Borrowing ideas from another source when writing is usually effective, especially when the writer emphasizes a point. A borrowed idea can be written in direct quote form or be paraphrased. Indirect quotations and statements are written as they are from the original text. However, during paraphrasing, phrases are structured to summarize the main idea of the original text. As a result, the meaning of some information can be distorted, thus losing sense. When it comes to borrowing a view from the Bible, a website, poems, interviews, articles, and activities, direct quotations and paraphrasing are usually recommended depending on the context.
Direct quotations from the Bible help to preserve well-worded statements from the Holy Book. Multiple authors wrote the Bible, and it has undergone different translations over the years. Therefore, it is essential to ensure that the information borrowed has retained its meaning. For instance, “Love is patient, Love is kind. It does not envy; it does not boast; it is not proud. It does not dishonor others; it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, and it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hope, always perseveres” (New Jerusalem Bible, 1st Corinth. 13.1). This direct quote ensures that every point is captured without omitting any critical words.
Additionally, direct quotation helps in maintaining facts and figures from a website. Websites usually have facts that need to be reinstated. For instance, “Over the years, we have spent more than $30 million to make bicycling better. We’ve invested $2.1 million in community bicycling projects and leveraged more than $654 million in federal, state, and private funding. We have contributed millions to national groups and programs like the Safe Routes to School National Partnership, the League of American Bicyclists, and the International Mountain Bicycling Association, ensuring safer places to ride for children and adults” (“People for Bikes” 1). Therefore, a direct quotation will be suitable in maintaining the facts of the values of the amount spent.
Direct quotations are also crucial in poems because it provides the context being addressed by the poet. Lyrics are usually written in languages that may be difficult to understand. Therefore, paraphrasing can interfere with the original context that the writer was talking about. Thus, in Hamlet, by Shakespeare, direct quotation is preferred because it illustrates the idea being addressed to the reader (Shakespeare 1). However, in the Local Police Activity Log, paraphrasing is recommended. The article has numerous words that repeat themselves on most occasions (“Local Police Activity Log” 1). Paraphrasing, therefore, will maintain the original idea but shorten the words that are used. As a result, the reader will have a better understanding of the context the writer is addressing.
In the article “Pardon My French” by Ta-Nehisi Coates, paraphrasing is essential. It summarizes the points the writer is addressing. For instance, Coates describes how, despite language differences, he learned to communicate with his host family and came to understand them (Coates 2). The sentence is simple and easy to understand. Similarly, in an “Interview of an Audience Member”, paraphrasing will be used. It will shorten the exact words used by the interviewee while reinstating the points that were being addressed (“Interview of audience member” 1). Therefore, paraphrasing will be used when referencing the Interview.
Works Cited
Coates, Ta-Nehisi. “Pardon My French”. The Atlantic Monthly, 2013.
“Interview of Audience Member”.
“Local Police Activity Log”.
“People for Bikes.” World cycling alliance.
Shakespeare, William. Hamlet.
The New Jerusalem Bible. Edited by Susan Jones, Doubleday, 1985.