Ch. 7 response

In chapter 7, I learned about the differences between quoting, paraphrasing, and summarizing. Quoting is useful when the language from the original source is so powerful that paraphrasing it would take away some of the importance. This knowledge will be useful to me when I am writing because it will help me not use quotes too often. I also learned that if I wanted to alter a quote slightly, I can still put it in quotations and use brackets around the part that I have changed. I never knew I could do this. Sometimes when I find a quote I want to use, I want to change it up a little. However, I get scared that if I only change it a little, it will look like I am plagiarizing so I end up just paraphrasing it which takes away the power of the quote. By using brackets, I would be able to put exactly what I want in my paper. I also learned the difference of paraphrasing and summarizing. By paraphrasing I can pick out a paragraph in my source and put it into my own words. On the other hand, by summarizing, I can just summarize the main arguments of the source without specific details. Chapter 7 gave me a really good strategy for paraphrasing and summarizing. It says to put the source away after you read it and try to summarize what you just read in your own words. I think this is especially helpful to me so I can avoid plagiarizing and make sure everything is in my own words. This chapter is also useful to me because it provides examples of how to use in-text citations and work cited entries in MLA and APA. I am used to using MLA format and am familiar with it. However, some of my classes prefer APA style which I have never used. These guidelines will help me in my future writing.