## 5.3 What is citing or paraphrasing?

Cite or paraphrase when you incorporate a text or theory into your own work.

Citing: literally copying someone's words. You only do this when the literal text is essential for the substantiation of your argument.

Paraphrasing: displaying someone else's text in their own words. Do not just change a few words, but make sure you formulate the message you want to convey in your own words. Paraphrasing is preferable to quoting because you weave your own opinion into the text. It becomes your own creation.

Whether you paraphrase or cite, source reference is mandatory. Refer to the original source of a quote or paraphrase both in your text and in the literature list.