Summarizing, Paraphrasing, Quotation “Stems”
When you need to use a piece of text to back up what you’re saying, you can either
summarize the main idea, paraphrase a passage and its details by putting them into
your own words, or directly quote from the text using quotation marks.
Purdue University’s Online Writing Lab defines the bold terms above as:
Summarizing involves putting the main idea(s) into your own
words, including only the main point(s). Once again, it is
necessary to attribute summarized ideas to the original source.
Summaries are significantly shorter than the original and take a
broad overview of the source material.
Paraphrasing involves putting a passage from source material
into your own words. A paraphrase must also be attributed to
the original source. Paraphrased material is usually shorter than
the original passage, taking a somewhat broader segment of the
source and condensing it slightly.
Quotations must be identical to the original, using a narrow
segment of the source. They must match the source document
word for word and must be attributed to the original author.
Notice how each definition requires you to attribute the source? That means you need
to say where the information came from. You can do this in your text as you write. You
will also want to create a “Works Cited” page at the end of your paper where you list all
of the sources you cited. To “cite” something, means to attribute where it came from.
compiled by J.M. Bentley
Executive Director Curiosity Films
Based on templates from They Say, I Say: The Moves that Matter in Academic Writing
by Gerald Graff, Cathy Birkenstein
page 1 of 3
Use these “stems” to alert the reader you are about to summarize or
paraphrase a text written by an authority on a specific topic.
X states that...(add details here)
(Add details here)...claims/argues/etc. X.
X says...(add details here)
In (title of work), X claims...(add details
here)
X argues that...(add details here)
X believes that... (add details here)
According to (title of work/website/
organization/author)...(add details here)
X demonstrates that... (add details here)
According to X,...(add details here)
X observes that...(add details here)
The (organization) believes/states/reports/
etc. that...(add details here)
X emphasizes that...(add details here)
X questions whether...(add details here)
X insists that...(add details here)
X claims...(add details here)
X insists that...(add details here)
X reminds us that...(add details here)
X reports how/that...(add details here)
X suggests that...(add details here)
X urges us to believe...(add details here)
Use these “stems” to introduce quotations from another source.
X states, “Add details here.”!
!
!
!
In his/her book, Title Here, X states, “Quote here.” !
!
X writes, “Quote here.”
!
According to X, “Quote here.”
Writing for the website (Title Here), X claims that “Quote here.”
X agrees when he/she writes, “Quote here.”
X disagrees when he/she writes, “Quote here.”
X complicates the subject when he/she states, “Quote here.”
compiled by J.M. Bentley
Executive Director Curiosity Films
Based on templates from They Say, I Say: The Moves that Matter in Academic Writing
by Gerald Graff, Cathy Birkenstein
page 2 of 3
When writing a scholarly paper, it’s frowned upon to use the first
person voice as in, “I think...(add details here).” Use these “stems” to
introduce your opinion in a third person voice.
X is wrong when he/she states...(add details here).
X is right when he/she states...(add details here).
It’s inaccurate when X states...(add details here).
It’s highly likely that...(add details here), because (details to support previous statement).
It is highly unlikely that...(add details here), because (details to refute previous statement).
The view that...(add details here)...does not fit the facts/is inaccurate/is accurate.
The view that...(add details here)...are supported by (add details from different source/quote/
summary/paraphrase).
X is right that...(add details here). (Add detail from different source/quote/summary/
paraphrase to support your position.)
X is wrong that...(add details here). (Add detail from different source/quote/summary/
paraphrase to support your position.)
Use these stems to introduce numerical statistics or “popular
opinions” on a subject. Remember to cite statistics. Popular views are
“popular” or “standard” and cannot be cited (i.e. “It’s commonly
known that college graduates earn more than high school dropouts.”)
Americans today tend to believe that...(add popular view here).
Conventional wisdom has it that...(add popular view here).
Common sense dictates that...(add popular view here).
It is often said that...(add popular view here).
Many people assume that...(add popular view here).
A recent study by (source here) shows...(add statistics here).
Scientists have found...(add statistics here).
According to (source here),...(add statistics here).
(Add statistics here)...claims (source).
compiled by J.M. Bentley
Executive Director Curiosity Films
Based on templates from They Say, I Say: The Moves that Matter in Academic Writing
by Gerald Graff, Cathy Birkenstein
page 3 of 3