How-to-paraphrase

Paraphrase:WriteitinYourOwnWordsWhatis“paraphrase”?•paraphrasev[Tn]expressthemeaningof(apieceofwriting,statement,etc)indifferentwords,espinordertomakeiteasiertounderstand•Ifyouparaphrasesomeoneorparaphrasesomethingthattheyhavesaidorwritten,youexpresswhattheyhavesaidorwritteninadifferentway.•toexpresswhatsomeoneelsehassaidorwrittenusingdifferentwords,especiallyinordertomakeitshorterorclearerAparaphraseis...yourownrenditionofessentialinformationandideasexpressedbysomeoneelse,presentedinanewform.onelegitimateway(whenaccompaniedbyaccuratedocumentation)toborrowfromasource.•amoredetailedrestatementthanasummary,whichfocusesconciselyonasinglemainidea.Paraphrasingisavaluableskillbecause...itisbetterthanquotinginformationfromanundistinguishedpassage.ithelpsyoucontrolthetemptationtoquotetoomuch.•thementalprocessrequiredforsuccessfulparaphrasinghelpsyoutograspthefullmeaningoftheoriginal.6StepstoEffectiveParaphrasing•1.Rereadtheoriginalpassageuntilyouunderstanditsfullmeaning.•2.Settheoriginalaside,andwriteyourparaphraseonanotecard.•3.Jotdownafewwordsbelowyourparaphrasetoremindyoulaterhowyouenvisionusingthismaterial.Atthetopofthenotecard,writeakeywordorphrasetoindicatethesubjectofyourparaphrase.6StepstoEffectiveParaphrasing•4.Checkyourrenditionwiththeoriginaltomakesurethatyourversionaccuratelyexpressesalltheessentialinformationinanewform.•5.Usequotationmarkstoidentifyanyuniquetermorphraseologyyouhaveborrowedexactlyfromthesource.•6.Recordthesource(includingthepage)onyournotecardsothatyoucancredititeasilyifyoudecidetoincorporatethematerialintoyourpaper.Someexamplestocompare•Theoriginalpassage:•Studentsfrequentlyoverusedirectquotationintakingnotes,andasaresulttheyoverusequotationsinthefinal[research]paper.Probablyonlyabout10%ofyourfinalmanuscriptshouldappearasdirectlyquotedmatter.Therefore,youshouldstrivetolimittheamountofexacttranscribingofsourcematerialswhiletakingnotes.Lester,JamesD.WritingResearchPapers.2nded.(1976):46-47.•Alegitimateparaphrase:•Inresearchpapersstudentsoftenquoteexcessively,failingtokeepquotedmaterialdowntoadesirablelevel.Sincetheproblemusuallyoriginatesduringnotetaking,itisessentialtominimizethematerialrecordedverbatim(Lester46-47).•Ifyourepeatsomethingverbatim,youuseexactlythesamewordsaswereusedoriginally.•Anacceptablesummary:•Studentsshouldtakejustafewnotesindirectquotationfromsourcestohelpminimizetheamountofquotedmaterialinaresearchpaper(Lester46-47).•Aplagiarizedversion:•Studentsoftenusetoomanydirectquotationswhentheytakenotes,resultingintoomanyoftheminthefinalresearchpaper.Infact,probablyonlyabout10%ofthefinalcopyshouldconsistofdirectlyquotedmaterial.Soitisimportanttolimittheamountofsourcematerialcopiedwhiletakingnotes.ParaphrasingExercise•Directions:Onaseparatepieceofpaper,writeaparaphraseofeachofthefollowingpassages.Trynottolookbackattheoriginalpassage.•1.TheAntarcticisthevastsourceofcoldonourplanet,justasthesunisthesourceofourheat,anditexertstremendouscontrolonourclimate,[Jacques]Cousteautoldthecamera.ThecoldoceanwateraroundAntarcticaflowsnorthtomixwithwarmerwaterfromthetropics,anditsupwellingshelptocoolboththesurfacewaterandouratmosphere.Yetthefragilityofthisregulatingsystemisnowthreatenedbyhumanactivity.FromCaptainCousteau,Audubon(May1990):17.Sampleanswer:•1.AccordingtoJacquesCousteau,theactivityofpeopleinAntarcticaisjeopardizingadelicatenaturalmechanismthatcontrolstheearth'sclimate.Hefearsthathumanactivitycouldinterferewiththebalancebetweenthesun,thesourceoftheearth'sheat,andtheimportantsourceofcoldfromAntarcticwatersthatflownorthandcooltheoceansandatmosphere(CaptainCousteau17).Trytoparaphrase…•2.Thetwentiesweretheyearswhendrinkingwasagainstthelaw,andthelawwasabadjokebecauseeveryoneknewofalocalbarwhereliquorcouldbehad.Theyweretheyearswhenorganizedcrimeruledthecities,andthepoliceseemedpowerlesstodoanythingagainstit.Classicalmusicwasforgottenwhilejazzspreadthroughouttheland,andmenlikeBixBeiderbecke,LouisArmstrong,andCountBasiebecametheheroesoftheyoung.Theflapperwasborninthetwenties,andwithherbobbedhairandshortskirts,shesymbolized,perhapsmorethananyoneoranythingelse,America'sbreakwiththepast.FromKathleenYancey,English102SupplementalGuide(1989):25.•Flapper:ayoungwomaninthe1920swhohadshorthair,woreshortdresses,andhadalotoffunatpartiesSampleanswer:•2.Duringthetwentieslawlessnessandsocialnonconformityprevailed.Incitiesorganizedcrimeflourishedwithoutpoliceinterference,andinspiteofnationwideprohibitionofliquorsales,anyonewhowishedtobuyadrinkknewwheretogetone.MusicianslikeLouisArmstrongbecomefavorites,particularlyamongyoungpeople,asmanyturnedawayfromhighlyrespectableclassicalmusictojazz.Oneofthebestexamplesoftheanti-traditionaltrendwastheproliferationofyoungflappers,womenwhorebelledagainstcustombycuttingofftheirhairandshorteningtheirskirts(Yancey25).Trytoparaphrase…•3.Ofthemorethan1000bicyclingdeathseachyear,three-fourthsarecausedbyheadinjuries.Halfofthosekilledareschool-agechildren.Onestudyconcludedthatwearingabikehelmetcanreducetheriskofheadinjuryby85percent.Inanaccident,abikehelmetabsorbsthesho