Paraphrasing and Summarizing Using APA Style
What are Paraphrasing and Summarizing?
- A paraphrase is a slightly condensed version of a quote or passage.
- A summary is a very condensed version of a passage.
- Paraphrases work better when you want to highlight specific, narrow points from a Source.
- Summaries work better when you want to explain the gist of longer parts of a source, like a whole paragraph.
What are the Benefits of Summarizing & Paraphrasing?
- Helps you avoid plagiarism
- Shows you know the source material well
- Improves memory
- Improves comprehension
How to Paraphrase and Summarize
- Skim the source.
- Reread the source, and highlight OR underline its main ideas/concepts
- Use your own words, and quickly jot down a list of main ideas.
- Turn your list into sentences.
- Put those sentences together to form a paraphrase or summary.
What is APA?
- APA is a citation style.
- It is an acronym for “American Psychological Association.”
- Typically, APA format is used in fields that relate to the social sciences, such as psychology, sociology, and education.
How to Cite in APA
- First reference in a paragraph & every quote
- End of paragraph or right before you switch to another author’s work
- The citation is part of a sentence. The period goes after it.
- Parenthetical: (Roberts, 2020, p. 1).
- Parenthetical refers to in-text citations, because they go in parentheses.
Parenthetical Citation Example
- The acculturation related stress pertains to discrimination, language barriers, issues with communication within relationships, and rejection (Miao, Costigan, & MacDonald, 2018).
What Does a Correct Paraphrase Look Like?
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Original Source Text:
“As expected, parents who reported higher levels of acculturation stress showed a decrease in positive parenting, suggesting that external acculturation stressors may deplete immigrant parents’ emotional resources, making it more difficult to sustain positive parenting approaches.” -
Correct Paraphrase:
Parents that were attempting to assimilate into an unfamiliar culture struggled more with parenting. As a result, one can assume that the pressure to assimilate can introduce emotional woes for immigrant parents that may negatively impact their parenting abilities (Miao, Costigan, & MacDonald, 2018).
References Example (for a Journal Article)
- Miao, S. W., Costigan, C. L., & MacDonald, S. W. S. (2018). Spillover of stress to Chinese Canadian immigrants’ parenting: Impact of acculturation and parent–child stressors. Asian American Journal of Psychology, 9(3), 190–199. https://doi.org/10.1037/aap0000105
- For more reference examples, visit https://ewsresourcehandouts.weebly.com/uploads/1/1/6/3/11638100/apa_6th_edition. pdf
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