What is the purpose of paraphrasing versus quoting in research writing?

• A. Paraphrasing restates ideas in your own words; quoting uses exact words; both properly cited.
• B. Paraphrasing uses quotation marks; quoting uses paraphrase.
• C. Paraphrasing restates ideas in your own words without citation.
• D. Quoting never requires citation.

Answer: (C)

Paraphrasing and quoting are two ways to include others’ ideas in your writing while giving credit to the source. Paraphrasing restates the idea in your own words, showing you’ve processed and integrated it into your argument. Even though it’s in your words, you still need to cite the source because the idea isn’t yours. Quoting preserves the source’s exact wording, which can be important for precision or authority; it also requires a citation and, typically, quotation marks. The mistaken notions that paraphrasing needs no citation or that quotes don’t require citation are incorrect, and thinking paraphrasing would use quotation marks is also off the mark. So, paraphrasing is about restating in your own words with a citation, while quoting is about using the exact words with a citation.