What is the best way to paraphrase this line? Students frequently overuse direct quotation in taking notes, and as a result they overuse quotations in the final (research) paper. Probably only 10% of your final manuscript should appear as directly quoted matter. Therefore, you should strive to limit the amount of exact transcribing of source materials while taking notes.

Paraphrasing is a writing technique that allows a writer to use the ideas of other people without having to fill his/her own document with quotation marks. The correct use of paraphrasing, however, is extremely important, as not doing so may turn into accusations of plagiarism. In essence, paraphrasing is a way of writing something that has already been written by someone else but in your own words and without having to use quotations. It requires for you to read the text or document that will be paraphrased, gathering the main ideas, or idea, of the text and exposing the information in your own words. In this particular case, the best way to paraphrase this line would be: Using quotations, especially when presenting a final project, is a very common thing to see in students, and also, when doing note-taking. This, is a mistake, as students need to learn the importance of using non-direct quotations. As an important tidbit, students should keep in mind that the percentage use of quotations in a text needs to be minimal, not more than 10% and therefore, students need to learn the important art of paraphrasing to minimalize the use of quotes, especially when taking notes.