When you write information from a source in your own words, cite the source by adding an in-text citation at the end of the paraphrased portion as follows:
Research suggests that volunteers who are given suggestions of how many hours to volunteer each week, in order to meet the overall time commitment requirements, end up volunteering more hours than those who were only given a vague suggestion (Rai et al., 2024).
Note: If you refer to the author's name in a sentence you do not have to include the name again as part of your in-text citation, instead include the year of publication following his/her name:
Rai et al. (2024) found that volunteers who were given specific suggestions of how many hours to commit to each week ended up volunteering more of their time than those who were given only a vague suggestion of how to manage their time.
The Indigenous view of projects flowing through British Columbia to the ocean is the opposite of the industrialized view. Indigenous people have a strong relationship with the land and water; they used the earth as a source of food and as a way of subsistence that extends back thousands of years. As such, Indigenous people believe they are caretakers of the earth, and any action that would affect their relationship to the earth is of great concern to them and their well-being. Researching Industry’s main goals reveals a few key items, such as profit, excellent service, and employee retention — protecting the land and water is not a priority for most corporations.
Source from:
Sorensen, A., & van Dyk, S. (2022). Indigenous Perspectives on Business Ethics and Business Law in British Columbia. BCcampus. https://opentextbc.ca/indigenousperspectivesbusiness/.
Example: Incorrect Paraphrasing
Indigenous peoples view resource extraction projects in a different way from industries. Indigenous peoples value the land and water as a long-term source of sustenance, and view themselves as responsible for taking care of the earth. Meanwhile, industries prioritize profit, service, and employee retention, and do not feel such a strong responsibility to environmental protection (Sorensen & van Dyk, 2022).
Note: In this incorrect example the writing is too similar to the original source. The student only changed or removed a few words and has not phrased the ideas in a new way.
Example: Correct Paraphrasing
While Indigenous groups view themselves as stewards of the earth, whose resources are to be preserved and cared for above all else, industries tend to prioritize maximizing the success of their companies above protecting the land or water. (Sorensen & van Dyk, 2022).
Note: The example keeps the idea of the original writing but phrases it in a new way.
Note that in most cases where a personal author is not named, a group author may be cited instead (eg. Statistics Canada). However, in certain cases, such as religious ancient texts, the author is unknown. Where you'd normally put the author's last name, instead use the first one, two, or three words from the title. Don't count initial articles like "A", "An" or "The". You should provide enough words to make it clear which work you're referring to from your References List.
If the title in the References list is in italics, italicize the words from the title in the in-text citation.
If you are citing an article, a chapter of a book or a page from a website, put the words in double quotation marks.
Capitalize the titles using title case (every major word is capitalized) even if the reference list entry uses sentence case (only first word is capitalized).
Examples:
(Human Health Effects, 2024, p. 7)
("For California couple," 2024, p. 9)
No Known Date of Publication:
Where you'd normally put the year of publication, instead use the letters "n.d.".
Example:
(Merriam-Webster, n.d., Keeping 'Then' and 'Than' Separate section, para. 1)
Note: The above source cites the paragraph number rather than the page number, because the source does not have page numbers.
Type of Group | First Time Paraphrased | Second and Subsequent Times Paraphrased | First Time Quoting | Second and Subsequent Times Quoting |
---|---|---|---|---|
Groups readily identified through abbreviations |
(National Institute of Mental Health [NIMH], 2023) |
(NIMH, 2023) |
(National Institute of Mental Health [NIMH], 2023, p. 5) | (NIMH, 2023, p. 5) |
Groups with no abbreviations | (University of Pittsburgh, 2024) | (University of Pittsburgh, 2024) | (University of Pittsburgh, 2024, p. 2) | (University of Pittsburgh, 2024, p. 2) |