: Re: Research Paper Summary: How much should be citations versus original thought? I'm finalizing a single-paragraph summary of a multi-page research paper for school and I was concerned when I noticed

@Candy753

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When I was a graduate student teaching undergraduates how to write research papers, the real problem was over-quoting. Students would quote or paraphrase large amounts of other people's work and not do much original writing. It was more stringing the quotes into something more or less coherent.

A (good) research paper is analysis. You've read other people's work and use it to inform your discussion. Depending on the field and the wishes of your teacher, you include a small or large number of quotes and ideas (properly cited), but you're still explaining it in your own words.

A summary of a research paper is a condensation of this idea. As the one grading papers, I would always prefer a well-informed discussion in the author's own words, peppered with other people's quotes and ideas as needed. While none of the papers I wrote or graded had summaries that were separate, they all had introductions and conclusions. These are the parts most in the author's words. The body of the paper is the place to set out the arguments, which require citations.

Show your teacher that you understand the the research you did by pulling it together into an original paper.

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