see CMOS 14.214 and 15.53 ).

According to Chicago's linked Q&A, for most types of writing, "you can simply acknowledge the AI tool in your text", e.g.:

• 2 cups flour
• 1 package active dry yeast ...

For student papers or other situations that require more formal citation, Chicago recommends the following format:

Name of AI Tool, Company that created AI tool, Date Content was generated, URL (to tool if no direct public link to content is available).

1. Text generated by ChatGPT, OpenAI, March 7, 2023, https://chat.openai.com/chat.

or (if text of prompt is not included in the body of the text):

1. ChatGPT, response to “Explain how to make pizza dough from common household ingredients,” OpenAI, March 7, 2023.

Citing Generative AI in MLA

How do I cite generative AI in MLA style? [MLA Style Center]

MLA recommends that you do not credit the AI tool as an author when citing content created by a generative AI tool:

"We do not recommend treating the AI tool as an author. This recommendation follows the policies developed by various publishers, including the MLA’s journal PMLA ."   [Quoted from MLA Style Center above, published 17 March 2023.]

Some worked examples included in the linked guide are:

• Example 1: Paraphrasing Text
• Example 2: Quoting Text
• Example 3: Citing Creative Visual Works
• Example 4: Quoting Creative Textual Works
• Example 5: Citing Secondary Sources Used by an AI Tool

EXAMPLE : Paraphrasing Text

Paraphrased in your prose, works-cited-list entry format.

"Title of Source". Title of AI tool , Version of AI tool, Company that created AI tool, Date content was generated, URL.

Works-Cited-List Entry

  “Describe the symbolism of the green light in the book The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald” prompt. ChatGPT , 13 Feb. version, OpenAI, 8 Mar. 2023, chat.openai.com/chat.

• Cite a generative AI tool whenever you paraphrase, quote, or incorporate into your own work any content (whether text, image, data, or other) that was created by it.
• Acknowledge all functional uses of the tool (like editing your prose or translating words) in a note, your text, or another suitable location, take care to vet the secondary sources it cites.

Publisher Recommendations on AI Use

The following are a selection of publishers' policies for using AI tools or including AI-generated content in writing.

APA: Policy on the use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) in scholarly materials

Elsevier: Publishing Ethics and AI

IEEE: Submission Policies

Nature : Policy on AI

PLOS ONE: Ethical Publishing Practice on Artificial Intelligence Tools and Technologies

Sage: Assistive and Generative AI Guidelines for Authors

Springer Nature: Policy on AI authorship, Generative AI Images, and AI Use by Peer Reviewers

Taylor & Francis: Clarification on the Responsible use of AI Tools in Academic Content Creation

Wiley: Guideline for Authors Regarding Generative AI

Attribution

This LibGuide is adapted from Artificial Intelligence for Research and Scholarship from the Harvard Library and from Citing AI tools from the MIT Libraries . This LibGuide is licensed under a  Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License . If you would like to reuse any part of this LibGuide for noncommercial purposes, please credit the guide's creators or the original content creator as noted, and include a link to the source. 

• << Previous: Citation Tools
• Last Updated: Sep 5, 2024 10:17 AM
• URL: https://libguides.wellesley.edu/citation

