Blog Post #7: BBG 7

I think that all three of the sections on quoting, paraphrasing, and summarizing are equally important, as they create a distinct category for each of those means of incorporating sources. I find that it is often difficult to distinguish between summarizing and paraphrasing, and I never know whether I should use direct quotes or not.

The section on quoting helped me figure out when to use a quote and when not to, as I often use direct quotes for more than I need to, thinking I should just play it safe. I think knowing when to use them and when to use something else will help me cut down on some of those unnecessary quotes that pop up in my papers.

The sections on paraphrasing and summarizing helped me figure out which is which, how they are different, and when to use each method. I often spend too much time and too many words trying to paraphrase a source when all I really need to do is summarize it, and I don’t even think I thought about summarizing sources that much as opposed to paraphrasing before I read this chapter. I always thought that I needed more information than a summary would provide, even for a small, not super important source, and the section on paraphrasing made me realize that is not necessarily true.