Day 3 Paraphrasing & Quoting
Answer Key
Part I: Paraphrasing
A. Sample Analysis
 What is a good paraphrase?
Three criteria
1. Contains the same (similar) meaning as the original
2. Different enough from the original to be considered your own writing.
3. Cite the original source information properly.
 Do the following paraphrases meet the criteria above? Why or why not?
[Original] Many of the doctors taking part in the survey on assisted suicide doubted whether they
could decide if a patient had less than six months to live. -- From “The Anguish of Doctors”, “The
Anguish of Doctors,” John Partlow, 1996, p. 17
[Paraphrase1] According to a survey on assisted suicide in “The Anguish of Doctors” (Partlow,
1996), many doctors disagree with assisted suicide because they can’t know when a patient will
die. -> Not a good paraphrase (Does not meet criteria 1)
[Paraphrase2] In a survey on assisted suicide in “The Anguish of Doctors” (Partlow,1996), many
doctors were not sure they could always know whether a patient would die within six months.
-> A good paraphrase (Similar meaning, different words/structure, source cited properly)
[Paraphrase3] In “The Anguish of Doctors” (Partlow,1996), many doctors who were surveyed on
assisted suicide were doubtful whether they could determine if a patient had less than six months
to live. -> Not a good paraphrase (Does not meet criteria 2)
B. Steps & Strategies
1. Pre-writing
1) Read the original text carefully until you fully understand the author’s message and intention
2) Decide if you really need to use specific parts of this text in detail while condensing it slightly.
If all you need is the main gist (general idea) of the passage, consider summarizing it in one or
two sentences.
3) Put away the original passage! (Otherwise, you may be tempted to use the
expressions/structure of the original text)
2. Writing - Steps & Strategies
Step1: Start with a signal phrase + reporting verb.
E.g) According to (author’s name),…
In “(article name)”, (author) argued that
As (author) pointed out,…
Note: Use a clear and precise reporting verb
E.g) Gabriel (2010) illustrated the examples of plagiarism as…
Roman (2003) emphasized the significance
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Day 3 Paraphrasing & Quoting
Answer Key
Huang (2001) summarized the result as…
 For further practice on reporting verbs, refer to Reporting Verbs
Step2: Put the author’s idea in your own words and structure (so that it fits the context and style of
your essay).
 Useful Techniques
 Refer to Paraphrasing Techniques (p.1~2) for more detailed information
 Useful Strategies for Substituting Words
- Use synonyms or hypernyms (be careful about different meanings, collocations, and style)
- Use different parts of speech (This also requires change in sentence structure)
 Analyze the following paraphrase for an example
[Original]: The rise of industry, the growth of cities, and the expansion of the population were the
three great developments of late nineteenth century American history. As new, larger, steampowered factories became a feature of the American landscape in the East, they transformed farm
hands into industrial laborers, and provided jobs for a rising tide of immigrants. With industry came
urbanization, the growth of large cities, like Fall River, Massachusetts, where the Bordens lived,
which became the centers of production as well as of commerce and trade.
[Paraphrased]: Fall River, where the Borden family lived, was typical of eastern industrial cities of
the late nineteenth century. Steam-powered production had shifted labor from agriculture to
manufacturing, and as immigrants arrived in the US, they found work in these new factories. As a
result, populations grew, and large urban areas arose. Fall River was one of these manufacturing
and commercial centers (Williams, 1981, p.1).
Strategy 1: Using synonyms & hypernyms
1) Steam-driven companies -> Steam-powered production
2) Transformed farm hands into industrial laborers -> Shifted labor from agriculture to
manufacturing
3) The Bordens -> The Borden family
Note: Most words were paraphrased in “phrase” units. This works better than substituting word for
word.
Strategy 2: Using different parts of speech
1) A rising tide of immigrants (Noun) -> A large number of immigrants arrived (Verb)
2) With industry came the growth of large cities (Noun) -> Large urban areas arose (Verb)
Step3: Re-read the original text to make sure you did not distort any meaning.
Note: the meaning never remains perfectly intact in a paraphrase; it’s always a slight translation.
Part II: Quoting
A. Sample Analysis
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Day 3 Paraphrasing & Quoting
Answer Key
1. Discuss in pairs why the words in bold were quoted while other parts were paraphrased.
_1)_Rob Walker, author of the New York Times article “Eyelash of the Beholder,” argues
that _2)_the advertising campaign for Latisse “has a rather glamorous feel,” encouraging
the viewer to “zero in on [Brooke Shields’s] baby blues” (p.15). _3)_As Walker’s
skeptical tone indicates, the Latisse campaign is one example of the increasingly blurry
line between products meant to treat illnesses and products meant to enhance beauty.
2. What are the roles of the phrase 1) and 3)? Why are they added?
1) Signal (introductory) phrase (Why added? To signal the beginning of the quote)
2) Quote (+ paraphrase)
3) Interpretive comment (Why added? To connect the quote to the author’s point)
Note: Since this is just a short excerpt, the thesis of this paper is not known to us. But a complete
paragraph should provide a clear connection between the thesis and the quoted/paraphrased
source.
B. Steps & Formatting Rules
Step1: Start with a signal phrase + ( reporting verb)
Step2: Write down the words you want to quote exactly, enclosing them in double / single quotation
marks (if more than 40 words, use indentation).
Step3: Add page(or paragraph) number at the end! When you add the page number after the quote,
period should be put after / before the parenthesis. If you are only quoting phrases, not
sentences, mix the quote with a paraphrase.
 Examples:
1) According to Roman (2003), “Social factors are nearly as significant as individual metabolism”
(p.10). – [ a sentence quote without a reporting verb ]
2) Roman (2003) reported that “social factors are nearly as significant as individual metabolism”
(p.10). – [ a sentence quote with a reporting verb ]
3) Roman (2003) emphasized the significance of “social factors” which he compared to “individual
metabolism” (p.10). – [ a phrase quote ]
 Frequent formatting mistakes: What is wrong with the formatting of following quotes?
1) As the British Prime Minister David Cameron said: “Free flow of information can be used for good.
But it can also be used for ill. And when people are using social media for violence, we need to
stop them.” (p.2).
 Compare: Morrow (2003) views personal ads in the classifieds as an art form: “The personal
ad is like a haiku of self-celebration, a brief solo played on one’s own horn” (p.30).
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Day 3 Paraphrasing & Quoting
Answer Key
2) According to Josh Halliday, “there were an awful lot of hoaxes and false trails made on Twitter and
BlackBerry Messenger.”
Step 4: Follow the quotation with your interpretive comments
 More detailed formatting rules: http://writing.wisc.edu/Handbook/QPA_quoting.html#punctuate
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