Paraphrasing words

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6 comments
Alex
March 14, 2021 at 9:27 AM
Hey there!
My case "Author1" cite "Author2" by just 2 words. May I paraphrase "Author1" but cite "author2", why?
Is there useful cases? Or this type citations is restricted? I can't find "author2" original text to cite him straightly.
Best, Alex
Paragraph: https://pasteboard.co/JSxCkcOu.png
Reply
Jack Caulfield (Scribbr Team)
March 15, 2021 at 2:11 PM
Hi Alex,
If you can't find the original source, it's acceptable to cite it indirectly, listing the main source "as cited in" the source you found it in. See this FAQ for how to do so in APA Style.
Reply
Joey Cuevas
February 8, 2021 at 10:10 PM
So, what is the difference between paraphrasing and summarizing? Do I have to include the page number for both citations? Also, I am just going through and writing academic literature review papers. If I talk about an overall generalization of the literature and what the literature is about do I need to cite that?
Reply
Jack Caulfield (Scribbr Team)
February 9, 2021 at 3:40 PM
Hi Joey,
Paraphrasing and summarizing are similar; summarizing is just on a larger scale. You'd paraphrase a specific sentence or two, whereas you'd summarize a whole text or long passage. You always need a page number for paraphrasing. When you summarize a whole text, there's no need to include a particular page number, but when it's a specific section or passage from the text, it's still useful to include a page range showing where to find the relevant information in the text.
If you're making a broad generalization about the literature as a whole, it may not make sense to include a citation, since what you're saying applies to everything you're covering. If you're speaking slightly less broadly, for example about the studies that cover a particular topic, it would then make sense to include citations to show which studies you're referring to. E.g.:
Several studies investigate the effects of Facebook use on self-esteem (Smith, 2015; Jones, 2012; Dane et al., 2019).