How to Cite a Paraphrase | APA & MLA Examples
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In academic writing, you will frequently need to paraphrase others’ work. Paraphrasing is putting an idea in your own words while maintaining the original meaning.
When an academic essay is full of quotations, it can seem unoriginal and lack cohesion.
Paraphrasing allows you to incorporate background information and provide supporting evidence for your ideas seamlessly in your paper.
As with quotations, you must give credit to the original author when you paraphrase. You do this through adding citations. The style guide your school or institution uses will have specific rules for what information to include in citations.
How to cite a paraphrase in MLA
To cite a paraphrase in MLA style, include an in-text citation with the author’s last name and the page number of the original material. There are two types of MLA in-text citations:
In a narrative citation, the author’s name is mentioned in the sentence itself, and only the page number appears in parentheses at the end of the paraphrased material.
In a parenthetical citation, the author’s last name and the page number appear in parentheses after the paraphrased material.
The only difference between a paraphrase and a quotation in MLA style is the presence of quotation marks. The citations are the same.
MLA citation of a paraphrase examples
Narrative citation | Parenthetical citation |
|---|---|
Marisol Acosta argues that schools should prioritize practical skills such as personal finance over advanced mathematics (282). (In the first narrative citation, the author’s full name is used. After that, just the last name is used.) | One benefit of personal finance courses in high schools is that students have a better understanding of the long-term costs of student loans (Acosta 283). |
Any source that is cited in the text should also be included in a Works Cited list at the end of the paper.
How to cite a paraphrase in APA
To cite a paraphrase in APA Style, include an in-text citation with the author’s last name and the publication date. Like MLA, APA Style also has two types of in-text citations:
In a narrative citation, the author’s last name is mentioned in the sentence itself, and the date appears in parentheses immediately after the name.
In a parenthetical citation, the author’s last name and the date appear in parentheses after the paraphrased material.
When you cite a quotation in APA, a page number is needed, but no page number is required for a paraphrase.
APA citation of a paraphrase examples
Narrative citation | Parenthetical citation |
|---|---|
Acosta (2022) argues that school should prioritize practical skills such as personal finance over advanced mathematics. | One benefit of personal finance courses in high schools is that students have a better understanding of the long-term costs of student loans (Acosta, 2022). |
Any source that is cited in the text should be listed on the References page at the end of the document.
How to cite a paraphrase from a website
To cite a paraphrase from a website, you will follow the same basic format as for other sources. The main difference is that websites sometimes do not have an author listed and typically do not have page numbers.
For MLA format, include the author’s last name or organization name in parentheses after the paraphrase. If there is no named author, you can list the page’s title instead. Unless you are citing a PDF with numbered pages, you do not need a page number.
For APA Style, include the author’s last name or organization name and the publication year in parentheses after the paraphrase. If there is no named author, use the page’s title instead. If there is no publication date, you can use the abbreviation “n.d.” instead.
Citing a paraphrase from a website examples
APA | MLA | |
|---|---|---|
Author and date available | (Fox & Brokaw, 2023) | (Fox and Brokaw) |
Organization as author | (National Society of Black Engineers, 2024) | (National Society of Black Engineers) |
No author | (“Best Practices for Music Teachers,” 2021) | (“Best Practices for Music Teachers”) |
No publication date | (Cisneros & Siu, n.d.) | (Cisneros and Siu) |
How to cite a paraphrase in an essay
When writing an academic essay, it is very important to include a citation every time you paraphrase someone else’s ideas to avoid accidental plagiarism.
Proper citation involves both an in-text citation and a full reference entry (either as a footnote or in a list at the end of the paper).
You should cite any ideas or data that came from someone else’s work. It is not necessary to cite common knowledge, which includes:
Easily observable phenomena (e.g., “Football is very popular in the American South”)
Historical facts (e.g., “George Washington was the first U.S. president”)
Common sayings or proverbs (e.g., “A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush”)
It is good practice in academic writing to introduce a paraphrase with a signal phrase that lets the reader know you are stating someone else’s idea.
Signal phrases introducing a paraphrase examples
Patel argues that political divide will only worsen as long as citizens choose to live in economically segregated neighborhoods (550). [MLA]
According to Hansen (2022), students are dissuaded from pursuing trades by well-intentioned guidance counselors, who are under the misperception that a college degree is a requirement for success. [APA]
How to paraphrase a quote and cite it
To paraphrase a quote from an outside source, you should reword it using different vocabulary and sentence structure while maintaining its original meaning.
After each sentence (or group of sentences) that is paraphrased from a source, you should include an in-text citation.
Paraphrasing and citing a quotation example
Quotation | Paraphrase with citation (APA Style) |
|---|---|
“It is in unsupervised, child-led play where children best learn to tolerate bruises, handle their emotions, read other children’s emotions, take turns, resolve conflicts, and play fair” | Through independent play, children develop the ability to manage their feelings, endure minor injuries, solve interpersonal problems, and empathize with other children (Haidt, 2024). |
In this article
How to Cite a Paraphrase - APA & MLA Style
How to cite a paraphrase in MLA
How to cite a paraphrase in APA
How to cite a paraphrase from a website
How to cite a paraphrase in an essay
How to paraphrase a quote and cite it
FAQs
Frequently asked questions about how to cite a paraphrase
How do you cite a paragraph that’s been paraphrased?
When you paraphrase a paragraph from another source, you should include an in-text citation and a full reference.
The format depends on what style guide you are using. Generally, you will provide the author’s last name and a date (APA) or page number (MLA).
Paraphrasing Tool can help you paraphrase paragraphs easily.
How do you cite a paraphrase from an article?
How to cite a paraphrase from a journal article or news article depends on your style guide.
For APA Style, you include the author’s last name and publication date in parentheses after the paraphrase: (Piper, 2024).
For MLA Style, you include the author’s last name and the page number in parentheses after the paraphrase: (Piper 267).
In the reference list, you will give a full citation including the author’s name, publication date, title of the article, title of the periodical or webpage, and any volume or issue numbers and page ranges.
How do you cite a paraphrase in Chicago style?
Citing a paraphrase in Chicago style depends which citation format you are using:
In notes and bibliography style, you include a footnote callout after the paraphrased material. The first footnote includes all of the publication information for the source. Subsequent footnotes have only the author’s last name, title, and page numbers.
In author-date style, you include a parenthetical citation with the author’s last name, the publication year, and page numbers: (O’Neil 2019, 46–47).
For both styles, you also include a bibliography at the end of the paper that includes full references for every source cited in the text.
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