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Speaker 1: Hi, this is Kevin with Wordvice, and today we're going to talk about paraphrasing. What does paraphrasing mean? Paraphrasing is putting someone else's work into your own words instead of quoting directly. Paraphrasing can save space, it can truncate the information in a research paper, and it can distill the complex information that may exist in another study and make your study easier to understand. So how do quoting and paraphrasing differ exactly? Well, when you quote, you essentially copy and paste the exact words of another researcher into your own study. Every time you quote, you must use citations and quotation marks, regardless of formatting guidelines. A paraphrase, on the other hand, may use some key terms from the original text, but must use new language to express this idea. When you paraphrase, you do not need to include quotation marks, but you must still use citations. Let's look at one example to see how a quote and a paraphrase differ. First a quote. Davidson notes, in heart patient sample groups experiencing even mild tumor hypoxia, uptake of 300cc injected phenoflux was reduced by one-third for each 0.05% of increased hypoxia in the tumored organ, and the citation follows this. Now the paraphrase. Davidson concluded that the tumor hypoxia can impact the delivery and efficacy of anti-cancer drugs. Citation. This paraphrase differs significantly from the quote in length, structure, and word choice. It is shorter and gives the gist, or provides the main point of the original text. To place only very specific lines or details from another work into your study, use a combination of quotes and paraphrasing. Davidson. Citation. He concluded that tumor hypoxia poses a problem for doctors administering anti-cancer drugs, since even in tumors with mild hypoxia, uptake of 300cc injected phenoflux was reduced by one-third for each 0.05% of increased hypoxia. Note that while in the paraphrase version key terms remain, they reserve the quotes for very specific details, which cannot be paraphrased easily and might be essential to the paper. So when do you paraphrase and when do you quote? Let's take a look at some situations where one method might be preferable to the other. You should paraphrase to show you understand the main ideas or arguments of the author, to help explain difficult concepts or terminology, to highlight original ideas that are interesting when the original language is not as interesting, to change the emphasis of information to match your own arguments, or to provide a clear voice in your paper that isn't directly connected to other works. You should use quotes when the original wording is strong and engaging on its own, if the quote is very well known or difficult to paraphrase well, where the exact words of an authority would lend support to your own ideas, or when you want to present the author's detailed methods or findings or exact stated position. Keep in mind that you should not paraphrase too often, as it can take away some of the strength of the original content. Similarly, you shouldn't quote too often as well, as it can take away the authorial voice of your own paper. What you want to do is maintain a balance by using ample quotes and paraphrases in conjunction. So here are some steps you can take to paraphrase effectively. First, read the source material until you fully understand what the author's meaning is, that is, what is he or she saying, not only in details but what is the larger picture. And it might take three or four readings at least to digest this information. Second, take some notes that include key terms of the original passage. Third, write your own paragraph without looking at the source material. Use only the key terms that you wrote down in step two. Fourth, double check to make sure that your version captures all of the important parts and especially the intent of the original. Finally, don't forget your in-text citation. You want the reader to be sure where your paraphrasing begins and where it ends. Now let's take a look at a detailed example of how to paraphrase source material. First, the original source text. The journal primarily considers empirical and theoretical investigations that enhance understanding of cognitive, motivational, affective, and behavioral psychological phenomenon in work and organizational settings, broadly defined. Those psychological phenomenon can be at one or multiple levels, individuals, groups, organizations, or cultures, in work settings such as business, education, training, health, service, government, or military institutions, and in the public or private sector, for-profit or non-profit organizations. So after you've read this a few times to determine what the gist of the content is, you need to write down some key terms. Some of the key terms I took away were empirical and theoretical investigations, enhanced understanding, psychological phenomena, settings, and levels. These are the terms you can use in your paraphrase of this content. Here's an example of an acceptable paraphrase of this source text. The Journal of Applied Psychology accepts studies that increase understanding of a broad range of psychological phenomena and that apply to a variety of settings. The studies can be set or observed from a number of levels, from the individual to larger subgroups and are not limited to institution or sector. Note that the ideas are the same as in the source