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I'm writing a thesis in English (I'm from Germany) in which I'll use a graphic from a book that I modified just a little bit. How do write it correctly?

  • see [source], slightly modified.
  • slightly modified from [source].
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I think this is more of a writing question than an English language one, but I'm not sure if it would belong on Writers SE. Anyway, the second example seems more appropriate than the first, but still might not fit depending on where you're using it. – Lynn Nov 26 '12 at 2:41

closed as off topic by Carlo_R., tchrist, Lynn, Kris, MετάEd Nov 26 '12 at 15:30

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2 Answers

up vote 4 down vote accepted

When I do so in a research paper I write "adapted from [source]".

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Okay, that sounds good, but what a 'value' has adopted? E.g. I just changed some spelling, than my modification is on a very low level. But when I change more, which may lead to a new definition? – verbose-mode Nov 25 '12 at 14:48
@area404: If the actual amount of modification (adaptation, not adoption) is important, you should probably include both the original and your amended version. But in that case you'd need to think carefully about why you're including the graphic in the first place, and/or why you need to modify it at all. – FumbleFingers Nov 25 '12 at 16:08
In this specific case I modified it to fit on one page, so the meaning is the same – verbose-mode Nov 25 '12 at 16:09
up vote 0 down vote

I would use a footnote. At the bottom of the page, I would explain briefly that although I have modificated the graphic, it was taken from: (cite source).

I'm Spanish but I always work using English. I have never written a thesis, though.

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