Ways To Cite A Paraphrase In APA & MLA Styles

Intellectual rights and author rights are sensitive subjects and deeply respected across the world. Such respect is mutual and a crucial prerequisite for cordial relationships among proponents in various intellectual fields: science, education, society, businesses centered on intellectual property (publication of books), mass media, and all other industries involved directly with verbal or written communication.

It can be said, that with all the massive amounts of information witnessed and shared, the ability of being able to correctly cite and attribute data has now become of paramount importance. Paraphrasing with proper referencing & citations allow for consensual exchange of proprietary information while maintaining genuine integrity.

This article explores the nuances of how to cite a paraphrase in two of the most popular referencing styles, APA and MLA.

Purpose Of Referencing

Paraphrasing allows writers to present any information in their own manner without distorting the meaning, synthesize related information from different sources and even compares & contrast their details.

Referencing written works is not an exception but a requirement. To that end, we explore the rules & regulations of citing a paraphrase correctly in two of the most popular referencing styles in academic institutions worldwide, the American Psychological Association Style (APA) and the Modern Language Association Style (MLA).

How To Cite A Paraphrase In The APA Style? Steps and Tips

Paraphrasing is a common practice among published authors. Rather than directly quoting their sources, many professionals paraphrase information from their sources. Citation of paraphrases is obviously essential and students should emulate this practice wholly.

So, how to cite a paraphrase in the APA style? Below are some essential rules.

• Add the author and year of the source publication. While it is not necessary to provide a page number or paragraph number, you may include them at the end of the paraphrase for those interested in locating the relevant source passage.

Either mention the author’s name in the concerned section or at the end of the section in parentheses for APA in-text citation of paraphrases.

For example, Webster-Stratton (2016) …………. (pp.122-124)

The above rule is applicable when you are reading a primary source and paraphrasing yourself.

If you are reading the paraphrase of a primary source in another work and need to cite it, then try to read and cite from the original work directly. If not possible, use secondary source citations.

• Reference list entries in APA should be alphabetized by the first letter. Use initials of the author’s first and middle names and the last name in full. Italicize the main title and capitalize the first word.
• Citing secondary sources in the APA style requires writers to abide by the following:
• Provide an entry in the reference list of the secondary source.
• Identify the primary source correctly and write “as cited in” along with the secondary source used, in text. If the year of publication of the primary source is known, then mention that too, in the in-text citation.
• For long paraphrases comprising several sentences, one needs to mention the work only once, right at the start. Once done, there’s no need to mention it later on.
• If the paraphrase continues on to the next paragraph, then repeat or reintroduce the citation in that paragraph.
• In case the paragraph includes multiple sources or switches among different sources, then you need to repeat all citations so that the source is clear. Do read all sentences clearly to ensure that you add appropriate in-text citations.
• For two authors, (Author 1 & Author 2, Year of Publication). For three or more authors, (Author et al., Year Of Publication).
• For groups of authors or corporate authors, use (Group Name, Year Of Publication).
• In case of no author, mention the first one, two or three words from the title of the work.  If the title is in italics, do so in the in-text citation too. Put the name of chapters, article or page of the work in double quotations. And, use title case throughout.
• In case of no date of publication, use the letters “n.d.” where you would normally put the year of publication.

And, that’s about for citing paraphrase in the APA style. The following section looks into how to cite a paraphrase in the MLA style.

How To Cite A Paraphrase In The MLA Style?

Just like APA, when you present other’s ideas or information from another source in your own words, the MLA referencing style requires you to cite the original source clearly. Citing paraphrases in the MLA style is a bit simpler than in the APA style.

• Mention the last name of the original author or researcher of a primary source and the page. If possible, add the paragraph numbers too.

For example, …. (Gibaldi, 109)

• Reference list entries should be as follows: “Title of the Source.” Title of the Work, Other contributors, Version, Number, Publisher, Publication date, Location.
• For citing a work mentioned in a secondary source, mention only the work you consulted in the reference list. And, use the abbreviation “qtd.” in parentheses to indicate that you have not read the original content.

For example, Fong’s 1987 study found ……. (qtd. in Bertram 124). Bertram is the source consulted and should be mentioned in the works cited, not Fong, the original work.

• In case no page numbers can be found (as can be the situation with electronic sources), just mention the author’s name and if possible, the relevant paragraph numbers in the citation parentheses.
• For two or more works by the same authors, add the author’s last name, add the titles of the works in brief and relevant page numbers.
• Use the title of the chapter, article, book or source with proper capitalization, quotations, and italics, along with page number, if author’s name is missing.

That’s about it for paraphrasing ideas in the MLA style. Before we round up, here’s how to cite a paraphrase from a website.

How To Cite A Paraphrase From A Website?

• For citing paraphrases from a website in APA, make sure to add author name, date of publication or last update, website title, and if necessary, date of retrieval.

For long URLs, try to break it at a slash. Reference list entries are as follows:

Author Name In Reverse, Title of The Article, Website Name, Date Of Publication and URL.

Here’s an example: (Author’s Last Name, Year) or (Corporation/Group’s/Governmental Department Name, Year) or (Shortened Website Title, Year) in case author names are missing.

• For the MLA reference entries, include the author’s name, title of the page, name of the website in italics, publication date and URL. Exclude “https://” when mentioning the URL.

Start with the title if author names are missing and if the content is to be modified later on, add an access date too.

The intext citation should be just the author’s name as websites do not have page numbers normally. For example, (Author Name)

That rounds up this article on citing paraphrases in the APA and MLA style. Use this guide to add accurate references in your work. And, in case of any further trouble, know that Assignmenthelp.us's paraphrasing tool is always here to help you out.

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