text, but the language and phrasing has been changed and truncated or shortened. Also note that there is a citation at the end of the paraphrase. Next, let's look at a combination sentence, one that uses both quotes and paraphrasing. The Journal of Applied Psychology accepts studies that enhance understanding of cognitive, motivational, affective, and behavioral psychological phenomena and that apply to a variety of settings such as business, education, training, health, service, government, or military institutions. The studies can be set or observed from a number of levels and are not limited to institution or sector. In this combination example, the details from the original source are in quotes, as they are in succession and provide important information that readers might need to know. Finally, let's take a look at an example of something you might want to avoid, that is plagiarism. Here is a plagiarized version of the source text. Note that many of the key terms and even phrases are written word for word in this version. In this plagiarized version, some of the words of the original have been changed or removed, but the meanings and even the grammar structure are essentially identical to the source text. The reason this is plagiarized is that there are no quotation marks, so be very careful not to use the exact same language unless you are putting quotation marks around the content. When paraphrasing, you can show your position to the content you are discussing by choosing a verb that shows whether you are in agreement, in disagreement, or are neutral to the content being discussed. Here are some examples of verbs you can use to show your position. These verbs show that you are neutral to the content being discussed. Believe, conclude, propose, argue, observe, and write. For instance, Young, citation, believes that the cause of this problem is X. Johnson, et al., citation, proposed several solutions to this problem, including XYZ. The verbs believe and propose both merely show what the author is thinking or doing. They do not indicate any particular position that you might have on these topics. To show agreement with the statement you are paraphrasing, use verbs such as these. Show, demonstrate, evidence, prove, point out, confirm. For instance, Brooks, citation, showed how nitrogen was essential to the development of life. Garcia demonstrates the efficiency of this method of analysis when applying it to X, citation. Both of these terms, showed and demonstrates, have fairly positive connotations and indicate that you generally agree with how the original work was performed or analyzed. To show your disagreement with the work that you are paraphrasing, use verbs such as these. Neglect, overlook, disregard, pay little attention to, fail to note. For instance, although the author of this study says that robins account for 10% of North American neighborhood birds, he neglects to include the most important method of analysis, citation. Mbeki, citation, disregards additional potential contributing factors, citing only X and Y as being instrumental. Both terms, neglects and disregards, carry fairly negative connotations and indicate that you generally disagree with how the author carried out their work or analyzed it. How you paraphrase will generally depend on the context and the specific reason for putting another author's work into your study. But there are some tools and tips you can use to help put their words into your own. One way to do this is to change the voice of the passage. If the original is written in the active voice, change it to the passive and vice versa. If the original study reads as follows, a study of infant feeding practices was carried out, you might paraphrase, like this. In her study of breastfeeding, Carnes, citation, found that only one-fifth of mothers nurse their babies. By changing the voice, you can alter the syntax of the sentence and make room for your own words to describe the original author's meaning. Another tool you can use to describe content in your own way is a thesaurus. But be careful when using a thesaurus. You want to make sure you understand the term you're using and that it makes sense in the context you're using it. The last tip is more of a reminder. You want to avoid looking at the work when you're writing your paraphrase. Instead, give yourself 10 to 20 seconds after reading the passage. Your mind needs a little bit of time to digest what the meaning of the passage is. And then go ahead and write your paraphrase. By giving yourself some time, you'll make sure not to plagiarize the text. Before we go, here are some rules for paraphrasing you should keep in mind. The paraphrase statement must always be written in your own words. Never copy the text verbatim unless you use quotation marks. Always include a citation when you paraphrase. Usually these things, parentheses. Because you're always using someone else's work even though it's in your own words. Finally, always keep your study at the focus of your writing. That means you don't want to quote too often and you don't want to paraphrase too often. So try to keep a blend of both so that you have a strong authorial voice, but that you also have external support for your own arguments. For more excellent tips on academic and research writing, subscribe to our YouTube channel or visit Wordvice's resources page where you'll find dozens of articles to help you improve your paper composition. Stay tuned and happy writing.

