Citing Sources & Avoiding Plagiarism

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Read the scenarios and answer the questions. Your answers will only be seen by you.

What’s the difference between summary and paraphrasing, and what requires citation?

Ethan to his Religious Studies professor: I’m writing my research paper on Jung's attitude toward Catholicism, and I want to summarize the position this 250-page book, Religion and the Spiritual in Carl Jung, by Ann Belford Ulanov, takes on Jung’s religious beliefs. I’m not citing directly from the book--I just want to include a sentence or two in my own words. I don’t think this counts as paraphrasing, so do I have to cite this?

What should Ethan’s professor’s response be?

A Summary does not have to be cited, and paraphrasing does.

B This is summary, which requires citation because it is still a version of the original, even if it’s much shorter than paraphrasing.
C Summary is putting others’ ideas into your own words, and paraphrasing is not. This is summary and you do not have to cite it.

D Summary indicates common knowledge, and therefore does not require citation. So, this does not require citation.

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