Assignment modules

Signal phrases for introducing summaries and paraphrases (APA)

Mod-44

Introduce most summaries and paraphrases with a signal phrase that mentions the author and the date of publication and places the material in context. Readers will then understand where the summary or paraphrase begins.

Without the signal phrase (in color) in the following example, readers might think that only the last sentence is being cited, when in fact the whole paragraph is based on the source.

Carmona (2004) advised a Senate subcommittee that the problem of childhood obesity is dire and that the skyrocketing statistics—which put the child obesity rate at 15%—are cause for alarm. More than nine million children, double the number in the early 1980s, are classified as obese. Carmona warned that obesity can cause myriad physical problems that only worsen as children grow older.

There are times, however, when a summary or a paraphrase does not require a signal phrase naming the author. When the context makes clear where the cited material begins, omit the signal phrase and include the author’s name in the parentheses. Unless the work is short, also include the page number in the parentheses: (Saltzman, 2004, p. D8).

When to use a paraphrase

When the ideas and information are important, but the author’s exact words are not necessary or expressive
When you want to restate the source’s ideas in your own words
When you need to simplify and explain a technical or complicated source
When you need to reorder a source’s ideas

When to use a summary

When a passage is lengthy and you want to condense a chapter to a short paragraph or a paragraph to a single sentence
When you want to state the source’s main ideas simply and briefly in your own words
When you want to compare or contrast arguments or ideas from various sources
When you want to provide readers with an understanding of the source’s argument or main idea before you respond to it or launch your own

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