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Trump's criminal sentencing delayed until after election

Donald Trump's sentencing in his Manhattan hush money criminal trial has been postponed until after the November election.

Judge Juan Merchan on Friday delayed the sentencing to 26 November, citing "the unique time frame this matter currently finds itself in" among his reasons.

Lawyers for Trump, the Republican presidential candidate, have used several legal manoeuvres to delay the sentencing, which had been scheduled for 18 September.

A New York jury in May convicted Trump on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records, the first time a sitting or former president has been convicted of a crime.

In his decision, Judge Merchan wrote that the case demands "a sentencing hearing that is entirely focused on the verdict of the jury".

"Their verdict must be respected and addressed in a manner that is not diluted by the enormity of the upcoming presidential election," he said, setting sentencing to exactly three weeks after the 5 November election.

He said the delay was necessary "to avoid any appearance - however unwarranted - that the proceeding has been affected by or seeks to affect the approaching presidential election in which the Defendant is a candidate”.

“The Court is a fair, impartial and apolitical institution,” the judge continued.

Trump could face a sentence of up to four years in prison, but Judge Merchan also has the discretion to impose a punishment of a fine, probation or a shorter jail term.

Prosecutors in the case accused the former president of concealing a payment to buy the silence of Stormy Daniels, a former adult-film star, in the final days of his 2016 election campaign.

Ms Daniels testified that she and Trump had sex, and that she accepted $130,000 (£99,000) from his former lawyer before the 2016 election in exchange to keep quiet about the encounter.

Prosecutors argued that, by approving a scheme to disguise the money as legal expenses, Trump broke election law.

Trump's original sentencing date was in July. His lawyers delayed that after a US Supreme Court ruling that granted presidents some immunity from criminal prosecution for "official acts".

Judge Merchan granted a delay so that the parties could prepare arguments on the effects of the Supreme Court ruling on his case.

A decision on the implications will come on 12 November.

Judge Merchan has already dismissed some arguments made by Trump's lawyers to delay as "unsubstantiated grievances... that do not merit this Court's attention".

But he wrote that sentencing hearings are routinely delayed in other cases for reasons like personal circumstances or scheduling conflicts.

"Given the unique facts and circumstances of this case, there is no reason why this Defendant should be treated differently than any other," Judge Merchan said.

He added that his decision to delay "should dispel any suggestion" that the court would have made a decision that would be seen in support of "any political party or any candidate for any office".

Trump has maintained that he did nothing wrong. He told Fox News after the ruling that the "case should be dead".

On his social media platform Truth Social, the former president re-iterated his claims of innocence, dismissing the case as a "witch hunt" and a "political attack".

"This case should be rightfully terminated, as we prepare for the Most Important Election in the History of our Country," he wrote.

A spokesperson for Alvin Bragg, the Manhattan district attorney whose office brought the charges, said his team was "ready for sentencing on the new date set by the court".

If Trump returns to the White House he could try to pardon himself of any federal crimes he may have been convicted of.

However, the case in New York - as well as the election interference case in Georgia - are state charges, and presidents do not have the ability to pardon those convicted in state courts.

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• Introduction
• Finding sources

Evaluating sources

• Integrating sources

Citing sources

Tools and resources, a quick guide to working with sources.

Working with sources is an important skill that you’ll need throughout your academic career.

It includes knowing how to find relevant sources, assessing their authority and credibility, and understanding how to integrate sources into your work with proper referencing.

This quick guide will help you get started!

Finding relevant sources

Sources commonly used in academic writing include academic journals, scholarly books, websites, newspapers, and encyclopedias. There are three main places to look for such sources:

• Research databases: Databases can be general or subject-specific. To get started, check out this list of databases by academic discipline . Another good starting point is Google Scholar .
• Your institution’s library: Use your library’s database to narrow down your search using keywords to find relevant articles, books, and newspapers matching your topic.
• Other online resources: Consult popular online sources like websites, blogs, or Wikipedia to find background information. Be sure to carefully evaluate the credibility of those online sources.

When using academic databases or search engines, you can use Boolean operators to refine your results.

Generate APA, MLA, Chicago, and Harvard citations in seconds

Get started

In academic writing, your sources should be credible, up to date, and relevant to your research topic. Useful approaches to evaluating sources include the CRAAP test and lateral reading.

CRAAP is an abbreviation that reminds you of a set of questions to ask yourself when evaluating information.

• Currency: Does the source reflect recent research?
• Relevance: Is the source related to your research topic?
• Authority: Is it a respected publication? Is the author an expert in their field?
• Accuracy: Does the source support its arguments and conclusions with evidence?
• Purpose: What is the author’s intention?

