- So we're dangling this life-sized mannequin out a window, and the girls below are freaking. And right at that moment-- 

- Your mother comes in. 

- Yeah, and then-- 

- And then, you dropped the mannequin. 

- I've told this story before, huh? 

- No, Marcus told me. It's Marcus's story. 

- You stole my story, bro. 

- No, I didn't. 

- That's exactly what happened to me. Except it wasn't a mannequin. It was a cardboard cutout. 

- Yeah, but I paraphrased. Now it's my story. 

[DOORBELL] 

[MUSIC PLAYING] 

- You know that every time you use a direct quote in a paper, you have to add a citation. But did you know that you have to cite everything you paraphrase, too? Think about it. Paraphrasing is just restating someone else's ideas in your own words. 

If you don't include a citation, people will think those ideas are yours. It's plagiarism. And that kind of paraphrasing where you switch a few words around and maybe cut out the end of a sentence, that's actually plagiarism, too. To paraphrase correctly, you have to restate the author's ideas entirely in your own words. That's hard to do, especially if you're working on your paper at the last minute. 

The best way to avoid plagiarism, start working on your paper early. Read your sources carefully, and take the time to think about how a source relates to your thesis statement. And remember, if you quote or paraphrase anything, cite it. 

- Look, all you got to do is say, according to Marcus Williams, tell the story, and then show them this. 

- What's that? 

- Come on, man. It's the APA citation. 

- Oh.