 Exercise
11: Paraphrasing
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(Texts from Brenda Spatt's Writing from Sources
(4th edition); reprinted within the protocols of academic fair use)
Paraphrasing: A Definition and Some Terminology
When the overall style or certain expressions in the text from an outside source
you may wish to use are unclear, a quotation may not be as helpful as
paraphrasing. "Paraphrasing" is the process of rewording the ideas of a
complete passage in your own voice, usually to enhance the passage's clarity and
the author's intended meaning. Unlike a summary that reduces a passage to
only is main ideas and its primary supporting ideas, paraphrasing a passage must
present each idea clearly and fully, starting at the beginning of a passage and
following sequentially each idea until each has been restated with as much
clarity as possible. The advantage of paraphrasing over quoting is that it
keeps the passage in your own voice. The advantage over a summary is that
the reader is exposed to all the intricacies of a short discussion in its
entirety but in a style consistent with that of the rest of the essay.
Paraphrasing in Two Stages
Professor Brenda Spatt, author of Writing from Sources, suggests
paraphrasing in two stages: 1) a literal paraphrase, and 2) a free paraphrase.
The Literal Paraphrase
To write a literal paraphrase, read through the passage, identifying
words or phrases, the meaning of which is obscure, vague, or ambiguous.
Find synonyms--words that reflect the same meaning intended by the author--and
replace the terms in the original text. Edit the sentences to make sure
their structures still flow smoothly. The
Free Paraphrase
To write the free paraphrase, set the original text aside, and,
referring only to your literal paraphrase, restate each sentence--beginning at
the top of the passage--in your own voice. Once again, re-read the entire
passage after you have finished to make sure each idea is fairly represented in
its original intention and that the passage, as a whole, reads coherently.
Citations in Paraphrases
As with every reference to an outside source, clarifying
sources is essential to avoid plagiarism. Sentence by sentence, the
authorship/ownership of ideas in a passage must be clear. Citations
include a minimum of two elements: 1) the author's name (last name, if the full
name has been introduced earlier), and 2) the name of the source (unless
otherwise introduced earlier. Note, if you are referencing more than one
source by the same author, you will need to clarify which work each time you
cite the author). 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 countries-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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