Terms for Research Papers Using MLA Documentation Definitions taken in part from Simon & Schuster’s Handbook for Writers, 1990.

Paraphrase “A detailed restatement of someone else’s statement expressed in your own words and your own sentence structure” (Simon and Schuster 580).

Summary “A condensed statement of the main points of someone else’s passage expressed in your own words and sentence structure” (Simon and Schuster 580).

Quotation Marks “ “ These marks are placed around any text that you directly copy from a source.

Quotation “Exact words of a source set off in quotation marks” (Simon and Schuster 580).

Plagiarism “To present another person’s words or ideas as if they were your own” (Simon and Schuster 581).

Common Knowledge “Information that most educated people know” (Simon and Schuster 581).

Documentation “Acknowledging your sources by giving full and accurate information about the author, title, date of publication and related facts” (Simon and Schuster 583).

Works Cited/Bibliography Resource and publication information found at the end of a research paper.

Parenthetical/in-text/internal citation Gives credit to the source of information; references the works cited page.

Direct Quote Exact words of a source set off in quotation marks.

Thesis Statement A focused sentence. It contains the main point of your paper. It usually appears as the last sentence of your first paragraph. This sentence should be your own thinking.