The short answer
Check the actual source and surrounding context, then decide whether to quote exactly or paraphrase in your own words. Preserve the limitation that gives the sentence its meaning. Mark omissions where appropriate, attribute the checked source and resolve sharing boundaries separately. A text match does not prove truth, fair context or permission.
What you’ll take away
- Exact wording and a fair representation are separate checks.
- An omission must not turn a partial result into a complete one.
- An unavailable source is not a license to reconstruct its missing words.
Inspect the source before selecting a striking sentence
Keep a private reference to the actual version, observation date and context you inspected. Distinguish a live original, a supplied copy, a screenshot and someone’s recollection. Each supports a different statement. If the original is inaccessible, preserve what is known about the reference without pretending you opened the missing content.
Check who is speaking and whether the passage describes a completed event, a plan, an estimate or an unresolved issue. Copying only the most appealing sentence can remove the part that tells a reader how to interpret it. Do not turn a comment into an endorsement or a customer relationship merely by placing it beside your product.
Work the complete six-check source
The constructed English source says the draft lists six checks, four are complete, two remain open and it has not been published. The full German counterpart preserves those same states. The supplied exact excerpt keeps “Four are complete; two remain open.” It is a contiguous part of the owned example source.
“All six checks are complete” is not in the source and changes its result. Even the shorter exact words “Four are complete” would need surrounding explanation if the post otherwise implies all checks finished. Character identity can catch a changed quote; it cannot by itself catch a misleading frame around an accurate excerpt.
Choose a labeled paraphrase when it serves the reader better
A safe paraphrase of the exercise says the constructed draft records four finished checks and two unresolved ones, with publication not established. It summarizes the source without presenting new wording as a direct quote. Preserve the same quantity, scope, tense and uncertainty when translating.
If you need to explain a specialized term, keep your explanation visibly separate from the quoted words. Avoid silently replacing “estimated” with “measured,” “collected” with “all,” or “planned” with “completed.” A clearer sentence should not become a stronger unsupported claim.
Review what an omission takes away
The Australian Government Style Manual explains that ellipses indicate omitted material and should not change the original intent. In practice, compare the excerpt with the full passage again: did you remove the only caveat, the reason for a reversal or the fact that a test is unfinished?
If restoring the context makes the quote too long, use a narrow paraphrase or leave it out. Do not join distant fragments as though they were one original sentence. Different publication styles handle punctuation differently; consistent punctuation still cannot repair a changed meaning.
Resolve disclosure independently of wording
An exact quote can still reveal a private conversation, identifiable incident or unapproved relationship. Review the source and intended audience before sharing. A public profile name beside an excerpt is not evidence that the person approved a new use. Keep unnecessary identifiers out of the working record.
When the source or sharing basis remains unresolved, hold the quotation. You may be able to describe your own general review question without retelling the incident. Do not invent replacement wording and attribute it to the unavailable person, and do not call a guess an anonymized transcript.
Save the final excerpt, context and unresolved checks
The readable English/German packet includes the full constructed source, safe excerpt, misleading alternative, paraphrase and unavailable-source decision. The blank record separates source identity, exact words, omissions, public attribution and permission status. Complete it privately; no quote is submitted or posted.
The optional checker confirms that the supplied safe excerpt occurs in the source and the changed six-check claim does not. It verifies file identities as well. It does not decide fairness, underlying truth or permission. Finish with a supported quotation/paraphrase or a clear hold, then check any actual published result separately.
Sources & product references
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