Paraphrasing
When you respond to a writing assignment based on your course readings or research, you
will need to:
1. Show the instructor that you have considered the readings and understand them.
2. Come to some conclusions of your own based on what you have learned. In convincing
the reader of your essay of these conclusions (interpretation, argument, analysis,
assessment) you will provide evidence in the form of quotes or paraphrasing from the text.
Quote: An exact phrase, sentence, or passage from a work reproduced in your work
using quotation marks, often used to back up or illustrate a point. You must determine
when it's best to cite an entire sentence or passage, when to use just a portion and blend it
with your own words, and when it's best to paraphrase. This skill develops with practice.
Paraphrase: A restatement of part of a text or passage in another form or other
words, often to clarify meaning. A paraphrase must be accompanied by proper citation to
avoid plagiarism.
Exercise:
Here is a quote from Dr. Seuss:
But because they had stars, all the Star-Belly Sneetches would brag, "We're the
best kind of Sneetch on the beaches." With their snoots in the air, they would sniff
and they'd snort, "We'll have nothing to do with the Plain-Belly sort!" And whenever
they met some, when they were out walking, they'd hike right on past them without
even talking."(Seuss 4).
What larger social issues do you think Dr. Seuss addresses in The Sneetches?
1.
Answer this question and quote a full line from the verse above. Be sure to
blend the quote into your response instead of just sticking it in. Your reader
needs to know who wrote the quote.
2.
Answer the question and use an exact quote of only a few words. The rest
of the sentence should be your words and ideas.
3.
Discuss the passage without quoting it all. Instead, paraphrase, or put in
your own words, the sections to which you are referring.
Works Cited: Dr. Seuss, The Sneetches and Other Stories. (New York: Random House, 1961, renewed
1989).