Lateral reading

Lateral reading means comparing your source to other sources. This allows you to:

• Verify evidence
• Contextualize information
• Find potential weaknesses

If a source is using methods or drawing conclusions that are incompatible with other research in its field, it may not be reliable.

Integrating sources into your work

Once you have found information that you want to include in your paper, signal phrases can help you to introduce it. Here are a few examples:

Following the signal phrase, you can choose to quote, paraphrase or summarize the source.

• Quoting : This means including the exact words of another source in your paper. The quoted text must be enclosed in quotation marks or (for longer quotes) presented as a block quote . Quote a source when the meaning is difficult to convey in different words or when you want to analyze the language itself.
• Paraphrasing : This means putting another person’s ideas into your own words. It allows you to integrate sources more smoothly into your text, maintaining a consistent voice. It also shows that you have understood the meaning of the source.
• Summarizing : This means giving an overview of the essential points of a source. Summaries should be much shorter than the original text. You should describe the key points in your own words and not quote from the original text.

Whenever you quote, paraphrase, or summarize a source, you must include a citation crediting the original author.

Citing your sources is important because it:

• Allows you to avoid plagiarism
• Establishes the credentials of your sources
• Backs up your arguments with evidence
• Allows your reader to verify the legitimacy of your conclusions

The most common citation styles are APA, MLA, and Chicago style. Each citation style has specific rules for formatting citations.

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Scribbr offers tons of tools and resources to make working with sources easier and faster. Take a look at our top picks:

• Citation Generator: Automatically generate accurate references and in-text citations using Scribbr’s APA Citation Generator, MLA Citation Generator , Harvard Referencing Generator , and Chicago Citation Generator .
• Plagiarism Checker : Detect plagiarism in your paper using the most accurate Turnitin-powered plagiarism software available to students.
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• Summarizer: Read more in less time. Distill lengthy and complex texts down to their key points.
• AI detector: Find out if your text was written with ChatGPT or any other AI writing tool. ChatGPT 2 & ChatGPT 3 supported.
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Critical Writing Program: Craft of Prose (WRIT 0020-315) - Fall 2024: Using Sources (Citing, Quoting, and Paraphrasing)

• Getting started
• News and Opinion Sites
• Academic Sources
• Grey Literature
• Substantive News Sources
• What to Do When You Are Stuck
• Understanding a citation
• Examples of Quotation
• Examples of Paraphrase
• Chicago Manual of Style: Citing Images
• Researching the Op-Ed
• Researching Prospective Employers
• Resume Resources
• Cover Letter Resources

Citation Style for the Critical Writing Program

You will be using the Chicago Manual of Style for your in text citations and bibliographies. The Libraries subscribe to the Chicago Manual of Style Online. The database is fully searchable. It is easy to find the various examples that describe citation format for specific formats. 

Chicago Manual of Style Online  (17th Edition) 

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• Next: Understanding a citation >>
• Last Updated: Sep 4, 2024 10:44 AM
• URL: https://guides.library.upenn.edu/fall2024/craftofprose15

Bank of Canada cuts key interest rate to 4.25%, citing cooling inflation

This is central bank's 3rd consecutive rate cut.

Bank of Canada taking rate decisions 'one at a time,' Macklem says after latest cut

Social sharing.

In its third consecutive cut since June, the Bank of Canada lowered its key interest rate to 4.25 per cent on Wednesday, citing the continued easing of inflation. 

While the move was widely anticipated by economists, the gradual pace of cuts has sparked some questions about when a more dramatic move might be made. 

"If we need to take a bigger step, we're prepared to take a bigger step," Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem said during a news conference Wednesday. "At this point, 25 basis points looked appropriate."

The decision Wednesday followed a pattern established earlier this summer when rates were cut to 4.75 per cent in June and 4.5 per cent in July. 

Macklem said the decision took into consideration the risks that could affect inflation rates. Prices for housing and shelter, as well as some other services, are still maintaining upward pressure on inflation, he said, adding that since their July rate cut, those upward forces "have eased slightly."

