Summaries and paraphrases are written in your own words. A summary condenses information from a source; a paraphrase uses roughly the same number of words as the original source to convey the information. When you summarize or paraphrase, it is not enough to name the source; you must restate the source’s meaning using your own language. You commit plagiarism if you patchwrite—half-copy the author’s sentences, either by mixing the author’s phrases with your own without using quotation marks or by plugging your synonyms into the author’s sentence structure.
The first paraphrase of the following source is plagiarized—even though the source is cited—because too much of its language is borrowed from the original. The colored strings of words have been copied word-for-word (without quotation marks). In addition, the writer has closely echoed the sentence structure of the source, merely substituting some synonyms (Fifty percent for Half and savage hatred for fierce, bitter animosity).
ORIGINAL SOURCE
Half of the force holding Fort Pillow were Negroes, former slaves now enrolled in the Union Army. Toward them Forrest’s troops had the fierce, bitter animosity of men who had been educated to regard the colored race as inferior and who for the first time had encountered that race armed and fighting against white men. The sight enraged and perhaps terrified many of the Confederates and aroused in them the ugly spirit of a lynching mob.
—Albert Castel, “The Fort Pillow Massacre,” pp. 46–47
PLAGIARISM: UNACCEPTABLE BORROWING
Albert Castel suggests that much of the brutality at Fort Pillow can be traced to racial attitudes. Fifty percent of the troops holding Fort Pillow were Negroes, former slaves who had joined the Union Army. Toward them Forrest’s soldiers displayed the savage hatred of men who had been taught the inferiority of blacks and who for the first time had confronted them armed and fighting against white men. The vision angered and perhaps frightened the Confederates and aroused in them the ugly spirit of a lynching mob.3
ACCEPTABLE PARAPHRASE
Albert Castel suggests that much of the brutality at Fort Pillow can be traced to racial attitudes. Nearly half of the Union troops were blacks, men whom the Confederates had been raised to consider their inferiors. The shock and perhaps fear of facing armed ex-slaves in battle for the first time may well have unleashed the fury that led to the massacre.3
TIP: To avoid plagiarizing an author’s language, resist the temptation to look at the source while you are summarizing or paraphrasing. After you have read the passage you want to paraphrase, set the source aside. Ask yourself, “What is the author’s meaning?” In your own words, state your understanding of the author’s basic point. Return to the source and check that you haven’t used the author’s language or sentence structure or misrepresented the author’s ideas. Following these steps will help you avoid plagiarizing the source. When you fully understand another writer’s meaning, you can more easily and accurately present those ideas in your own words.