The Academic Integrity tutorial on Minerva also asks students to determine if a number of examples of quotation, paraphrasing, and summarizing are appropriate.
Examples 1-4, below, refer to the following text.
"The most famous exams in medieval monasteries were the Lentine. Each Benedictine monk had to read a specific book during Lent and had to pass an exam on it. The exams eventually became formalized, public affairs. All brothers assembled in the chapter house. The bookkeeper read the name of each monk. When called, one by one, each monk placed the book he read on the carpet. The prior or his designate took the book in hand, and publicly examined the brother on it. If the brother did not pass, he had to reread the book."
Clark, William. 2006. Academic Charisma and the Origins of the Research University. University of Chicago Press, 96.
Note: These examples are based on the Chicago Manuel of Style’s author-date system. Different academic disciplines use different style guides (e.g., APA, Chicago, MLA) that have different rules about quotations, paraphrasing, and summarizing. Students should ask their instructors if they have questions about which style guide should be used.
Example 1
According to Clark (2006), oral academic exams have been part of education for many years. The most famous exams in medieval monasteries were the Lentine. Each Benedictine monk had to read a specific book during Lent and pass an exam on it. All brothers assembled in the chapter house. The bookkeeper read the name of each monk. When called, one by one, each monk placed the book he had read on the carpet. The prior or his designate took the book in hand, and publicly examined the brother on it. If the brother did not pass, he had to reread the book. Such oral exams have become a central part of graduate education.
Is this appropriate?
No, this is not appropriate.
You need quotation marks where the text is word for word and you need to include a page number. Done correctly, the above example would be:
According to Clark (2006, 96), oral academic exams have been part of education for many years. “The most famous exams in medieval monasteries were the Lentine. Each Benedictine monk had to read a specific book during Lent and had to pass an exam on it. All brothers assembled in the chapter house. The bookkeeper read the name of each monk. When called, one by one, each monk placed the book he read on the carpet. The prior or his designate took the book in hand, and publicly examined the brother on it. If the brother did not pass, he had to reread the book.” Such oral exams have become a central part of graduate education.
Example 2
According to Clark (2006, 96), oral academic exams have been part of education for many years. The Lentine exams were the most well-known exams in medieval monasteries. During Lent, each monk had to read a specific book and pass an exam on it. Once all the monks were assembled in the chapter house, the bookkeeper read their names. When called, each monk placed his book on the carpet. The examiner took the book and examined the monk publicly. The monk had to reread the book if he did not pass. Such oral exams have become a central part of graduate education.
Is this appropriate?
No, this is not appropriate. There is minor paraphrasing, but it is too close to the original.
Done correctly, the above example would be:
According to Clark (2006, 96), oral academic exams have been part of education for many years. The Lentine exams were "the most [well-known] exams in medieval monasteries." During Lent, "each monk had to read a specific book" and "pass an exam on it." Once all the monks were "assembled in the chapter house [,t ]he bookkeeper read [their] name[s]. ... When called … each monk placed [his] book … on the carpet." The examiner "took the book…and publicly examined the [monk]. ... If the [monk] did not pass, he had to reread the book." Such oral exams have become a central part of graduate education.
Example 3
Oral academic exams have been part of education for many years. For example, one can trace the tradition of oral exams back to medieval monasteries where the well-known Lentine exams were held. Over the period of Lent, monks were required to read a book. At the time of the examination, all monks gathered and were examined orally in front of their peers. Such oral exams have become a central part of graduate education.
Is this appropriate?
No, this is not appropriate. There is no reference to where the information in this summary comes from.
Done correctly, the above example would be:
Oral academic exams have been part of education for many years. For example, one can trace the tradition of oral exams back to medieval monasteries where the well-known Lentine exams were held. Over the period of Lent, monks were required to read a book. At the time of the examination, all monks gathered and were examined orally in front of their peers. Such oral exams have become a central part of graduate education (Clark 2006, 96).
Example 4
Oral academic exams have been part of education for many years. For example, according to Clark (2006, 96), one can trace the tradition of oral exams back to medieval monasteries where the well-known Lentine exams were held. Over the period of Lent, monks were required to read a book. At the time of the examination, all the monks gathered and were examined orally in front of their peers. Such oral exams have become a central part of graduate education.
Is this appropriate?
Yes, there is a good summary and includes a reference.
Example 5
Canada extends from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean. It has a total area of 9,984,670 square kilometers, with 891,163 square kilometers of freshwater. It has a population of 39,991,981 (2021 census).
Is this appropriate?
No, this is not appropriate. Since this information is beyond common knowledge - except for the “ocean to ocean” part - this must be cited, even if used for a PowerPoint® presentation. Done correctly, the above example would include citations.
For example:
Statistics Canada. 2018. “Geography.” Last modified January 17. .
Statistics Canada. n.d. “Census of Population.” Accessed April 1, 2026. ;
Example 6
Montreal is situated on the St. Lawrence River in the province of Quebec. It is known for its multicultural population and its vibrant nightlife, as well as for its long winters and summer festivals.
Is this appropriate?
This information can be considered common knowledge. If you wrote the text yourself and if it does not paraphrase information from another source, the above example is appropriate.