"At the same time, downward pressure coming from excess supply in the economy remains," he said. "If inflation continues to ease broadly in line with our July forecast, it is reasonable to expect further cuts."

Macklem's comments Wednesday echo those he made in July. Canada's annual inflation rate dropped to 2.5 per cent in July, down from 2.7 per cent in June, Statistics Canada said in August. It's the lowest it has been since March 2021, when inflation began to climb amid pandemic pressures and supply disruptions.

While inflation is approaching the two per cent target that the Bank of Canada aims for, the economy still has a way to go. 

"The runway's in sight, but we have not landed it yet," Macklem said.  

Some economists say bigger cuts needed

Although a quarter-point reduction was expected, some experts had estimated there was a small chance the bank would make a more dramatic cut of 50 basis points. 

When asked if a cut of that magnitude had been debated, Macklem said numerous scenarios were discussed, but there was a "strong consensus" for the cut they made. If they find inflation is "significantly weaker than expected," a bigger step could be appropriate, he added. 

"We will take our decisions based on the data we have."

Some experts say Wednesday's move isn't ambitious enough to jump-start the economy. 

"The Bank of Canada went with the more cautious approach of yet another quarter point rate cut, leaving rates still well above where they will have to head to get the economy really moving again now that inflation is less of a threat," Avery Shenfeld, an economist at CIBC Economics, said in a note to clients. 

The cuts to the key interest rate seen in recent months come after nearly a year of stagnancy. Prior to June's cut, the rate had been held at five per cent since July 2023. It reached five per cent after an aggressive campaign of rate hikes that the bank embarked on in April 2022 with the goal of tackling high inflation. 

Economic growth strengthens, but unemployment still rising

In the second quarter of year, the economy grew by 2.1 per cent, Macklem said, "slightly stronger" than had been forecast in July. But economic activity softened in early summer, he added, and the unemployment rate climbed to 6.4 per cent in June and July. 

The increase in unemployment rates is "concentrated in youth and newcomers to Canada, who are finding it more difficult to get a job," Macklem said.

Taylor Schleich, an interest rate strategist with the National Bank of Canada, told CBC News that this increase is the "biggest concern" for the economy right now. 

"Most countries are seeing their labour markets weakened, but certainly in Canada, it's been much weaker," Schleich said. 

"We don't suspect that things are going to improve materially anytime soon, probably for the rest of this year."

Macklem stressed Wednesday that economic growth needed to pick up to absorb the slack — but Schleich says betting on that demand surging back is "just a little bit too optimistic" considering the gradual pace of interest rate relief, suggesting more rate cuts are needed first. 

Feeling the impact of rate cuts

Changes in the key interest rate, also known as the policy interest rate, can have far-reaching impacts for mortgages and personal loans. 

Some Canadians have been postponing plans in the hopes that interest rates will come down further. Boaz Rachamim, owner of Eisenbergs Sandwich Co. in Toronto, has been wanting to open a new brick-and-mortar location outside of a community centre, but those plans are out of reach right now.

"With the interest rates being where they are currently and just the cost of everything, I think for now it's stopping us from going out and doing that," he told CBC News. 

The company first went into business three years ago, during the heat of the COVID-19 pandemic, when interest rates were significantly lower and paying back a loan was less daunting.

"That's why I made the jump initially … because there was much less risk," he said. 

This new rate cut is "a step in the right direction," but it's too marginal for him to feel confident taking out a new loan to expand. 

"It's not just me on the table here," Rachamim said. "We have a group of about 20 staff who work with us."

The impact of this Wednesday's rate cut will be felt first by Canadians with variable rate mortgages, Schleich said: "They'll feel the impact of these lower interest rates immediately." 

But it could take a while for other areas of the economy to actually register the change — and he believes more cuts are needed to make a real difference. 

"It's going to take a little bit more interest rate relief for things to really pick up."

Bank of Canada governor takes questions after rate cut

About the author.

Alexandra Mae Jones is a journalist for CBC News based in Toronto. You can reach her at [email protected]

With files from Laura MacNaughton and Nisha Patel

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