How to Paraphrase a Quote | APA & MLA Examples
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Eoghan is a language enthusiast with degrees in English and Irish Studies and years of experience researching and teaching English at university. He enjoys sharing practical grammar tips to help students and professionals improve their writing and communicate more effectively.
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Eoghan Ryan
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You can integrate ideas from other sources into your writing in two ways: quoting and paraphrasing. Quoting too much can make your writing seem unoriginal and difficult to read, though. This is why paraphrasing quotes is so important, in both academic and professional writing.
To paraphrase a quote, follow these steps:
Read the quote several times in context to make sure you understand it.
Without looking at the source, rephrase the quote in your own words.
Compare your paraphrase to the original quote. Check that you have made substantial changes to both the sentence structure and vocabulary while maintaining the original meaning.
Remember to include a citation to avoid paraphrasing plagiarism.
Try using a paraphrasing tool to help you with this process.
How to paraphrase a quote in MLA
To paraphrase in MLA, reword the original quote, changing the word choice and grammatical structure while preserving the meaning. Then, add a parenthetical citation that includes the author’s last name and the page number or page range of the quote.
MLA paraphrase example
Original Text | Paraphrase |
|---|---|
In Total Physical Response (TPR), the instructor gives commands in the target language—such as "stand up," "sit down," or "touch your nose"—and learners respond by physically performing the actions. This kinesthetic learning process engages the brain in a way that enhances comprehension, retention, and recall, especially in the early stages of language learning. | TPR involves learning through doing. The teacher gives instructions in the target language (e.g., “stand up,” “sit down”), and the students perform these actions. This process increases learners’ ability to understand, retain, and remember the language and is especially effective for beginners (Solis 209). |
How to paraphrase a quote in APA
To paraphrase in APA, follow the same steps as for MLA. However, in the in-text citation, you will include the author’s last name and the publication date, separated by a comma. No page number is needed for APA paraphrases.
APA paraphrase example
TPR involves learning through doing. The teacher gives instructions in the target language (e.g., “stand up,” “sit down”), and the students perform these actions. This process increases learners’ ability to understand, retain, and remember the language and is especially effective for beginners (Solis, 2022).
How to paraphrase a quote in Chicago style
Chicago style has two types of documentation: notes and bibliography format and author-date format.
For both formats, you should follow the same steps to paraphrase a quote, being sure to change the wording and sentence structure. However, the format of the citations will differ.
Notes and bibliography format
In notes and bibliography format, which is most popular in the humanities, you place a footnote callout immediately after the paraphrased text and then include a footnote at the bottom with relevant publication information.
Chicago paraphrase example: notes and bibliography
TPR involves learning through doing. The teacher gives instructions in the target language (e.g., “stand up,” “sit down”), and the students perform these actions. This process increases learners’ ability to understand, retain, and remember the language and is especially effective for beginners.
1. Margaret Solis, Second Language Acquisition Handbook (Pearson, 2022), 209.
On any subsequent citations, you can include only the author’s last name, a shortened title, and the page number (e.g., Solis, Second Language, 209). All notes should end with a period. A different form of the publication information is given in the Bibliography at the end of the paper.
Author-date format
Author-date format, which is used frequently in the natural sciences, is similar to APA. Each paraphrase includes an in-text citation with the author’s last name, the publication date, and the page number.
Chicago paraphrase example: author-date
TPR involves learning through doing. The teacher gives instructions in the target language (e.g., “stand up,” “sit down”), and the students perform these actions. This process increases learners’ ability to understand, retain, and remember the language and is especially effective for beginners (Solis 2022, 209).
The full reference information is given in the Bibliography at the end of the paper.
How to paraphrase a quote in an essay
In an essay, it is best practice to introduce a paraphrase with a signal phrase that indicates that you are using someone else’s ideas. Some examples of signal phrases are:
“According to Smith,”
“Smith argues that”
“I agree with Smith that”
When you use the author’s name in a signal phrase, you only need to include the other elements of the citation (i.e. the date and/or page number) in the parenthetical citation.
Paraphrase with signal phrase example: APA Style
Solis (2022) explains that TPR involves learning through doing. The teacher gives instructions in the target language (e.g., “stand up,” “sit down”), and the students perform these actions. This process increases learners’ ability to understand, retain, and remember the language and is especially effective for beginners.
After your paraphrase, you should include an original sentence that explains how this information supports your argument.
How to paraphrase a direct quote
A “direct quote” is another way to say “quote.” All quotes are word-for-word what someone said. If you want to emphasize someone else’s exact wording, it is more appropriate to use a quotation than a paraphrase. Varying the use of direct quotes and paraphrases in your writing can help improve its effectiveness.
In this article
How to Paraphrase a Quote
How to paraphrase a quote in MLA
How to paraphrase a quote in APA
How to paraphrase a quote in Chicago style
How to paraphrase a quote in an essay
How to paraphrase a direct quote
FAQs
Frequently asked questions about paraphrasing a quote
How do you paraphrase a quote from a book?
To paraphrase a quote from a book, read the quote in its context. Then, reword it, making sure to change both the vocabulary and sentence structure while maintaining the original meaning.
Finally, add a citation. For APA Style, the citation will include the author’s last name and the publication year. For MLA format, it will include the author’s last name and a page number.
How do you paraphrase a famous quote?
When you paraphrase a famous quote, it is good to include an introductory phrase, such as “To paraphrase the famous words of X.”
Because people are so familiar with famous quotes, it typically only makes sense to paraphrase them if you want to update the language in a clever way. Otherwise, you should just use the original quotation.
In either case, be sure to give credit to the original speaker or writer.
How do you paraphrase a long quote?
To paraphrase a long quote, follow these steps:
Read over the quote several times to make sure you understand the meaning.
Without looking at the quote, rephrase it in your own words.
Compare your paraphrase to the original quote, making sure you’ve substantially changed both the vocabulary and sentence structure while maintaining the original meaning.
Add a citation. In the case of a long paraphrase, it is probably good to introduce it with a signal phrase that includes the author’s name.
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