Exercise 11: Writing Paraphrases
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(Texts from Brenda Spatt's Writing from Sources (4th edition); reprinted with permission of St. Martin's Press)

Instructions:
Read the following two passages. Then, compose first a literal paraphrase and then a free paraphrase for each of the two paragraphs (you will turn in four paragraphs). Be sure to cite the author and source in each draft. Highlight or underline the changes in each that you make from the original.  E-mail your paraphrases to me as MS Word files.

Paragraph 1

I have no doubt that we will one day abolish the death penalty in America. It will come sooner if people like me who know the truth about executions do our work well and educate the public. It will come slowly if we do not. Because, finally, I know that it is not a question of malice or ill will or meanness of spirit that prompts our citizens to support executions. It is, quite simply, that people don't know the truth of what is going on. That is not by accident. The secrecy surrounding executions makes it possible for executions to continue. I am convinced that if executions were made public, the torture and violence would be unmasked, and we would be shamed into abolishing executions. We would be embarrassed at the brutalization of the crowds that would gather to watch a man or woman being killed. And we would be humiliated to know that visitors from other counkies-Japann Russia, Latin America, Europe-were watching us kill our own citizens-we, who take pride in being the flagship of democracy in the world.

Helen Prejean, from Dead Man Walking

Paragraph 2

In the storied old days a person invented something in the attic or basement, got a patent on it, began building and selling it, and made a pile of money, all pretty much alone. Today's inventor, with some isolated exceptions, is likely to be a salaried lab hand working in almost complete anonymity for a large corporation. If he or she gets any reward for building a better mousetrap, it may only be a smile and a pat on the back from the supervisor. Those few individual inventors who do make it big--like Land, or Steve Wozniak of Apple Computer, or William Hewlett and David Packard of the company that bears their name--are all the more exceptional for being successful entrepreneurs and industrialists as well as inventors.

Oliver E. Allen, from "The Power of Parents"
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Submitting Essays as E-Mail Attachments
It is absolutely essential to the security of your work that you follow exactly these guidelines:

1) Heading on Assignments/Email Message Texts
Place a heading on the first page of your essay in the upper left-hand corner.  Place the same information in each email message window.  The text must include the following information:

First Name-MIddle Initial-Last Name
DCCCD Student ID Number
Course-Course Number-Section Number
Month-Date-Year
Name of Assignment

Example:

John R. Pointer
ID 5555555
English 2326: 9543
February 20, 2001
Exercise 3

2) File Name
Save your file exactly according to this model:

JPointer-Ex3

3) Sending Me E-mail Messages
You must include your name and identify your message type in the subject line of each e-mail you send me.  For security reasons, if you fail to do so, I will delete your message without responding.

In the subject line, include your name and exercise number just as you saved your file above.
Example:

JPointer-Ex3

If you are sending me a message that needs immediate attention, then include one of the following formats in the subject line:

JPointer-Question
JPointer-Comment
JPointer-Urgent

Responding to Your E-mails
I always respond to your messages.  However, I always open "Question," "Comment," and "Urgent"  messages first and respond to them usually on the day I receive them. 

I will respond to your assignment messages within a day or two to let you know that I have received your work and files and whether or not I can open them.  To grade them, I open assignment messages in the order in which I received them.

Length of Time Required to Grade Your Work
It usually takes me from one to two weeks to grade essay-length papers and to return them.  Shorter papers I can grade much quicker.  I will return them as e-mail attachments to my response messages.
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This page was last modified on July 9, 2005,
and is maintained by Dr. Geoffrey A. Grimes.
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